The Northern Arc: A Liverpool/Manchester vanity project or genuine driver of growth?

Dear readers — welcome to your Monday briefing. We hope you enjoyed your weekend, especially if you found yourself bathed in the ubiquitous blue smoke, chanting and violin covers of the Z-Cars theme around the Walton area. (Liverpool fans, your turn is coming too — the Premier League champions will of course enjoy their victory parade a week today.)

Catch up and coming up:

• Last week, we published the second instalment of our new series, Answers in The Post. In it, Laurence dug into why Birkenhead Central has such a high unemployment rate. It got plenty of you talking in the comments, and was even retweeted by Times columnist Fraser Nelson. “Fascinating article on poverty in Birkenhead,” he wrote. Read it here.
• And over the weekend, Liverpool’s finest David Lloyd returned to our pages for a fascinating piece about what the city could learn from Essen, Germany’s energy capital. 
• Coming up this week, Laurence heads to Sefton Park in the run up to BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, to find out whether huge events like this help or hinder the local community. Want to share your own thoughts for the piece? Email him on laurence@livpost.co.uk. 

The big story: Is the Northern Arc a vanity project or genuine driver of growth?

Top line: Steve Rotheram and Andy Burnham want closer links between the two cities, as well as Lancashire, Yorkshire, and North Wales. But the devil is in the details.

Context: In April this year, the Liverpool-Manchester Railway (LMR) Board — a body co-chaired by Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram and his friend and Greater Manchester counterpart Andy Burnham — set out their stall for the “Northern Arc”, an attempt to improve transport connections and stimulate economic success across the north. Central to this project is a “growth corridor” reliant on the new LMR itself: a new train service linking Liverpool and Manchester. 

Who’s on the LMR Board? In addition to the two mayors, the vice chairs are Liverpool City Council leader Liam Robinson and his Manchester equivalent Bev Craig. Also on the board are Anthony Burns, Louise Gittins, Nick Mannion, Hans Mundry and Tom Ross — respectively, the leaders of Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire East, Warrington and Trafford councils. Finally, Chris Woodroofe, the managing director of Manchester Airport, and Claudio Veritiero, the Port of Liverpool CEO, are also board members.

Just what is a “growth corridor”? It may sound like a hallway from a David Cronenberg film, but this concept is more like the “Golden Triangle” of Oxford, Cambridge and London — an integrated geographical area where economic development is mutually beneficial between the component parts. The idea is to link geographically disparate sectors: for example, Manchester’s “Atom Valley” R&D scheme with Liverpool’s life sciences development, or the BBC’s regional home in Manchester with Liverpool’s creative industries and media production. 

Hang on, isn’t there already a Liverpool-Manchester railway? Yes — in fact, the original Liverpool and Manchester railway (we’ll call it L&MR to distinguish it from the hypothetical LMR) was the first intercity railway in the world, opened in 1830. Although the opening day was calamitous, the project itself stimulated successful financial connections between the two cities. The L&MR was the first link in a transport chain that enabled the next stage of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. In their prospectus released this month, the LMR Board say they are consciously “following in the footsteps” of these early railway pioneers to modernise routes and connect investment zones. 

So how will the LMR be different? The LMR Board’s prospectus claims that the current average train journey between Liverpool and Manchester is just under an hour. The faster train (which both Abi and Laurence always try to catch to Mill Media Co meetings) can only run twice an hour due to rail congestion. The LMR will dispatch services between the cities every 10 minutes, with travel time closer to the half-hour mark. 

How will this lead to growth? The LMR Board thinks they’ve identified six “hubs” of employment, innovation, high-value economic activity, and housing development which will mutually benefit from quicker transport routes, especially when it comes to connecting people to jobs. This would mean links between Liverpool Lime Street, Warrington Bank Quay, Chester, Crewe, Manchester Airport, and Manchester Piccadilly. A seventh, a “Liverpool Gateway” station, would be built between Liverpool city centre and Warrington, allowing the LMR to better serve businesses like Ford, JLR, AstraZeneca, CSL Seqirus and Inovyn.

What are the costs and benefits? The prospectus is aimed at potential investors, both governmental and private. As such, the benefits are stressed. The board claims that this Liverpool to Manchester section of the Northern Arc has the potential to add £90 billion output to the UK’s economy by 2040, and just the construction of the LMR will add £15 billion in gross value and create 22,000 jobs. 

By the time you’ve parsed the redundant celebratory language (according to the board’s prospectus, Manchester has an “increasingly impressive skyline” while Lime Street is “the world's oldest operational Grand Terminus station”) or business-friendly jargon (“quarters”, “hubs”, “zones”, and “corridors” feature prominently) it’s tricky to find exactly how these figures have been arrived at. 

Is this just for businesses then? The board’s prospectus identifies a number of individuals this could benefit, but these are really just cartoon characters: “the Sixth-Former from Huyton”; “The Twenty-Something from Greater Manchester”. 

Has this worked anywhere else? Apart from the Oxford-Cambridge-London example, there is also the Mainport policy in the Netherlands. This attempted to expand the international significance of the Port of Rotterdam and Schiphol Airport through a high-speed rail link between Rotterdam and Amsterdam and a better freight link to Germany. The LMR Board see this Dutch “Golden Triangle” as another model, with the Port of Liverpool and Manchester Airport standing in for Rotterdam and Schiphol respectively. 

