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Northern Powerhouse or Northern Powersham?

Bolton Town Hall, north of England

Northern Powerhouse

For some UK citizens, the announcement of millions of pounds being injected into the rail and road networks of the North is a welcome plan and will benefit the property market substantially.

With the Chancellor publicising funding of a £60 million HS3 (a high speed rail link between Leeds and Manchester), the improved journey times that this will provide are something those who regularly commute in the North would relish.

Further plans to create an 18-mile trans-Pennine road tunnel between Sheffield and Manchester have also been explored, costing £75 million and, once completed, would be the longest road tunnel in Europe.

Both the aforementioned plans are still in early stage development but, once given the green light, it is estimated that billions of pounds will be siphoned into the expansion of the region in coming decades.

Rejuvenating tired transport links has experts suggesting that prices and demand for property in the affected regions will increase, which is exciting news for those selling. However, this prospect is less attractive for first-time buyers who currently benefit from the cheaper property prices in the North and will prove a hurdle when they’re trying to get a foot on the rung of the property ladder.

Head of housing at KPMG, Jan Crosby, forecasts an influx of foreign buyers to the region due to the improved connectivity in the region and to other parts of the UK.

Jan commented: “With HS3, improved road links and a trans-Pennine tunnel all garnering the Chancellor’s support, occupier demand for homes and business in the surrounding areas will rise, which we can expect to attract international property investors looking to place their money outside of the capital’s heated market.”

The policies initiated by Osborne will help to bridge regional disparities, with many championing the effort and suggesting that the North has always been presented as lagging, and that these changes may be the needed boost to propel the region out of the social rut. Many agree that the North has often been the victim of political caprice from previous governments and the Conservatives have opened a window of opportunity for devolution, and businesses are galvanised to back the momentum behind this.

Northern Powersham

Despite a powerful mantra and plans to essentially splash some cash on the North, many are sceptical, claiming the Northern Powerhouse agenda to be simply nothing more than a rebranding exercise rather than concrete plans.

Anger has surfaced amongst critics due to the government painting the North as a potential affluent bubble when, in reality, this may be far from the truth. A recent study, conducted by the Josef Rowntree Foundation which works to inspire social change, painted a contradictory image. Ten of the UK’s most struggling cities are in the North – with Rochdale, Burnley, Bolton, Blackburn and Hull leading the list of places enveloped in a downward spiral of low employment and ever-increasing population.

Furthermore, analysis has suggested that, while the Tories are claiming huge cash flows being pumped into the North, calculations found that the North may, in fact, have been stripped of £3.5 billion following George Osborne’s plans.

The analysis, which was conducted by Sigoma, which represents most of the large towns throughout England, indicated that, since the Conservative government came in to power, billions of pounds have been cut from Northern councils, which has provoked the flagship scheme of revival to be mocked as nothing more than a marketing exercise.

This criticism is further backed up by the fact that, despite numerous speeches and press releases, the Treasury has only absorbed the cost of two schemes – both road upgrades:

  1. an improvement of the Knutsford to Bowdon stretch of the A556, costing £192 million and interestingly part of a road that runs through Mr Osborne’s Cheshire constituency of Tatton
  2. the transformation of a stretch of road that includes parts of the M60 and M62 – introducing variable speed limits and use of the hard shoulder in peak times to create a smart motorway.

Lastly, it has been noted that half of the projects due for completion in the next five years were originally launched prior to the Northern Powerhouse initiative, many of which were started under the Labour government. It appears that Mr Osborne has taken these policies under his wing and is taking credit for previous endeavours.

With many contesting that the Tories have continually let the North of England down with severe cuts to services, increased deprivation and lower levels of investment, it is understandable that the nation is questioning any plans put forward.

In this circumstance, the public (particularly those in the North) will only feel gratified once measurable change can be seen to be truly benefitting the regions.

With the popular cliché of ‘talk is cheap’ ringing in the ears of many citizens, many are hoping that Mr Osborne’s plans will actually see fruition and a substantial positive impact will be felt in the North.

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