For our latest Patn Sprint meetup we looked at competition and collaboration — between towns, cities and regions.
24 March 2024
A recent example is the joint Liverpool-Manchester vision of a Northern Arc rail link to support economic growth. And at the recent Convention of the North, held in Preston, there was plenty of talk and advocacy of cross-regional cooperation.
However, competition is embedded in the current system, and culture, for bidding for grant money. Furthermore, rivalries between places run deep, some going back centuries.
So, how do the different pieces of the puzzle fit, when considering collaboration as a tool to drive transformation?
Pros and cons of localism
Politically, localism is all about control — who wields it, who wants it and what they can do with it when they get it. The politics of localism have real-world consequences. The idea behind English regional devolution is it will enable regions to improve how they deliver policies to improve the economy and people's lives.
With the establishment of metro mayors, devolution is a work in progress. And whereas Greater Manchester’s 10 boroughs, via the GMCA, have established how they should work together, applying this model in Lancashire, say, is likely to be more complex.
Currently, conspicuous disparities in economic opportunity and performance exist within regions. Then there are very different local characteristics to consider.
These local identities tend to be stronger than regional identities and reflect a deep sense of allegiance. Proponents of devolution must somehow reconcile deep-seated local interests with what's best for a wider region.
Hyper-localism looks to align specific local placemaking needs with strategic approaches and policies. The question persists: what if there’s a clash between the natural insularity of local areas or neighbourhoods and the wider strategic vision of a devolved regional area?
However, we can view places from different perspectives simultaneously, inward and outward, and reconcile the different priorities of local identity and location. An example is Stockport.
In recent history, its advantages have been framed in terms of its immediate access to Manchester and London (via the East Coast Mainline) – ie outward-facing. But more recently, Stockport has created a sense of being an inward destination, where locals and visitors can enjoy what the town offers.
In this context, hyper-localism amplifies a location's inherent benefits alongside its wider regional, and even national, context.
