my main question for Bagso and others is to identify which specific transport projects might be favoured in the Northwest, and which are currently being denied funding.
Gosh , where do you want to start.....
It isn't necessarily specific transport projects but uplifting the whole region by which prosperity and GDP would increase which in turn will increase use of the airport.
BUT as Manchester Kurt states London funding is ringfenced , the tube trains need replacing and it simply gets waived thru....what are our MPs actually there for ? We had the recent debacle where rolling stock "up here" was inexplicably shifted "down there" without so much as a whimper from the Honorable members !
When there is a consensus MPs seem to then back the wrong horse.
HS2 is a case in point, muddled thinking and totally disproportionate investment.
We need a counterweight to London NOT something that sucks even more demand into the South East. I have said before if you are going to build an HS2 station in Hale that gets you into Heathrow in an hour what will then be the point of Manchester or indeed Birmingham airports ?
.... you may as well hop on a train to catch a train to LHR giving you a wealth of options than risk missing a service which is more likely to be in the singular from MAN or non existent from BHX !
And yet to a man everyone seems to think this is the answer !
HS2 "appears" to be the only idea in town , major capital project which MPs actually think may make a difference, personally I would get across some of the Norths big thinkers Bernstein, Prof Brian Cox, and hire in Evan Davies to push forward ideas, now that that would be a plan !
We are getting RW3 rammed down our throat in terms of its prosperity to the UKPlc why do we not get the same impetus with say Airport City ?
Investment in Heathrow is apparently good for the Country but investment in Airport City "appears" to be only good for Gtr Manchester !
A topical example at the moment when the Tour De France was in London few years back "this was great for the Country" , now its in Yorkshire it seems to be great for well , just Yorkshire !
It's going out to 160 Countries, is it not showcasing "The UK" ?
Will the legacy of images of great scenery pull in tourists to "The UK"
Maybe that is the issue in terms of our consciousness, investment in the regions is seen as only good for that region, investment in London however is touted as being for the greater good of the Country as a whole.
With regard tourism, potential tourists who have been given an insight into the delights of our scenery outside London "might" be tempted to use a short haul gateway such as LBA and a major long haul entry point located less than an hour away such as MAN, but that is the trick, joined up thinking between all relevant agencies "in The North" be that Airports, Tourism Agencies, Accommodation etc.