The Likely Lads, Auf Wiedersehen pet, Spender, Byker Grove, the North East has been the birthplace and inspiration of some of the greatest dramas of the last few decades. Well perhaps the latter two are stretching the point but a region beset by desolation of indigenous industry has bred real life drama by the bucket load.
But any stereotype of North East England is an anachronism these days with the North East yet again the region delivering the fastest rises in business activity in the UK.
While all 12 official regions of the UK delivered record growth in June, the North East followed its May performance in coming out on top.
Driven in large part by its traditional focus on manufacturing and the strong recovery being experienced in that sector, the North East is buoyant once again.
However the North East Chamber of Commerce also praised the contribution that the service sector was playing in the business growth of the region with David Laws, their President saying:
“The strong positivity that fed through from the manufacturing sector in the first quarter of this year has continued this quarter, albeit it has been more than matched by feedback from the service sector which is hugely welcome”
However there is still a big gap to be closed to London with the output per head in the North East half of that achieved in the capital.
But Stephanie Hyde, Head of Regions at PWC cautioned this gap was to close revealing that:
“We see significant growth potential right across the UK with businesses of all sizes showing signs of increased confidence.
“Medium-sized companies, particularly entrepreneurial ones, have been responding well to improving economic conditions.”
With increased inward investment, a resurgent manufacturing sector and diversification of sectors, the North East is right now a trailblazer for the other UK regions to emerge from the recent economic downturn in better health than ever.
Ha’way the lads