Our priority areas

The powers that come with being a Combined Authority bring long-term investment into the region. This includes a 30-year investment fund worth over £650 million, plus additional funding to improve transport and connectivity

We will use this investment to:

  • create jobs and support businesses to grow
  • improve how people travel across the region
  • invest in homes, infrastructure and things that are most important to us.

We are committed to ensuring that growth benefits every community and every corner of our region.

This means:

  • supporting rural areas alongside towns and urban centres
  • improving transport and digital connectivity
  • recognising the role of key sectors, including agriculture, life sciences, AI, greentech and renewable energy

Transport

Working to improve how people travel across Cheshire and Warrington

Making journeys quicker, more reliable and better connected.

Our focus includes:

  • improving local and regional transport links
  • strengthening connections between towns, rural areas and key economic centres
  • investing in infrastructure that supports growth
  • making it easier for people to access jobs, education and services

For example:

Plans to strengthen rail connectivity through Chester, Warrington Bank Quay and Crewe, three the UK’s most important rail hubs, alongside wider improvements to east–west connections across the North, will help better connect residents to jobs and businesses to markets.

Housing

Supporting the delivery of the right homes, in the right places, to meet the needs of our communities and our economy

Our focus includes:

  • working with partners to unlock housing development
  • supporting regeneration and strategic sites
  • ensuring housing growth is linked to jobs, infrastructure and services
  • helping create places where people want to live and stay

For example:

The regeneration of Ellesmere Port, including housing, town centre renewal and links to local industry.

An image of new housing in Northwich

Skills

Helping people develop the skills they need to access good jobs and build long-term careers.

We will:

  • work with employers to understand current and future skills needs
  • support training and development opportunities
  • help people move into work or progress in their careers
  • align skills provision with key growth sectors

For example:

The Life Sciences cluster at Alderley Park is supported by partnerships between employers, universities and training providers.

Apprentices at Bentley

Investment and growth

Driving economic growth and attracting investment into the region

This includes:

  • managing a long-term investment fund for Cheshire and Warrington
  • supporting businesses to start, grow and scale
  • attracting new investment into key sectors
  • working with partners to unlock opportunities across the region

For example:

HyNet North West is one of the UK’s leading low-carbon industrial clusters, centred on Ellesmere Port and the wider Cheshire area. It brings together hydrogen production, carbon capture and storage, and major industrial partners to decarbonise industry at scale.

Image of Ellesmere Port

Strategic regional planning

A long-term, joined-up approach to planning across Cheshire and Warrington

This means:

  • aligning transport, housing, skills and investment decisions
  • setting a clear direction for growth across the region
  • working across council boundaries to deliver shared priorities
  • supporting sustainable development and infrastructure planning

For example:

Work on a Spatial Development Strategy for Cheshire and Warrington will help coordinate growth across the region planning infrastructure, housing and employment together.