Member Article

North East Northern Powerhouse insight: Jim Mawdsley, Generator CEO

In an ongoing series, Jamie Hardesty is talking to North East business leaders in an attempt to understand the region’s feelings towards the government’s Northern Powerhouse initiative.

This investigation, surveying regional business opinion, hopes to add coherence to the concept and today we present the views of Generator CEO Jim Mawdsley, who weighs in on the digital aspect of the Powerhouse.

Having recently acquired the North East’s Creative & Digital networking outlet Digital Union, business support organisation Generator last month brought together some of the region’s digital players together in a bid to drive the Union forward.

What does the Northern Powerhouse mean to you?

We have operated across the North with partners in Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds etc. for a number of years now and we hope that the Northern Powerhouse will present opportunities for us to collaborate on more joint projects that lead to business growth in the Creative and Digital sector.

If we have more control and power over decision-making then these joint projects will be easier to implement - we know what works.

Are there signs of the Northern Powerhouse starting to bear fruit in the region?

No not yet and I am concerned that we may miss out somewhat. I’m hoping this is just my usual anxiety about initiatives of this type but I think for the region to gain as much as possible we really must be getting a grip of and setting the agenda in areas we feel important.

Has the government done enough to convince you of its commitment to Osborne’s vision?

Again, not yet. We know Manchester are all about ‘bigging themselves up’ and they are good at it. We need to do more of this and its one of the key objectives for Digital Union. I think we need to step up and capitalise on opportunities by building on our strengths.

Transport improvement is intrinsic to the Northern Powerhouse. Do you believe that spending billions of infrastructure will improve Northern productivity?

I think continuing to convince businesses to relocate or open offices here due to the low cost of living, alongside relatively low operational costs etc. will improve Northern productivity. At the minute the plan to end the HS2 link at York is disappointing but the fact that it will still cut down travel time will definitely help as I think we will begin to see more Northern satellite offices for businesses based in the South.

Are there any other areas which you believe money should be spent on, ahead of transport?

We will certainly need more appropriate and equipped business space to accommodate the amount of growth that we will experience in the Creative and Digital sector over the coming years and this alongside improved connectivity is vital.

Does the North East need a mayor? If so, who should it be?

If having a mayor means greater economic independence and improved investment from central Government then yes. At the minute I am not particular about who it should be but they must unify the region politically and make the strong case for investment in the region when negotiating with Government

Will the Northern Powerhouse be realised in the North East?

It has to be and I think it will in time but I’d worried that we end up with the crumbs off the table as we spend too much time waiting for decisions to be made. The way things have been recently I have already heard the region being referred to as the ‘Northern Outhouse’ and that isn’t good.

Thanks Jim.