North ‘could become home of new Green Industrial Revolution’
BILLIONS of pounds in private sector investment could spark an eco-industrial revolution in the North of England, a report claims.
The effect could be comparable to London’s Big Bang boom under Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, says the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS).
Investment incentives, planning reforms and other pro-growth measures would help create thousands of high-quality jobs, its study argues.
By attracting high-productivity industries such as green technology, the North could become the home for Boris Johnson’s much-trumpeted Green Industrial Revolution, the think tank claims today.
Balance
The study – backed by the influential Northern Research Group (NRG) of Tory MPs – argues that London and the South-east have monopolised investment, talent and attention in recent decades.
The Northern economy is three quarters the size of England’s average, when measured by Gross Value Added per head.
But the paper sets out recommendations on how to redress the balance. The Centre today calls for an Initial Investment Incentive of a cash payment to attract investments and global capital to the region.
This could be focused on green growth and on meeting the target of net-zero emissions – by giving incentives for investment in new gigafactories, for example.
The paper’s authors want planning applications which create more than 100 permanent jobs in the region to be given automatic approval if they have not been determined within two months.
They also favour a fast-track planning process for entrepreneurs with £20million to plough into the local economy, or whose investment will unlock more 250 jobs. Jake Berry, Tory MP and NRG chairman, said: “At the last election millions of Northern voters broke with tradition by voting for the Conservative Party.
“The Prime Minister needs to recognise that they did so not only to deliver Brexit, but to voice the systemic disadvantages felt in many communities that were tired of being neglected in favour of London and the South-east. “The measures we have put forward will help the Prime Minister and this Government to ‘level up’ the economy and help make the North build back better as one of the most investable places.”
Nick King, research fellow at the CPS, said: “What the North needs is the scale of investment – and dynamism – that only the private sector can bring. There is a huge amount of domestic and global capital ready to be invested.
“Our recommendations are designed to make the North of England one of the most investable places on the planet and to unleash this capital through a Northern Big Bang.”