NORTH-East leaders are being urged to shape the future of the region’s economy by contributing to the development of a Great North Plan capable of delivering a Northern Powerhouse.

Think tank IPPR North and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) are inviting businesses, planners, academics, local councils, civil society groups to share their thoughts about whether a Great North Plan is needed and their ideas about what it should look like.

The consultation is in response to the perceived need for a new form of spatial framework for the North of England, which could deliver infrastructure beyond transport and cover assets including innovation, skills and higher education.

Ed Cox, director at IPPR North, said: “The North of England needs infrastructure projects capable of genuinely transforming the northern economy as it makes the journey from an industrial past to a more connected future. Investing in infrastructure is essential to competing in the global economy and driving economic growth.

“The Government’s focus on the Northern Powerhouse means the region has a unique opportunity to shape its destiny and tip the balance in the North’s favour. Our partnership with the RTPI will help influence this thinking and we would urge the best and brightest minds to put their proposals forward.”

Bob Wolfe, from RTPI and chair of the Northern Summit Project Board, added: “The Northern Powerhouse offers immense opportunities for communities to work together and think beyond their own boundaries to create the housing, transport, infrastructure and environment that will benefit the whole of the North of the England.

"We have a once in a lifetime chance to get it right and this debate, culminating in a Northern Summit, will be crucial in setting the ideas and thinking in motion.”