A concerted focus on the internationally significant investment opportunities in the North West – linked by a new railway – could lead the UK’s economic growth over the next decade, with the right infrastructure and national support needed to unlock untapped potential.

A ‘Northern Arc’ – the stretch from the Mersey to the Pennines – is already home to two investment zones, 5.4 million people, and creates an annual GVA of £150 billion and £23.5 billion in exports.

Now, Mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram say that the cumulative impact of a joined-up approach to regional investment, underpinned by delivery of a new railway, could put the North West and neighbouring communities on a par with successful counterparts like Oxford-Cambridge, and support the UK to grow at a faster pace and greater scale.

The Liverpool-Manchester Railway is the missing piece of the North’s transport infrastructure, with studies showing it would add £7 billion GVA to the UK economy, support delivery of around 300,000 new homes over 20 years and help create more than 40,000 high-quality jobs by 2050.

More capacity on a modern railway would drastically improve connectivity between the region’s internationally significant physical assets including the Port of Liverpool and Manchester Airport – helping boost international trade. It would also foster innovation and a critical mass of industries along a major growth corridor, creating opportunities for young people and attracting, retaining and developing the world’s best talent in the North West.

Speaking at an investor round table at MIPIM today, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Mayor of Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram outlined how the ‘Northern Arc’ will make a major contribution to the national growth mission. It will do so by creating the right conditions to fuel housebuilding, business growth and innovation, and bolster international trade.

The city-regions have also started work with independent economists to understand the full scale of potential of such an economic supercluster, with plans to collaborate with local authorities and the private sector in the North West and across the Pennines border. It will build on the model of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc – now widely regarded as a successful model of attracting investment and innovation.

Investment opportunities include regeneration and development opportunities to support advancement in life sciences; advanced materials and manufacturing; low-carbon and net zero sectors; as well as AI and sustainable aviation fuels.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “Our city-regions have their own growth stories and opportunities, such as the Old Trafford regeneration project and Atom Valley in Greater Manchester. But our combined pipelines of investment opportunities – the Northern Arc – will create a powerful northern engine to fuel national growth, one greater than the sum of our parts. To achieve its full potential, we need a new Liverpool-Manchester railway – a crucial missing link that must be a priority for the UK’s infrastructure plan.

“The sheer scale of untapped growth potential of the North means that, with the right government support, the size of the prize could match that of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc. This is not about competing – we are already creating valuable partnerships with Cambridge – it’s about recognising that this approach to creating superclusters can deliver the same, if not greater economic clout in the North West than anywhere else in the country.”

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region, said: “The Northern Arc represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the North West into a global powerhouse for world-leading businesses.

“In the Liverpool City Region, we’re already primed to lead the way in high-growth industries such as life sciences, advanced manufacturing and low-carbon technologies. And with investments like the £550m Health Innovation Liverpool Campus and the expanding Sci-Tech Daresbury, we’re creating opportunities for businesses to thrive and innovation to flourish.

“The Northern Arc is about connecting these hubs with Greater Manchester and beyond. The Liverpool to Manchester railway presents us with a fantastic opportunity to do this. With Government backing, this strategic move will unlock new jobs, drive economic growth, and secure the North’s place at the forefront of the UK’s future prosperity.”

As well as unlocking delivery of new homes, the initiative will support established and emerging high-growth sectors to ensure the North becomes home to world-leading businesses and a magnet for talent.

In Greater Manchester: The city-region has a ten-year plan to turbocharge growth to deliver £1billion of investment every year over the next decade through a single pipeline. The plan is targeted at six Growth Locations, nationally significant sites with the highest potential to boost the regional economy and bring benefits to all 10 boroughs. It includes the Old Trafford Regeneration Scheme, the biggest sports-led regeneration scheme since the London 2012 Olympics. The area around Manchester United’s Stadium is a key part of the Western Gateway Growth Location, which could unlock 48,000 new jobs, 17,000 new homes, and add £4.2 billion to the local economy.

In Liverpool City Region: As the most globally recognisable city-region brand outside London, Liverpool City Region is leveraging its strengths in health and life sciences, AI, and culture to attract investment from global markets. Kyndryl, the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, has recently announced plans to establish a new tech hub in the Liverpool City Region, creating up to 1,000 AI-related jobs. Health and life sciences projects include the £38m unique Mental Health Digital Research Centre at Maghull Health Park and the £40m Hemisphere 1 & 2, Paddington Village developments in Liverpool city centre, which is also home to the £200m Infection Innovation Consortium.

The Liverpool end of the Liverpool-Manchester Railway features a £2.5bn transformational development opportunity in the regeneration of Central Station right at the heart of the city’s regional commuter network, retail and cultural offers. The opening of Everton FC’s new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock also opens up residential and regeneration opportunities to the North of the city region.

The Mayors and Combined Authorities plan to capitalise on greater devolution and closer relationships with Government to work in partnership with institutions, investors and businesses to create new partnership models that unlock investment and growth.

That approach is being taken to the Liverpool-Manchester Railway, for which a new board and partnership board – chaired by former Rail Minister Huw Merriman – has been set up to support the development and delivery of the project.

It aims to develop a new, bottom-up rather than top-down model for delivering major infrastructure projects, one that involves local and regional leaders that know their economies and communities best, as well as the private sector.

Huw Merriman, Chair of the Liverpool-Manchester Railway Partnership Board, said: “The world’s first inter-city railway was built between Liverpool and Manchester by the region’s industrial pioneers. Almost 200 years on, the Mayors and council leaders have set up the Partnership Board which, like last time, aims not just to deliver a new railway for people and freight but a backbone of new economic and social opportunities.

“Our objective is clear; to deliver a new railway which delivers faster, more reliable and decarbonised journeys on a new corridor for jobs, homes, green energy production, skills and regeneration. If we deliver this then we can help further transform the region and, with it, the balance of the UK economy.”