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Future North West: Our Shared Priorities
- create places that attract and retain talent; - create new green infrastructure at the heart of and between the two cities; and - harness the role of Daresbury as a world-class research and innovation resource. d. Capitalise on Preston’s opportunity to become a key regional growth centre, by: • encouraging greater private sector investment in the city centre to strengthen Preston and its surrounding area's role as a key centre in the North West for the nuclear industry, advanced manufacturing and aerospace, professional business services and knowledge-based employment in creative, ICT, and new media business; • ensuring higher education assets support growth in key sectors; and • enhancing the role of Preston as a public transport gateway/interchange to the North West through improved rail connectivity with Manchester, Liverpool, Blackpool and Pennine Lancashire. e. Capitalise on Warrington’s opportunity to become a key regional growth centre, by: • encouraging the expansion of Warrington as a business and commercial centre, building on opportunities to regenerate and restructure its older urban areas, capitalise upon its central location in the emerging Atlantic Gateway and its key positioning on both the strategic road and rail networks particularly in relation to Manchester, Liverpool, Preston, St Helens, Runcorn, Widnes and Wigan; and • promoting the role of Warrington as a regional public transport gateway/interchange to the North West and a key hub between Manchester and Liverpool. f. Recognise Crewe, Chester, Lancaster and Carlisle’s role as key sub-regional hubs (and in the case of Chester and Carlisle, the substantial links with Wales and Scotland respectively) by: • reinvigorating the dynamic contribution of Chester to the cultural, heritage and visitor economy of the region, as well as extending its offer as a high quality office location and important retail destination. In doing so it will be important to capitalise on the potential for significant residential and employment growth in Ellesmere Port.
• promoting the roles of Chester and Crewe as public transport gateways/interchanges to the North West; • building upon the strong cross border relationships between Chester and Wrexham and the Deeside Hub in North East Wales where the combined strengths of communities and economies should be capitalised upon; • encouraging growth and investment in Crewe to significantly increase its economic prosperity, whilst ensuring that Macclesfield and North East Cheshire maintain their contribution to competitiveness and their role as an important local economic driver; • encouraging growth and investment in Lancaster building upon its heritage city offer, linkages with Cumbria, strengths in environmental technologies, nuclear and ICT, growth in small and medium-size enterprises and assets such as Infolab at Lancaster University and Lancaster Science Park; and • supporting Carlisle to achieve its growth city aspirations and realise its potential by building on its strengths as a sub-regional growth point for business, shopping, leisure, culture and tourism (including Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site), recognising opportunities to deliver housing growth together with the Higher Education offer and utilising its position as a regional transport gateway with links to Scotland and the North East (and onto Northern Ireland and North Europe).
g. Enhance the role of the Lake District and other outstanding natural and heritage assets in contributing to the North West’s image, the success of its visitor economy and the wellbeing of North West residents by: • improving the tourism offer through investment in the natural environment, high quality accommodation, public realm improvements, sustainable transport solutions and visitor/cultural attractions; • supporting the case for a Lake District World Heritage Site and raising the profile of the Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site as a visitor attraction; and • building upon the opportunity to further capitalise on landscape and heritage assets including: - the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and Peak District National Parks; - Solway Coast, North Pennines, Forest of Bowland and Arnside & Silverdale Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty;