Decision details

The Combined Greater Manchester Authority recently launched a consultation on the Greater Manchester Strategy for 2013-20 setting out what it will do to achieve economic growth and fulfill its economic potential; the consultation ended on 17 June.  Cheshire East Council’s response to this consultation has been agreed at Director level, but requires Portfolio Holder sign-off as well.

A key point made in the Cheshire East response is that it is important for the Strategy to acknowledge Greater Manchester’s geographical neighbours, their relevance to the Strategy and the contributions they can make towards realising the Strategy’s aspirations.   The Strategy currently makes no reference to the Cheshire & Warrington Authorities, or to Merseyside or Lancashire.  In Cheshire East’s case, there are particularly strong economic linkages and shared interests with Greater Manchester, as shown by data on commuting flows, migration flows, industrial composition and research/ HE activity.  The response also emphasises the two-way nature of the relationship - Greater Manchester supports Cheshire East’s economy, as well as vice-versa – and the role that transport networks and infrastructure can play in supporting both areas’ economies.

Other points in the Cheshire East response relate to the constraints on the support that Greater Manchester public sector partners can offer to businesses and investors, increasing the Strategy’s focus on climate change and explicitly acknowledging the relationship between climate change and economic growth, the key export markets the Strategy identifies, the need for additional information about some of the proposed performance targets and the use of up-to-date statistics.

As well as producing its own response, Cheshire East has drafted a joint submission on behalf of Cheshire & Warrington sub-regional partners. This joint response has already been shared with Directors at the three Authorities, and with the Cheshire & Warrington LEP and the sub-regional Programme Office.

That approval be given to the Cheshire East response to the Greater Manchester Strategy 2013-2020.