Bottom line: The LMR Board’s prospectus is remarkably candid about the current state of intercity travel in this country. Problems mentioned include infrequent and persistently unreliable services, fragmented routes and rail congestion. A word not used anywhere in the 6–page document is “fare” — UK passengers pay two and a half times as much as their European counterparts. Whether the LMR would offer less aggressive rates for travellers is not clear. But all this has resulted in UK cities — especially in the north — becoming more isolated from each other than European cities of comparative size and importance. If the “Northern Arc” could in any way alleviate this, then it may be beneficial socioeconomically. 

Another problem the prospectus addresses is the North-South divide. The UK has an almost unique reliance on London as a political and financial capital, the only urban centre close to being a global city. As the fastest-growing city in the country, Greater Manchester is in a stronger position than Birmingham or Glasgow to counterbalance South-East dominance, but only if it can bring Liverpool, Leeds, and other Northern cities within its sphere. That’s what the Northern Arc seems designed to do. 

Unfortunately, many readers will have heard all this before, but George Osborne’s “Northern Powerhouse” project turned out to be more a slogan than a viable economic model. At least the “Northern Arc” has a spine — the LCR railway — but only time will tell if investment can add a fuller anatomy. 

What do you think about the Northern Arc? Let us know below in the comments.

Photo of the week

Water Street in the Spring ‘Golden Hour’ sunshine. Photo submitted by one of our readers, Peter Kane.

Have a photo to share? Email it to editor@livpost.co.uk.

Your Post briefing

Another update from the Big Help empire: the Charity Commission announced it has issued protective orders “to ensure Big Help Project's assets and/or funds are protected”. This has a knock-on effect on a separate, for-profit company called Big Help Group Ltd and thus indirectly, on Southport Football Club. Big Help Group Ltd is part of the sprawling empire of nearly 30 companies and charities that former Labour councillor Peter Mitchell controlled. Big Help Group Ltd bought Southport FC in late 2023, renaming its stadium the “Big Help stadium”. This week, new owners announced they had bought Southport FC. However, the Charity Commission appears to believe there is a risk that charity funds and assets have been transferred to Big Help Group Ltd. If so, then the sale of Southport FC might affect the interests of the charity. The Charity Commission's temporary, protective measures cover any proceeds from the sale of Southport FC, and prevent Big Help group from disposing of any funds without the Commission's prior consent. The Commission emphasises that “the purpose of these orders is not to prevent the sale of Southport FC, but to ensure we can protect funds or assets that belong to the charity”. A Big Help Group spokesperson denied that any “charity funds have ever been expended on Southport or used to support the purchase of the club.” But the chaotic state of the wider Big Help empire's governance makes the Charity Commission's caution easy to understand. The bad news just keeps on coming for Mitchell and co…

Everton have played their final game at Goodison Park. The farewell celebrations — judging by a pre-noon tipsy Peter Reid — began long before kickoff and lasted into the evening. There was even a game — Everton beat bottom side Southampton 2-0, with a grace from Iliman Ndiaye. But with the Toffees safe from relegation and not in competition for European places, for once passion, colour, and emotion were more important than results. Tributes came in from former players and even opposition coaches about Goodison’s unique atmosphere. To read The Post’s farewell to the Victorian ground — which will now host Everton’s women’s side — click here. As for the club’s new Bramley-Moore Dock stadium, over the weekend it was announced that local law firm Hill Dickinson won the naming rights, meaning next season Everton will play their home games at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Not exactly catchy, although Laurence has heard a shout going around to nickname the ground “the Dixie.” For his report on how Bramley-Moore could be an asset to the city at large, click here. 

Deja vu? Former Warrington MP Andy Carter has called for resignations in the council after an "incredibly critical" report into the authority. Ministerial envoys are being sent to Warrington after a best value report recommended appointing commissioners to its council — just like in its neighbouring city, Liverpool. The report had been ordered over concerns raised about the council's commercial decisions and debts, and determined the authority did not have the "will and capacity" to make changes without external leadership. "I think that probably tells you very clearly that there needs to be a senior level resignation,” Carter said. “I'd expect that to come from the chief executive and those people that put forward these schemes that have put the finances of Warrington Council into such a difficult position." A spokesman for Warrington Borough Council said they would not be responding to Carter's call for resignations.

And huge news for those of us unfortunate enough to have been hit by a dreaded Merseyrail fine. A new contactless system to purchase train tickets on the network has now entered its testing phase. The tap-and-go system was originally meant to be introduced last autumn, and is part of a £10 million investment in the rail network. When it’s brought in, passengers will be able to use a Metro Card linked to their bank account to pay for journeys, eliminating the need for tickets to be printed. Hurrah!

Post Picks

🍺Ska fans at the ready! Bad Manners are playing Hangar 34 on Tuesday. Tickets can be found here, but don’t include a can of Special Brew…

🍷On Thursday, SUP are hosting a Spring wine tasting, led by the fabulous folk at Inspiring Wines. Tasting begins at 7.30pm — find out more here.

☕On Saturday, Alerta Coffee is hosting a party with free coffee, pastries and live DJs. It’s running from 11.30am to 2.30pm — check it out here.

🎨Then on Sunday, LEAF on Bold Street will run its usual life drawing class at 5pm. All materials are provided — tickets here.

Recommended reads

A recommended listen, instead. Abi appeared on Private Eye’s Page 94 podcast this week talking all about our investigation into Big Help Project. We’re up for the Paul Foot Investigative Journalism Award for those investigations — with the winner announced tomorrow evening. Stay tuned and keep us in your prayers…

And a great piece in Unherd on Everton. Despotic Inroad — the nom de guerre of an unknown local contrarian — has penned a fun and blistering goodbye to Goodison Park. Don’t be fooled by the provocative title: this is more critical of the blue side than any non-Toffee would dare to be.