Irwin Mitchell Welcomes Announcement

Thirteen projects from across the North of England providing over £5bn of investment opportunities to the Chinese have been published today as part of plans to support the Government’s drive to create a Northern Powerhouse.

Launched as part of the eighth UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD), the 13 opportunities include the doubling the size of MediaCityUK, investing in the Sirius Minerals potash mine in North Yorkshire and developing a major mixed-use site in Sunderland.

The other projects being offered to investors are Future Carrington in Trafford; the Kampus development in Manchester and the Stockport Exchange in Stockport.

The AeroCentre in Doncaster; Kirkstall Forge in Leeds; the Liverpool Waters scheme in Liverpool; Protos – Ellesmere Port in Cheshire; Pall Mall in Liverpool; the Unity regeneration scheme in Doncaster and the Advance Manufacturing Innovation District in Sheffield, are also included.

Chancellor Philip Hammond said: "As we seek to take the golden era of UK-China relations to the next step, we have a major opportunity to open up investment opportunities across the Northern Powerhouse.

"This portfolio, opening up billions of pounds of investment ready projects to Chinese investors, will support our work to grow and create jobs across the north, as well as underpin our ambitions to bring world class infrastructure to every corner of Britain."

Andrew Percy, the Northern Powerhouse minister, said: "Building the Northern Powerhouse is at the heart of our efforts to create an economy that works for everyone.

"Investors from abroad know that the North has some of the world's best and most talented entrepreneurs and businesses, and today we're showcasing 13 oven-ready opportunities to them which could create thousands of jobs for years to come."

Expert Opinion

“It is good to see a real effort and drive to encourage further investment into the North of England. Our UK Powerhouse report, which we published earlier this year, highlighted the need for international investment in our infrastructure and found that the North is more reliant than the South East when it comes to generating future economic growth. It is an important part of the jigsaw for economic rebalancing and we certainly welcome this important development.” Laurence Gavin - Partner