Mayors unite to back £90 billion growth plan to ‘supercharge’ the North

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is making a bold pitch to the government: back a new “Northern Arc” – a major infrastructure and development plan to link the North West with Yorkshire – and unleash the full economic power of the North.

This week, Burnham and Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram are in London, meeting Treasury ministers, MPs, and business leaders to push for urgent investment in this North-led vision.

Their message is clear: if the government is serious about levelling up, it’s time to invest where it matters.

What is the Northern Arc?

The Northern Arc will be a growth corridor stretching from Liverpool, through Greater Manchester, across the Pennines, and into West and South Yorkshire – all powered by a new wave of transport links, innovation, and clean energy projects.

It’s not just a railway line or a business park. It’s an ambitious plan to knit together thriving sectors across the region – from AI and life sciences to advanced manufacturing – while tackling the North-South divide in productivity and prosperity.

Why now?

Greater Manchester has been one of the UK’s fastest-growing regions, clocking 3.1% average growth each year since 2015. It’s outpaced other regions despite long-standing underinvestment in transport.

But Burnham warns that progress is at risk of stalling without new infrastructure to connect key Northern growth hubs.

“We’ve proven the potential of this region,” he said. “Now imagine what we could do with real backing. The Northern Arc is the next chapter – and it’s a prize worth chasing for the whole country.”

Big gains for Britain

New analysis suggests that, with the right investment, the Northern Arc could boost the UK economy by a whopping £90 billion by 2040. That’s even more than the £78 billion predicted from the Oxford-Cambridge Arc, which already enjoys full government support.

So why not back the North too?

The region is ready. The North West section of the Arc – covering Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Warrington – is home to 5.4 million people and already generates £150 billion a year.

With international gateways like the Port of Liverpool and Manchester Airport, it’s also perfectly placed for global trade.

At the heart of the Northern Arc vision is a commitment to low-carbon innovation. Clean energy projects like the proposed Mersey tidal power scheme and the HyNet hydrogen network would transform how the North is powered – and create thousands of jobs.

In Greater Manchester, developments like Atom Valley could bring 20,000 jobs and 7,000 homes. Meanwhile, Liverpool’s Life Sciences Innovation Zone is expected to attract up to £800 million in investment and 8,000 jobs in the next decade.

Speaking at the Innovation Zero World Congress – the UK’s biggest net-zero event – both mayors are laying out how the North can lead the UK’s green revolution.

Steve Rotheram put it simply: “This is about unlocking the talents of our people, powering our communities with clean energy, and connecting opportunity across our towns and cities.”

Closing the North-South productivity gap

The North-South productivity gap currently stands at 27%. Without investment, it could grow even wider.

But the Northern Arc isn’t just about fairness – it’s about smart economics. Burnham argues that failing to support growth in the North is a missed opportunity for the whole country.

“We’re not asking for charity,” he said. “We’re offering a plan – one that can power a greener, fairer economy from the North up.”

With both Greater Manchester and Liverpool already leading the way on climate action – from retrofitting homes to greener public transport – the building blocks are already in place.

Now, the mayors want the government to help connect the dots and unlock the full potential of the region.