The Liverpool City Region’s maritime industry played host to a senior member of the ministerial team in the Department for Transport, Baroness Vere, during a visit to the area on Friday 27 January 2023.
Mersey Maritime welcomed the Minister to their Maritime Knowledge Hub in Birkenhead where she was briefed on their leading role in the rollout of a national initiative, the Regional Cluster Development Programme, which is focused on growing the industry around the coastal communities of the United Kingdom. Following this she joined a roundtable discussion with over thirty senior industry figures which represented an opportunity for a candid and insightful dialogue into the challenges and opportunities that maritime businesses are facing at this time.
The day concluded with a visit to the site of the proposed new Maritime Knowledge Hub at Wirral Waters where the Minister met key stakeholders and supporters of this major regeneration project. Baroness Vere was able to see for herself the vision that sits behind this £25million scheme to transform the derelict site into a place for innovation, technology and research to help the industry face the grand challenges it faces both now and in the future and in turn deliver significant jobs and growth to the region.
Commenting, Chris Shirling-Rooke, CEO of Mersey Maritime, said:
“Mersey Maritime sits at the heart of the Liverpool City Region’s £5bn maritime sector and plays a crucial role in bringing our industry eco-system together. It was a great honour for us to host a visit by the new Maritime Minister, Baroness Vere, on Friday 27 January 2023 who follows in a distinguished line of predecessors whom we’ve briefed on the dynamism that already exists in the sector here but also its ambition for the future. Giving our key partners and sponsors the chance to engage with one of the most senior members of the Department for Transport ministerial team is a valuable opportunity for meaningful dialogue and to have a full and proper conversation around the key issues affecting the industry at this time.
We were also able to give the Minister an insight into our wider role in pressing the case for regional cluster organisations which are focused on delivering jobs and growth to the area in which they operate, across the whole coast of the United Kingdom. Finally, with innovation such a pressing priority for government just now, we were proud to provide Baroness Vere with an insight into the vision that sits behind the new Maritime Knowledge Hub project at Wirral Waters. This place will play a crucial role in moving the industry forward in the future with its resolute focus on collaboration to deliver on priorities around decarbonisation, digitisation and future technology. We are incredibly excited to see this vision realised and look forward to seeing the project really get moving in 2023.”
Maritime Minister, Baroness Vere said:
“Mersey Maritime is a great example of a regional cluster, bringing together businesses and key figures in the North West’s maritime sector to help deliver jobs and support growth.
“I was pleased to hold important conversations with sector leaders in the region today about the challenges faced by the industry, and also the opportunities available and how we can continue to work together to unleash its full potential.”
Richard Mawdsley, Director for Development at Peel L&P’s Wirral Waters, commented:
“Pioneering and ambitious projects like the Maritime Knowledge Hub at Wirral Waters, with job creation and economic growth at its heart, can only be delivered through true collaboration. Today was a great opportunity for the Minister to hear about the plans for this iconic building and meet the wider team behind the project. Peel L&P, Wirral Council, Mersey Maritime and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority are all working together to make it happen.”
