Extract from the Financial Times
By Andrew Bounds, North of England Correspondent Published: September 3 2008
Britain’s north-western cities have significantly increased their attractiveness as places to do business in recent years, according to a survey published on Wednesday.
The resurgence of cities such as Salford, Manchester and Liverpool has led to jumps in their ratings in the annual UK Competitiveness Index, which ranks 407 local areas, according to what they offer to growing businesses and entrepreneurs.
After 20 years of government-funded regeneration programmes, the most successful areas have attracted businesses by improving the qualifications of school-leavers, raising skill levels and helping unemployed people back into the workforce. They have also worked to attract knowledge-based industries and encourage entrepreneurship – increasing incomes and output per head.
In the north-west, much of the improvement has been led by the regional development agency, which has targeted digital and creative industries, attracting organisations such as the BBC to Salford and Playbox, the video gaming company, to Liverpool. It offers support on training and infrastructure, as well as helping improve quality of life in the region by supporting initiatives such as Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture.
The survey, carried out by the Centre for International Competitiveness at the University of Wales Institute in Cardiff, comes just weeks after a Conservative think-tank recommended abandoning attempts to regenerate northern cities and promoting migration to the south.
Professor Robert Huggins, who has compiled the index since 2000, said further migration to the south would only accentuate existing problems. “Our research strongly suggests that urban development in the UK is achieving a significant degree of success.”
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