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Ministerial visit highlights Cheshire’s role in North Powerhouse

The Minister for Local Growth and the Northern Powerhouse, James Wharton, has highlighted the importance of Cheshire and Warrington in the government’s plans for the Northern Powerhouse.

LEP Board Member and well-known music mogul Pete Waterman welcomed the Northern Powerhouse Minister to the North West to discuss the key growth opportunities across Cheshire and Warrington.

These include plans for HS2 and the major re-development of Crewe, as well as the assets identified along Cheshire’s Science Corridor and the £300million economic regeneration project happening at Chester city centre.

The minister was joined by representatives from the Lancashire, Cumbria and Liverpool LEPs to discuss government’s wider ambition for the Northern Powerhouse.

James Wharton said: “The North West has a major role to play in the success of the Northern Powerhouse and today’s visit has shown just how much is happening on the ground.

“I have been really impressed with the level of close cooperation I have seen today between the private sector, councils and local enterprise partnerships, and I have seen at first hand some really impressive results which are already driving growth.”

The Cheshire and Warrington Enterprise Partnership hosted the minister as he met council Leaders from the three local authorities along with several LEP Board Members to discuss economic opportunity at key locations in the sub-region.

Local authority leaders highlighted the areas where devolved powers could help to accelerate further economic growth across Cheshire and Warrington.

LEP Board Member and Managing Director of TATA Chemicals, Dr Martin Ashcroft, said: “We will continue to explore the opportunities for devolved powers and will work closely with neighbouring LEPs to ensure that Cheshire and Warrington plays a key role in the future of the North.”

The minister’s visit to Birchwood Park showcased the nationally significant nuclear cluster at Warrington.

He also toured the new facilities at the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) co-funded High Growth Centre at Thornton Science Park in Ellesmere Port, meeting several energy and advanced engineering SMEs and start-ups based at the site.

Finally the minister headed to Jodrell Bank, now the HQ for the world’s largest telescope - the Square Kilometre Array Project - to discuss the science and innovation contribution to growth with Director of The Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, Teresa Anderson.

Potential ERDF and Enterprise Zone bids were also on the agenda.

The minister also visited Coleg Cambria in Deeside within North Wales, where he was met by the college’s Principal and Chief Executive David Jones OBE. A roundtable discussion then took place around cross-border collaboration with Alun Cairns MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Wales, and partners from Cheshire and Warrington and North East Wales. The purpose of the visit being to discuss the contribution of the Mersey Dee area of North East Wales and West Cheshire to the Northern Powerhouse.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .