The Northern Powerhouse is set to be given a huge boost with Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) from across the North set to join together to create a super council. The ‘Council for the North’ will aim to drive economic growth across the region and support the government’s ambitions for the Northern Powerhouse initiative.

NP11, as it’ll be known, will bring together the Chairs of each of the 11 Northern LEPs to work with and advise government on constraints and issues important to maximise the economic growth potential. Increasing productivity across the region, accelerating development, and re-balancing the economy and the north-south divide will be just a few of the focuses of the government funded board.

Roger Marsh, Chairman of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and of the newly formed NP11 – and also a confirmed speaker at the West Yorkshire Economic Growth Conference in September – said: ”By bringing together the private and public sectors, local enterprise partnerships are in a unique position to unite northern business and civic leaders behind a common goal of building a true northern economic powerhouse that brings prosperity to everyone who lives and works in the North, while also competing for the country globally. Our country’s success is built on northern industry, innovation and determination. As LEP chairs we have taken important steps in recent years to transform our own regional economies, and now I look forward to working collaboratively with the NP11 vice-chair, Christine Gaskell, and the other nine northern LEP chairs to achieve extraordinary, sustained growth that we can all share in.”

Announcing the board Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry said: ”As we approach leaving the EU we need to ensure that every area of the UK continues to economically flourish. The Northern Powerhouse will be vital in supporting the UK in achieving this and I’m very pleased the eleven LEP chairs have agreed to form the new NP11 board. For the first time since 1472, we will bring together the business voices of the Northern Powerhouse in our Council for the North. They have one task: to enrich all the peoples of the North of England – this is the foundation stone of the Northern Powerhouse and, with the skills and expertise of the NP11, we will shift the North’s economy into overdrive.”

We’re excited to have Roger Marsh joining us at the West Yorkshire Economic Growth Conference where he’ll be speaking on the Northern Powerhouse panel – before we listen to 16 presentations from leading developers and universities from across Yorkshire on the huge regeneration and development projects set to happen across the city.