Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram wants to turn city region’s ambition into reality
Liverpool’s waterfront and Royal Liver Building(Image: Getty Images)
Unlocking stalled sites and accelerating regeneration are to be driven forward by a huge new Liverpool City Region Investment Fund. As part of the delegation taking part in MIPIM in France, the world’s leading real estate event, Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram has unveiled a £2bn investment fund creating thousands of high-quality jobs across our region.
The largest fund of its kind ever announced for the city region, it will bring together new and existing public funding into a single investment pot, helping unlock stalled sites, accelerate regeneration and attract billions more in private and institutional investment. It forms a central part of the combined authority’s long-term plan to grow the economy by £10bn over the next decade, creating tens of thousands of new jobs and strengthening its position as one of the UK’s leading centres for innovation and advanced manufacturing.
Initial investments will focus on delivering high-quality office space in Liverpool city centre alongside new lab space and tight industrial units across the wider city region – supporting fast-growing sectors including advanced manufacturing, life sciences and digital technology. The fund will also help fast-track housebuilding across the city region, supporting a £2bn development pipeline expected to deliver up to 64,000 new homes and the infrastructure needed to support growing communities.
Further investment will support major transport improvements and regeneration projects, including plans for four new rail stations, a rapid transit system and transport-linked development across the region. Mr Rotheram unveiled the investment fund at MIPIM, where the Liverpool City Region is showcasing more than £11bn of investment opportunities and sending a clear message to international investors: now is the time to invest.
Mr Rotheram said: “Anyone who knows this region knows we’ve never been short of ambition – what we’ve sometimes lacked are the tools and funding to turn that ambition into reality. Over the last few years, however, devolution has started to change that.
“We’ve been able to put our money where our mouth is and invest in things that really matter to people here – new train stations, a publicly owned fleet of trains, multi-modal interchanges, a fast-growing digital network and tens of thousands of new jobs and apprenticeships.
“In short, all of the ingredients are to make the Liverpool City Region the best place to grow up, grow a business and grow a family.
“We all know there’s still so much more potential waiting to be unlocked. Too many sites have stood still for years; too many opportunities have passed us by, and too many talented young people have felt they’ve had to leave the region to get on in life.
“Well no longer. With this £2bn investment fund we’re setting out to change that – giving us the firepower to unlock development, build the homes people need and back the industries that will create the next generation of good, well-paid jobs.
“The Liverpool City Region has always been a place that looks outward – trading, creating and innovating with the rest of the world.
“What we’re saying at MIPIM this week is simple: if you want to be part of what comes next for this region, now’s the time to get involved.”
The Investment Fund has been created by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) in collaboration with government and key public and private sector partners.
It will support the LCRCA local growth plan – a decade-long strategy designed to raise productivity, strengthen key industries and deliver sustainable, inclusive economic growth.
Alongside commercial development, the fund will support investment across a number of high-growth sectors, including digital and technology, creative industries, advanced manufacturing and life sciences.
