Poor transport links holding region back
Jul 10 2007 by William Green, The Journal
INADEQUATE transport links are holding back Newcastle and Sunderland from matching other cities in the wider North, it was claimed yesterday.
The Centres for Cities think-tank has published a report that ranks Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Sunderland among the worst five performing cities in England, while those such as York and Preston fare much better.
York enjoys excellent mainline rail and motorway links to surrounding areas, and Preston has a fast train service to London, as well as the M6 motorway.
Centre for Cities said bus and rail links in the North-East must be improved to connect parts of the region suffering from lower employment to more successful areas to boost growth.
It said anecdotal evidence suggested residents did not travel as far to jobs as in other parts of the country, possibly because transport links were not good enough, or because of cultural reasons.
Other issues include a lack of qualifications, a “disproportionately” high number of economically inactive people and the need to focus on Newcastle-Gateshead to drive the regional economy.
Centre for Cities director Dermot Finch said there had been huge strides in city centres – such as The Sage and Baltic – but warned there was “unfinished” business in the surrounding areas with the North-East not doing as well.
He said: “The North-East has got a lot of people who don’t have the skills to access jobs locally, and if you had the skills and public transport they would have a better chance of getting work.”
He also underlined the need for good transport with job creation expected to centre on Newcastle-Gateshead.
He said Preston was moving ahead thanks to good transport and universities with niche skills.
But he said growth was uneven with Liverpool being the worst performer and Manchester sitting in the middle of the rankings. Mr Finch also said North-East leaders recognised there were problems and had brought in international experts to compile a study last year. He said his think-tank would be publishing a follow-up study shortly.
The Association of North East Councils (Anec) said better transport was vital and suggested a new high-speed rail network, possibly using 311mph maglev technology, could bring radical change.
A spokesman said: “Improving employment opportunities and skills is also vital to the economic and social well-being of the region.
“Within this context, transport links to access education, skills and job opportunities is important, as is improving the health of people in the North-East.”
Sunderland South MP Chris Mullin said: “None of this is rocket science, these problems are well known. They are being addressed but the difficulty is we are starting from a low base.”
