We have all heard of the North – South divide with the United Kingdom and many will say it’s because it’s so grim up north.
Political leaders based in the North of England have voiced their concerns to the government over the disparity in transport funding between the North and South, the leaders believe it is vital to the UK economy to continue to invest in the Northern Powerhouse.
Leaders from Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, and Newcastle have called on the government to address the long-term imbalances in transport funding and deliver the rail services that people in the North have been promised.
‘Investing in the Northern Powerhouse means investing in Britain’
The concerns could be well-founded as transport secretary Chris Grayling announced an agreement had been reached for the Crossrail 2 project in southeast England.
“I think it’s vital that [the] government continues to invest in the Northern Powerhouse to continue to boost the economy and attract foreign investors to the region,” said James Bloom, managing director of development finance at Masthaven.
James is concerned that the funding the government had planned focused too much on Manchester.
“It’s important that any further funds reach other areas and [are] not just concentrated in a few key places.
“For instance, Greater Manchester is getting nearly twice as much funding as Leeds, which has a similar sized population.
“I fear an east/west divide and I’d like to see the government address this when it considers where funds are distributed in the future.”
“Major infrastructure developments – depending on the state of the economy – do invariably help increase demand for housing in certain areas further away from London and we would subsequently expect values to rise in these areas.
“There is no doubt an attraction here for development finance lenders – both old and new – as we have already seen lenders being attracted by the return in these areas and lured by the uplift created in various large-scale investments.
“Good examples of this are Crossrail and the major transport improvements made recently to Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, and Norfolk, where we have seen a substantial increase in property values.”
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