Closer ties are Absolutely Fabulous for the North

ONe of the most influential figures in UK local government has urged cities in the North of England to develop closer working ties.

Sir Howard Bernstein said places like Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool and Newcastle are key to rebalancing the British economy away from London.

“Places like this have to be encouraged to achieve their full potential if this country is going to be able to see significant economic capacity generated through it,” said the chief executive of Manchester City Council.

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“The good news is we have seen more progress over the last couple of months than we have seen over the last few years.

“There’s a genuine intention to work with different cities in different ways to support growth and promote devolution.

“For places like Manchester and I suspect Sheffield too, that can only represent a very strong and important way forward.”

He added: “What we have to do is start to think about what our growth sectors are, how they can be encouraged to drive economic capacity. The world is going to become even more complex.”

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He said the challenge for the UK “is about how this country creates thriving cities not only in the interests of this country but in the interests of Europe”.

Sir Howard was speaking at a dinner in Sheffield to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Dransfield Properties.

The Barnsley-based company specialises in retail-led regeneration and has worked with Manchester on a number of projects over the last decade.

Sir Howard praised the way that Dransfield helped to transform depressed neighbourhoods and give them a long-term future.

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“People talk about regeneration as though you just put your arm out of the window, wave a magic wand and low and behold a development takes place,” he said.

“Regeneration is very, very hard. It is about creating places where people want to live and people want to invest and work. We know that’s a long haul. There’s no quick fix.”

Actress and campaigner Joanna Lumley OBE also spoke at the dinner for 100 guests at the Millennium Gallery.

She has known Dransfield since 2009 when she cut the ribbon at the company’s Sanderson Arcade in Morpeth, Northumberland, stopping traffic in the process.

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Miss Lumley described Dransfield as “an amiable octopus” that does some good everywhere it goes.

She told the audience about her own experiences in the retail industry, first as an assistant at her parents’ shop in Kent, next as a model in the 1960s and then as the dissolute fashion director Patsy in the comedy series Absolutely Fabulous.

“Modelling in a way is shopping. It’s part of selling merchandise; changing, adapting and looking at what works.

“That was a kind of retail. When AbFab came into my life this was shopping on a level which could not be measured.”

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Speaking afterwards to the Yorkshire Post, Miss Lumley described Dransfield as an exceptional family business that has helped to create 3,000 jobs.

She said: “I love their philosophy. I love their feeling of hard work and enterprise.”

Miss Lumley said Dransfield is “bringing hope back to the inner cities” rather than developing greenfield sites.

Mark Dransfield founded the company during the 1992 recession, developing a restaurant in Cleethorpes for McDonald’s and an Aldi store in Accrington.

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It has since developed nearly 2 million square foot of retail space for customers including Morrisons, Tesco, Asda and Marks & Spencer.

Borrowing a line from Absolutely Fabulous, Andrew Malley, retail property director, said in his opening speech: “Like a good bottle of champagne, we hope we have got better over time without losing any of our sparkle.”

Mr Dransfield, 50, said at the end of the night: “Let’s hope we have another 20 years as good as the last 20 years.”

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