PRIME Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne visited Manchester city centre today to continue the 'Northern Powerhouse' rhetoric during a two-day tour of the north west.
'We need a strong London, but we need a Northern Powerhouse too'
Speaking to an audience of over 200 business leaders at Allied London's £1bn St John's project at the former-ITV Granada studios, Cameron set out a vision of a UK less reliant on London and more like the US city model.
Cameron urged Manchester, along with Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield, to look to the US where cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles and Houston had created 'major centres of industry' to compete with the might of New York.
"We need a strong London, but we need a Northern Powerhouse too", he added. "Economic might should not just be held in one city, but spread right across the country."
The Prime Minister said that a 'critical mass' of people within cities 'amplifies ideas, business and jobs'. Northern cities, he added, should strive to achieve that critical mass.
I spent today in the North West and - in this clip - I explain how we'll deliver a #NorthernPowerhouse: https://t.co/HEMceDDQQI
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) January 8, 2015
Downing Street said that in 2013 the north west had the joint fastest growth in output per head in the UK and has seen an average of 200 more people in employment per day over the past year.
During the address, Chancellor George Osborne stated the intention to create 100,000 new jobs for the region, alongside installing 75,000 children in 'outstanding schools' and building 25,000 new homes.
Osborne also pledged to make the North West a world centre of 'scientific innovation', deliver on more devolved powers and an elected mayor for Manchester, as well as making every resident £2,000 better off by 2030. There's the small matter of staying in power for another fifteen years, of course.
The Prime Minister also hailed Allied London's £1bn redevelopment scheme as a perfect example of how public and private bodies can work together.
Allied London entered into a joint venture with Manchester City Council in the summer of 2013 to purchase the 13.5 acre former-ITV site for £26.5m.
The St John's Quarter masterplan seeks to create a 'vibrant creative neighbourhood' consisting of studios, residential properties, leisure, retail and green spaces.
The regeneration project also includes the recently announced 200-suite Manchester Grande 'event hotel' and The Factory, a new £78m arts and theatre space announced by Osborne in December 2014 and due to be completed by 2019.
George Osborne on the Metrolink in 2014
George Osborne, said: “Allied London has an impressive track record of working with the public sector to help shape our vision for the regional economy. Its delivery of Spinningfields has given Manchester an entirely new business district that has brought more and more attention to the city and I expect St. John’s to do the same for residential in the city.
"Initiatives like this are essential to building a Northern Powerhouse for the benefit of local people and businesses as well as the whole UK economy.”
Michael Ingall, chief executive of Allied London, said: “The creation of St. John’s is an extremely exciting project and the Prime Minister and Chancellor being here in Manchester is testament to its importance to the city’s cultural landscape in the next decade and beyond."
Main image, L-R: Suresh Gorasia (Financial Director, Allied London), Andrea George (Commercial Director, Allied London), Prime Minister David Cameron and Jonathan Raine (Associate Director, Allied London).
