The former CBI chief John Cridland, the man tasked with leading the “Northern Powerhouse” project, has told the BBC that people should take a “leap of faith” over upcoming major infrastructure projects including the HS2 rail link.
However Anne Robinson, from Friends of the Peak District, told BBC News: “These are just pie-in-the-sky schemes. We haven’t been given the slightest shred of evidence that they will do any good.”
Mr Cridland said ambitious infrastructure should be on the agenda: “I’m not claiming there is perfect science here.”
There is already a degree of cynicism about ambitious words from Westminster. One Manchester business leader disparaged the term “Northern Powerhouse”.
“It’s a bit embarrassing isn’t it? Frankly it looks like a brand in search of a product”
Ref: BBC