The eight City Regions of the North

Transformational economic growth in the North will happen in the eight City Regions because this is where the majority of the North's economic assets are located.  Between them they contain 90% of the North's population and over 90% of its wealth creation.

It was the Northern Way Growth Strategy that first articulated the importance of City Regions to the North's economy.  The Northern Way was also the first in the UK to formalise academic thinking on the city region economic concept  translating it into practical delivery.

The key assets in the North lie in the major cities and in the areas of influence surrounding those cities. In order to understand how City Region economies work with their variable geographies, local authorities have come together to identify ways to maximise the potential of the City Regions. Through the preparation of City Regional Development Plans (CRDPs), new partnerships that cover a broader geography that extends beyond traditional established groupings.

What is a City Region?

The City Region concept has been around for some years but The Northern Way has for the first time set out  the benefits of this approach.  City Regions are based on the economic footprint of a core city or cities.

They represent the interconnection of markets for jobs, housing and the supply of goods or services, rather than the limitations of administrative boundaries.

Through skilled analysis of the data and evidence around these economic flows as part of the CRDP process, the northern City Region will be able to collaborate more effectively and deliver more strategically to capture the benefits of private and public sector investment. It will also contribute to the economic transformation of the City Region and the North as a whole.

The Regional Economic Strategies and the Regional Spatial Strategies of the North East, the North West and the Yorkshire & the Humber regions now acknowledge the role of the City Regions as key drivers of economic growth in the North.

All three northern Regional Development Agencies will be considering whether they need to make changes to their structures to reflect City Region development even more closely.

Each of the City Regions has produced its own Develoment Programme (click here to view) to analyse economic opportunities and prepare implementation plans. These were published alongside the Northern Way Business Plan in June 2005. As understanding of the City Regions has developed and regional policy has evolved they have been reviewed and updates (click here to view) were published in September 2006.

These Development Programmes will play a major part in closing the £30 billion productivity gap.

For more information click here to read 'Talking about City Regions' (Focus In: issue 3, pages 7,8,9,10)