Sector Evidence Base and Investment Proposals

Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington (ECW) is a council-owned organization dedicated to making the Cheshire and Warrington region a healthier, more sustainable, inclusive, and economically vibrant area. We work closely with local councils, industry leaders, and community partners to develop economic and transport strategies, provide skills training, and support businesses, ensuring that the business community has a voice in local decision-making. Through our Marketing Cheshire division, we promote the region as an excellent place to live, work, invest, study, and visit. We collaborate with local government, businesses, educational institutions, and various public, private, and community organizations to maintain Cheshire and Warrington's visibility and appeal. Cheshire and Warrington is part of the government's devolution priority program and is expected to establish a new Combined Authority in Spring 2026. It is also a member of The Great North pan-regional mayoral partnership. Recently, the area published its Sustainable and Inclusive Economic Strategy (SIES 2025-2045), which emphasizes the importance of key sectors and clusters in driving transformational growth and outlines a roadmap for securing these opportunities through a 10-year Local Growth Plan. The government's National Industrial Strategy introduces a new classification for nationally significant growth sectors and highlights Cheshire and Warrington's strengths, particularly as part of a Supercluster for life sciences, digital, and technology sectors. Neighboring devolved areas have been collaborating with the government on sector plans that identify growth opportunities and interconnections across diverse sectors. As a result, Enterprise Cheshire & Warrington (ECW), on behalf of the Cheshire and Warrington Local Authority Growth Directors, is seeking to develop a set of sector evidence bases and investment proposition content for priority high-growth industries, along with an updated baseline of the wider sector evidence base. This initiative will be Phase 1 of a program aimed at updating the economic, spatial, and investment evidence base for Cheshire and Warrington, and will provide high-quality content for The Great North Summit and UKREIIF in May 2026. Subsequent phases will create comprehensive Sector Plans for the transformational sectors that will drive future growth.