Networking the North: New report reveals need for better links between cities

Date: 18/03/2008

Small northern towns and cities need to improve their transport and economic links with Greater Manchester and Leeds, or risk falling further behind, according to a new Centre for Cities report, out today.

The City Links report was produced in partnership with Salford University, with the support of the Northern Way.  It reveals that whereas people and firms in smaller towns and cities in the Greater South East are highly networked and connected with London - with close trade and investment links and a healthy exchange of commuters in and out of the capital, many smaller towns and cities in the North have yet to achieve similar gains:

• Over 10% of Reading's working population commute 60 kilometres (km) to London, whereas under 3% of Burnley's residents travel half that distance to work in Manchester.
• The train journey between Manchester and Burnley takes almost three times as long as the train journey between Reading and London, even though Burnley is twice as close.  Burnley's working population earn 10% less than their Manchester counterparts.
• However - not every southern city and town is ‘in the loop'.  Only 2% of Hastings' working population brave the near two hour commute into the capital.  Hastings residents' salaries are £125 below the UK average.
• These differences are fuelling gaps in pay and employment.  Whilst Warrington and Burnley are both just around 30 km from Manchester, four times as many of Warrington's working population commute into Manchester for work.  And its residents are feeling the benefits, earning on average £16.50 per week over the UK average rather than £90 under - as in Burnley.

Centre for Cities and the Northern Way are jointly calling for improved access to larger cities, like Leeds and Greater Manchester.  We need to focus on helping these cities to grow so they can act as economic hubs driving growth across the north. Small cities and towns also need to improve their transport and trading links with their larger neighbours, and find specialisms which complement rather than compete with them. 

Source: State of English Cities, ONS, Annual Population Survey, Network Rail and http://www.convertunits.com.

NB: average journey time to London/Manchester is calculated as an average of times for the first five trains to all Manchester stations from 7.30 on 03/03/2008

Dermot Finch, Director of Centre for Cities said:

"We need to network the north.  Large Northern cities like Leeds and Greater Manchester are on the up, but poor commuter transport networks and weak trade links are stopping this newfound wealth from spilling over into neighbouring towns and cities.

With budgets tightening we should be worried about these smaller cities and towns falling behind.  A prosperous Greater Manchester is vital to the northern economy - as is Leeds.  These cities need continued investment in their transport links and economic development to maintain their success.  If the likes of Burnley and Blackburn can strengthen their ties with nearby larger cities - economic growth will spread across the north and beyond."

Welcoming the report, Andrew Lewis, Director of the Northern Way said,

"The economy of the North reflects an economic geography which developed through our history of dependence on large scale manufacturing.  That's changing over time through sustained investment in people and places.

We need to continue to create the conditions in which communities flourish in a new and very different economic environment, support Northern cities and towns to build on their strengths, and invest in the infrastructure to support our future success."

For more information, please contact:

Rosamund Taylor, Centre for Cities, 0207 803 4316
Mobile: 07876 175 426
r.taylor@centreforcities.org

Notes to editors:

City Links by Paula Lucci and Paul Hildreth is available for download upon request.  Paul Hildreth is a Policy Fellow at the Centre for Sustainable Urban and Regional Futures.

This is the third report from the Centre for Cities on the importance of transport and economic links between cities and towns:

• City Links has found that small cities and towns - like Burnley and Hastings should improve their transport and trading links with larger neighbouring cities - like Greater Manchester and London.
• The case for better transport investment: Agglomeration and growth in the Leeds City Region by Adam Marshall and Chris Webber counted the hidden economic benefits of improving transport links between Leeds City Centre and the surrounding area.
• London Links, by Paula Lucci and Patricia Seex argued that Northern regions could be doing more to develop trade and investment links with London.

The Centre for Cities is an independent urban policy research unit. It is a registered charity (No 1119841) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England (No 6215397). Our main goal is to understand how and why economic growth and change takes place in Britain's cities, and to help cities improve their economic performance.

This independent report was financially supported by the Northern Way.  The Northern Way is a unique partnership, led by the three northern Regional Development Agencies, to support and promote the economic development of the North of England.  The Northern Way's support for this project is part of a wider research and policy development programme, aimed at improving the weight of the North in economic policymaking.