TO BE PUBLISHED October 2026
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This conference will examine next steps for the Northern Growth Corridor, with a focus on what the developing approach to growth across the North means for businesses, investors, infrastructure providers, local authorities and communities. Areas for discussion include priorities for connectivity, infrastructure, regeneration and housing, business investment and scale-up, innovation, skills and productivity, as well as local leadership.
It will bring together key stakeholders and policymakers to consider the next phase of the Northern Growth Strategy, including priorities for turning investment and policy commitments into deliverable projects and economic growth. Delegates will discuss the use of devolved funding and powers, and examine areas such as the developing Northern Powerhouse Rail programme, questions around wider transport investment, infrastructure and regeneration priorities, and recent measures to support business investment and high-growth firms.
The conference will assess practical issues affecting delivery across the Corridor, including planning and infrastructure constraints, access to public and private finance, supply chain and workforce capacity, with discussion on project viability and sequencing, and coordination between national bodies, mayoral authorities and industry. Attendees will also assess where investment can have the greatest impact and what is needed to move projects from policy commitments and funding allocations into delivery.
Further discussion will focus on implications and opportunities for businesses and communities across the North. We expect this to include access to markets and skilled labour, business and supply chain benefits arising from major infrastructure and regeneration schemes, the conditions needed to support business scaling and attract investment, and priorities for extending economic benefits beyond the principal cities and established growth clusters.
Transport investment & connectivity
Sessions will examine priorities for moving major transport commitments towards delivery, including the development of Northern Powerhouse Rail, the Transpennine Route Upgrade and investment through the Transport for City Regions Fund. Discussion will consider sequencing and integration between major programmes and local networks, delivery capacity and funding, and the implications for access to employment, investment sites, housing and key economic centres across the North.
Areas for discussion include:
- key developments: Transpennine Route Upgrade - development of Northern Powerhouse Rail - priorities for taking major transport commitments forward
- connectivity: priorities for east-west and intra-regional improvement - integration between major programmes and local networks - addressing capacity, reliability and journey times
- linking infrastructure: passenger, freight and supply-chain connections between towns, ports, employment sites and key growth clusters
- funding & delivery: use of the £15.6bn Transport for City Regions Fund - scheme prioritisation and sequencing - procurement and delivery capacity - certainty over investment and delivery timescales
- economic impact: access to jobs and skills - supporting housing and regeneration - widening labour markets - implications for business investment and development
Infrastructure investment & delivery
The pipeline of infrastructure and regeneration projects across the North will be examined, alongside the conditions needed to move schemes into delivery. Discussion will consider where public investment can help address viability constraints and attract private capital, alongside planning, utilities and construction capacity, coordination between projects, and the sequencing of infrastructure with housing and commercial development.
Areas for discussion include:
- deliverability: commercial models - supply chain and workforce capacity - affordability - planning and consenting capacity - investor confidence - project timescales
- finance & funding: deployment of the £2.3bn City Investment Fund packages - addressing viability gaps - devolved Integrated Settlements and Local Growth funding - attracting private capital
- sequencing: coordination of infrastructure, housing and commercial development - role of NISTA and the National Wealth Fund - implications of planning reform
- major development: new town and large-scale regeneration proposals - utilities and enabling infrastructure - stewardship and commercial models
- coordination: connections with housing, Industrial Strategy Zones and economic clusters - alignment between spatial planning and investment priorities
Devolution, local leadership & place-based growth
Delegates will consider how the developing devolution framework is changing decisions on infrastructure, regeneration and economic development across the North, including the use of new and existing powers, longer-term funding arrangements and coordination between strategic authorities and national bodies. Discussion will look at the practical implications for investment and project delivery, as well as the funding, capacity and flexibility needed to make effective use of devolved powers.
Areas for discussion include:
- devolution:
- implementation of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 - ongoing local government reorganisation
- funding and capacity to exercise devolved powers - development of further fiscal and policy levers
- delivery: implications for regeneration, infrastructure investment, economic development and public services - use of devolved funding and powers
- governance: Local Growth Plans - priorities for strategic authorities, mayors and Mayoral Development Corporations - coordination with national bodies
- planning tools: Spatial Development Strategies - Community Infrastructure Levy - devolved transport powers - proposed changes to Transport and Works Act Orders
- place investment: addressing viability gaps - City Investment Funds - Mayoral Revolving Growth Fund - supporting city centre and other strategic development
- community benefit: housing affordability - employment and supply-chain opportunities - extending the benefits of investment across towns and communities
- visitor economy: developing the contribution of national parks, heritage and visitor destinations to local growth
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. As well as key stakeholders, those already due to attend include officials from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government; Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade; Department for Education; Department for Transport; HM Treasury; House of Commons Library; National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority; Active Travel England; Competition and Markets Authority; National Audit Office; National Wealth Fund; Office for Investment; and Office of Rail and Road.
