Maximising benefits for the North

The UK infrastructure industry might be forgiven for being downhearted as we approach the New Year, with confidence in major project and programme delivery at, what feels like, an all-time low. The cancellation of Phase 2 on HS2 is a recent – and very public – manifestation of this.

The negative repercussions of the HS2 decision directly impact on businesses that develop, deliver and operate in the infrastructure sector, and more indirectly on the wider business community.

However, the decision also affects the places in the North that would have been served by the new high speed rail link. As someone who was born, lives and works in the region, it feels very close to home.

The additional capacity and connectivity that would have been delivered by the whole of HS2 is still much needed. However, the ambition is that Network North, which includes building Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) in full, will deliver significant benefits. King Charles III described it in his State Opening of Parliament in November as “improving the journeys that people make most often”.

I am a strong advocate for Northern Powerhouse Rail and the fast, direct link it would create between Leeds, Bradford and Manchester. Its construction would double the size of the available labour market, potentially raising productivity by 6%, the employment rate by 1.5% and gross value added (GVA) in the North by about 8% over 10 years.

Building NPR and the many projects singled out under Network North present real opportunities for the region to remove transport bottlenecks. However, a whole systems approach will be needed to ensure these proposals truly deliver on our region’s aspirations. These investments must also go hand-in-hand with developing skills in the construction sector to ensure the loss of Phase 2 on HS2 does not mean we miss out on developing new talent as we had originally expected.

We need a deeper conversation about the role infrastructure plays in addressing major challenges.

Denise Bower

Group external engagement director

There are further changes to the infrastructure landscape anticipated in the next 12 months with a General Election due before January 2025. To take advantage of this we need a deeper conversation on the role infrastructure plays in addressing huge challenges such as raising productivity and delivering economic growth, improving our climate resilience and decarbonising and realising social benefits.

This is why I’m optimistic. Because as we look into 2024 there are big opportunities both nationally and regionally in the North. These opportunities are not just in terms of transport projects. They go beyond on-going plans for major investment in the water, energy, health, education and defence sectors too.

There are also great opportunities in terms of seriously addressing and resolving questions about how the UK delivers major projects over the long-term. This debate is crucial and we must do better on this as an industry. We look forward to continuing to take part.

This article first appeared in NCE magazine on the 19th December 2023.