Infrastructure’s role in building a thriving regional economy for the North East was on the agenda as the Commission’s visited Newcastle yesterday (Wednesday, 16 October) – and upgrading the region’s energy infrastructure, as the country shifts towards a fully electric economy, featured high on the agenda.
At a roundtable chaired by North East Combined Authority (NECA) Transport Director Tobin Hughes, our Deputy Chair Julia Prescot and Commissioner Kate Willard briefly updated senior representatives from regional businesses, councils and stakeholder bodies on the progress made by government against the recommendations the Commission made in the second National Infrastructure Assessment, before opening up the discussion to find out how the government’s ten-year National Infrastructure Strategy, to be published next spring and to which the Commission will contribute, can best support the region’s objectives.
Planning that future infrastructure in partnership with regional bodies and businesses was essential, Commissioners heard, as was the need for the region’s infrastructure to become more resilient to future shocks, not least from severe weather impacts. What was abundantly evident from the discussion is the North East’s unique opportunity to tap into its infrastructure strengths, such as its renewable energy capacity, abundant water resources, and existing manufacturing expertise, in order to deliver local and nationally significant growth that will enhance its skills base and retain more of its talented workforce in the area.
Crucial to its transition to a low carbon, sustainable economy is ensuring that rural areas benefitted economically as much as the region’s urban areas, particularly through improvements that enhanced the region’s transport connectivity; ensuring the development of the region’s EV charging infrastructure kept up with changing consumer behaviours, as drivers make the shift from petrol and diesel to electric cars, is one important part of this.
Following the roundtable, Commissioners visited The Skill Mill, a social enterprise in the city which provides young people going through the justice system with paid work experience in land management across a range of projects in the region – in this case, transforming an allotment site – that gives them valuable skills and confidence that can give them a vital leg up into the world of work.
Commissioners then viewed part of the currently disused Leamside Line railway connecting Gateshead to County Durham, which NECA and other local partners are campaigning to reopen to provide a vital new link in the region’s transport infrastructure for communities and businesses currently lacking critical transport connections to its main cities.
The last leg was a whistle-stop visit to see the latest developments at the International Advanced Manufacturing Park, which hosts AESC’s gigafactory that provides EV batteries for the nearby Nissan plant, and which is now being expanded to meet future demand. Commissioners learned about the infrastructure requirements needed to support this major industrial hub, not least to meet its significant green energy and water demands.