Cloth Hall Court hosts crucial Cross Rail North Summit

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25 August 2017 - Well Met

Business leaders and political figureheads joined together on Wednesday 23 August for a special Transport Summit at Leeds Beckett University’s Cloth Hall Court, managed by Well Met Conferencing.

The meeting was called following the announcement from Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, to scrap the proposed plan for investment in Cross Rail North.

With over 150 delegates in attendance from core northern cities and major towns including the Northwest, the Northeast, Yorkshire, Cheshire, Cumbria, and Lancashire, the summit also brought together private sector partners from a range of business groups including Downtown in Business, the Northern Business Improvement Districts, Chambers of Commerce, the FSB, and the IoD.

The summit included panel sessions on The Current Situation Of Transport Infrastructure For The North and comparative business and political views from speakers including Councillor Judith Blake, Leader Leeds City Council; Steve Rotheram MP, Mayor Liverpool City Region; Councillor Julie Dore, Leader Sheffield City Council and Councillor Nick Forbes, Leader Newcastle City Council.

Clare Vidler, Conference Manager at Well Met commented:

“We are honoured to be the host venue for the Cross Rail North Summit. Working alongside Downtown in Business to bring this critical summit to Cloth Hall Court, we saw this as a fantastic opportunity to not only promote our facility but also highlight Leeds’ importance as part of the Northern Powerhouse and the necessity for improved transport links across the north.”

The dedicated think tank for the north of England, IPPR, have launched a petition on Cross Rail North to encourage the transport secretary to pledge his immediate backing for the Northern Powerhouse Rail programme.