Leaders call for collaboration to boost regional growth

Regions need to stop competing against each other and instead unite behind a shared growth narrative that can rival global ‘mega regions’ and attract major investment, according to representatives from York & North Yorkshire and The Great North.

Speaking at the ‘Ambitions 2035’ event organised by York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, James Moore, director of the Great North, said investors are increasingly looking for scale that stretches beyond local authority boundaries.

“Investors want to see the bigger picture across the North,” he said. “They want to understand that level of scale – whether that’s activity concentrated in one place or clusters that operate across borders.”

Moore pointed to the bioeconomy as a clear example of where collaboration makes more sense than competition. “It certainly makes sense not to compete against each other for that sector, but to work together,” he said.

He argued that on the global stage the North is not competing internally, but against international mega cities and mega regions. To win investment in that environment, he said, the North must present a unified offer with critical mass.

“When you step outside the UK, that’s the field we’re in,” Moore said. “Coming together as the Great North gives us that cut-through. It allows us to build a clearer, more consistent narrative over time.”

While places such as Manchester and Leeds are forecast to outperform national growth rates in the coming years, Moore stressed that success should not be siloed. “It’s not just about contributing to national growth,” he said. “It’s about leading that national growth. Growth is the word in government – so let’s lead it.”

Andy Kerr, director of economy at the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, echoed the call for deeper collaboration between mayoral areas and combined authorities.

“The key question is collaboration,” he said: “We work really closely as combined authorities. We meet regularly, we talk about these issues, and we work together on them.”

Kerr said the process of developing local growth plans has helped each area sharpen its focus on its distinctive strengths, reducing the risk of duplication. “We’re not competing. We’ve got our unique strengths here,” he said.

He highlighted York and North Yorkshire’s dual identity as both a high-performing city region and a rural powerhouse.

While York Central represents one of the largest city-centre regeneration opportunities in Western Europe, the wider region is home to 40,000 businesses and world-leading research assets.

“We have to find a model that allows growth in our rural areas if the UK is to realise its potential,” Kerr said, noting that if the UK’s rural economy matched the productivity of Scandinavian countries, it could add £87bn to GDP.

Crucially, he stressed that economic ecosystems do not respect administrative borders.

Collaboration with Tees Valley on the bioeconomy and with West Yorkshire on major production infrastructure at Production Park demonstrates how complementary strengths can create investable clusters.

“None of us care about local government boundaries,” Kerr said. “We’ve got to work pan-regionally, know our individual strengths, and make sure we don’t compete — we complement each other and make the North irresistible to investment.”

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