Liverpool City Region has just unveiled its ambitious ‘Innovating For Growth: Corporate Plan 2024-2028’, setting the stage for a transformative period of economic growth over the next four years.
Phil Winckles, Head of our Liverpool office, delves into this forward-thinking document aimed at driving economic growth through innovation, investment, and improvement.
This is an exhilarating time to be in Liverpool. The city is leveraging its strengths and building on the momentum gained since receiving devolved powers and Labour’s victory in the General Election. There is much greater optimism and support towards new development, from both the private and public sector, reflecting the region’s robust economic faith.
The ‘Innovating For Growth: Corporate Plan 2024-2028’ underscores Liverpool’s commitment to fostering inclusive growth and innovation. This ambitious blueprint aims to make the region the best place to grow up, raise a family, and grow a business, all underpinned by principles of sustainability, equality, diversity, and inclusion.
Gabriel Davies in our office recently participated in an edition of The RICS Podcast with Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram, and you can’t help but be impressed by the Mayor’s driving ambition and desire to make a real difference in the area, both in the short-term and long-term. His relationship with Andy Burnham should also assist in developing connections with Manchester and the wider North West region.
Achieving this vision requires creating the right conditions for private and public sector investment. Diversifying Liverpool’s economy through strategic investments in health and life sciences, digital and creative industries, and advanced manufacturing is crucial. The plan aims to leverage the region’s historical strengths while embracing new opportunities, positioning Liverpool as a hub of high-tech innovation. There is evidence of this moving forward via the increasing development at Paddington Village, although a lack of Grade A office supply within the city centre remains a stumbling block in the short-term.
A prime example of this forward-thinking approach is the creation of the Life Sciences Innovation Zone. Central to the plan is a vision of inclusivity, which will be achieved by improving health and reducing health inequalities, fostering a more productive and prosperous region. The blueprint emphasises tackling long-standing inequalities and removing barriers to opportunity, partly through the establishment of a Race Equality Hub—a timely initiative given the recent civil unrest in the UK.
Enhancing access to education, employment, and skills development is vital. One major obstacle to business growth is the availability of employees with the right skills and a willingness to learn. Liverpool aims to build on its existing visitor economy by developing a place brand to attract young people to carve out their careers in the city, encouraging participation in graduate schemes and apprenticeships.
The plan also targets opportunities to achieve net zero objectives. The Mersey Tidal barrage will play a key role in this, creating green jobs and apprenticeships by building a tidal barrage across the Mersey Estuary. Housing is another key focus, with plans to improve delivery and accessibility. The new Government’s pledge to create 1.5 million new homes nationwide during the next Parliament and to open consultation through the National Planning Policy Framework is encouraging, although the feasibility of how this will be delivered remains to be seen.
As a firm, we have already seen the positive steps on projects we are involved with, notably the successful grant application by Peel with Homes England for unlocking the development of Central Docks in Liverpool Waters. This project aims to create 2,350 new homes along with commercial, retail, leisure, and community infrastructure, and a public park.
Another important aspect of the Corporate Plan is the pledge to decarbonise homes through retrofitting and heat networks, assisting in achieving nationwide net zero objectives. Improving Liverpool’s transport infrastructure is also crucial, creating a more accessible, cost-effective, and efficient city region. Bus franchising will ensure publicly-controlled bus services, providing a more dependable public transport system.
The completion of the 214km Liverpool City Region Connect ultrafast broadband network will position the region as one of the most connected in the UK, boosting productivity and accelerating innovation. Liverpool is already one of the most digitally connected city regions, but there is potential to harness and develop this further.
The concept of a ‘Smart City’ is also on the horizon, allowing local government to make decisions based on real-time data gathered by the city itself. This would be an exciting step forward, building on the devolved powers Liverpool already possesses.
It will be fascinating to watch these developments unfold over the next four years, laying the foundations for a transformed and thriving Liverpool City Region.
