The Northwest of England covers an area of 14,106 km² (bigger than 11 EU member states), is home to over 6.8m people and has an economy worth £120 billion per annum. GVA per head of the population is £17,433. The region is based around the 5 sub regions of Cheshire and Warrington, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside, with economic and business activity focused in the three city-regions of Manchester, Liverpool and Central Lancashire.

The region has excellent national and international connectivity including 3 international airports of Manchester, Liverpool and Blackpool serving over 270 destinations worldwide; West Coast Mainline links to London (Manchester 125 minutes, Liverpool 130 minutes); and a good motorway network. The Port of Liverpool is a major national deep sea gateway.

In excess of 252,000 businesses are based within the Northwest, and Private Sector R&D in the region is one third higher than UK average. The region has internationally competitive sectors in biomedical, advanced engineering and materials (including aerospace, chemicals and automotive), energy and environmental technologies (including nuclear), food and drink, digital and creative industries and business and professional services.

However, the region has 18% fewer businesses than the England average, and a significantly lower start up rate. Employment also runs lower than the England average, with 80,000 more people needed in work to match the average.

The region is home to one of the largest concentration of universities in Western Europe producing 65,000 graduates p.a. The University of Manchester is the largest single site university in Europe. We have the highest number of people with graduate level skills (1.65 million) outside London and the South East. However, the region also has a higher than average number of people with no qualifications.

The region offers an outstanding quality of life with 29% of the region designated as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This contributes to a strong tourism industry, worth £3billion and 18million visits per year.

The region is currently developing an integrated Regional Strategy to act as the blueprint for sustainable economic growth in England’s Northwest. This provides a unique opportunity to bring together spatial, economic, social and environmental strategies and build a new long term vision for the region.

The Northwest is the first English region to begin working on an integrated regional strategy, building on the learning gained in developing the existing Regional Economic Strategy, the Regional Spatial Strategy and the Regional Housing Strategy.

To find out more about the Northwest Regional Strategy please visit the website.