Lancashire 'being sidelined in Northern Powerhouse movement'

That was the message from a director of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP), who warned that the area needs to be more vocal about what it has to offer.

Miranda Barker, who is also chair of the East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, called for the county to set out its ambitions, such as becoming a “driving force” in advanced manufacturing – and then ensure the message is heard beyond Lancashire’s borders.

“We are always left out of the narrative in the Northern Powerhouse and are never seen to be at the forefront of it – yet, to be honest, it can’t be delivered without us,” Ms Barker told a meeting of the growth body’s board.

“But we need to have a demonstrable aim to be reasonably engaged in the process and I think we need to be much more ambitious in terms of our goals.”

The brainchild of the Conservative former Chancellor, George Osbourne, the Northern Powerhouse aims to create better transport links between the North’s towns and cities – as well as encouraging investment and making the region more productive.

The county’s universities and the LEP itself do feature amidst a sea of logos on the Northern Powerhouse website.

But on a page outlining more than a dozen key investment opportunities across the North of England, Lancashire is absent despite the Northern Powerhouse minister being Darwen and Rossendale MP Jake Berry.

Board member Tony Attard, who chairs promotional organisation Marketing Lancashire, said it had been battle simply to get the county represented in Northern Powerhouse literature.

“One of the things that has driven me crazy over the past couple of years is how the Northern Powerhouse is seen to be Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds and Liverpool – Lancashire just hasn’t been mentioned. That is something which we’re working on to ensure it doesn’t continue,” he said. Mr Attard also said the LEP needed to gain recognition by creating an identifiable “brand”.