A £1.7bn investment package targeting the North’s tech and industrial strengths has been unveiled as part of the government’s wider £2.3bn plan for major city regions.
The funding, announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves following her Mais lecture earlier this week, will support digital, advanced technology and defence sectors across key northern hubs including Manchester, Liverpool and South Yorkshire.
Manchester is set to receive hundreds of millions of pounds to develop a new digital campus, expected to house almost 9,000 jobs. The Manchester Digital Campus will bring together around 8,800 civil servants and ministers, acting as a centre for government operations in the North West while “solidifying Manchester’s status as a digital hub”.
In the Liverpool City Region, £51m has been allocated to establish a National Cryogenics Facility at Daresbury, designed to position the North West as a global hub for quantum technology, healthcare and fusion research.
South Yorkshire will receive £50m through a Defence Growth Deal aimed at strengthening research, development and engineering in next-generation defence materials.
“For too long the North has been sidelined, denied investment and had its potential held back,” said Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
“Backing its industrial strengths like Manchester’s thriving digital sector and Sheffield’s cutting-edge defence manufacturing will boost the region’s economy and place it at the centre of our national growth.
“In a changing world we have the right economic plan: stability, investment and reform to build a stronger more secure economy.”
The investment forms part of the first phase of the government’s Northern Growth Strategy, focused on supporting high-growth sectors, attracting private investment and improving living standards across the region.
Alongside the core funding, the British Business Bank will invest more than £150m into high-potential companies in northern clusters, while the Office for Investment will work to attract global financial services firms to West Yorkshire, building on the region’s “Northern Square Mile”.
Regional leaders said the package represents a significant vote of confidence in the North’s economic potential.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said the plans would help position the city-region among the world’s leading tech hubs.
“By backing the North’s industrial strengths the chancellor is getting behind our plans to re-industrialise the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution,” he said.
“Manchester city centre is home to our thriving digital, cyber and AI cluster, with one of Europe’s fastest growing digital and tech economies and the largest AI sector by headcount outside London.
“The Manchester Digital Campus will put us among the world’s top tier of tech cities, creating high-value jobs for our residents and opportunities for our businesses.”
Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram added:
“Today’s announcement is a real vote of confidence in the North – and in places like the Liverpool City Region that have the talent and ambition to lead the way.
“We’re already building something special here – and backing projects like the new national cryogenics facility at Daresbury puts us right at the forefront of the global quantum race, bringing high-quality jobs and investment into our area.”
South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard said the funding would support the region’s long-term economic ambitions:
“This week the Chancellor has shown that this Government is right behind us in that mission. The confirmation of £50 million for our Defence Growth Deal is a huge vote of confidence in the work we do here in South Yorkshire and our contribution to the security of this country.”
The government said further detail on its Northern Growth Strategy will be set out in the autumn, as it continues to work with mayors, local leaders and businesses to drive regional growth.
