The Atlantic Gateway is a major opportunity to attract investment, accelerate growth and rebalance the economy across the Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester, and Cheshire and Warrington LEPs.
It is a proposition to create a critical mass to achieve a new level of growth not previously achieved in the UK outside London. By 2030, there is the potential for some 250,000 new jobs to be created in the Atlantic Gateway area (of which around 140,000 jobs will be associated with Atlantic Gateway priority projects) involving £14 billion of new investment.
Our work included:
identifying the context for the programme within national, sub-regional and local priorities and its rationale in relation to socio-economic conditions across the area;
determining an appropriate vision and objectives for the programme and priority projects; assessing the economic benefits of the programme; and developing appropriate governance and management arrangements for the programme.
The core of our work was agreement of priorities for investment and alignment of funding to maximise growth.
Update:
Our work on the Atlantic Gateway is relevant for a number of reasons. For example: the programme demonstrates the importance of collaborative working between the private sector, the public sector and LEPs in driving development and economic growth; the Atlantic Gateway is a cross-sector programme covering a broad geographical area, with investment in large scale infrastructure projects, energy projects and science and innovation and demonstrates that a holistic approach is crucial in maximising growth opportunities within a spatial area; and the Atlantic Gateway emphasises the importance of ensuring that economic development activities are effectively co-ordinated and prioritised if maximum growth is to be achieved.