Promoting the Region's Advantages
Promoting the region nationally and internationally
Ambassadors for the North West
One of the principal roles for members of the North West Business Leadership Team is to act as ambassadors for the region. Our members have many opportunities to speak about the North West as a place to live and work and NWBLT actively encourages its members to make the most of opportunities, both nationally and internationally, to promote the assets and advantages of the North West.
NWBLT therefore works closely with the Northwest Regional Development Agency and other appropriate organisations to spread factual information regarding the region’s strengths and areas of opportunity. The region’s economy is worth £120 billion per annum (the fifteenth largest regional economy in Europe) and Manchester has been rated second behind only London in the UK Cities Monitor of best UK city to run a business.
The region is home to a wealth of world-leading businesses, including AstraZeneca, BAE Systems, NSG Pilkington, Unilever and United Utilities. It also has the largest media hub outside of London, with over 30,000 digital and creative businesses employing over 300,000 people.
One of the North West’s principal advantages is its excellent international transport links. Manchester Airport is the North of England’s principal global gateway, connecting over 23 million passengers annually to more places than any other UK airport. The Port of Liverpool, linking with the Manchester Ship Canal, forms a 44 mile seaway between the heart of the UK and Britain’s richest cargo creating and consuming region outside London.
The region’s 15 universities produce over 37,000 graduates per year. Lancaster, Liverpool and Manchester are rated amongst Europe’s leading research universities.
House prices offer good value at all levels of the market and the region is well served in terms of tourism and leisure, sport and the arts. The North West receives over 270 million visitors per year, around 8 million of whom visit the Lake District, England’s largest National Park. There is outstanding quality in sport, with some of the world’s most popular football clubs, several of the UK’s leading championship golf courses and the world-famous Grand National which takes place annually at Aintree. It is home to the National Football Museum, located at Preston, Lancashire.
The North West is also one of the most artistic and culturally dynamic regions in Europe. There is a host of successful theatres, museums and galleries ranging from The Lowry, in Salford, to Manchester’s Royal Exchange and the Museum of Science and Industry, and in Liverpool the Everyman, the Walker and Tate Liverpool. Internationally significant cultural events such as Liverpool European Capital of Culture 2008, Manchester International Festival and the Liverpool Biennial, the UK’s largest contemporary visual arts festival, have further reinforced the region’s capacity for creativity and cultural diversity in recent years.
The seven cities of England’s North West – Carlisle, Chester, Lancaster, Liverpool, Manchester, Preston and Salford – and the many towns and unspoilt villages in Cheshire, Cumbria and Lancashire, offer a wide variety of attractive lifestyles for all ages and tastes.
Promoting the Region's Advantages
FutureEverything CIC has scooped this year’s prestigious £10,000 Lever Prize award
06/01/2010
A Manchester-based arts and cultural organisation became the fifth organisation to receive the annual accolade at an exclusive awards ceremony at Urbis, Manchester.