0:00:03 > 0:00:09'Britain is changing, becoming one country with two economies.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12'There's one called London, and then there's the rest.'
0:00:14 > 0:00:19London is now, basically, evolving into the capital of the world.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23It's the place where people want to live, if they possibly can,
0:00:23 > 0:00:25and want to have some kind of investment.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30London is generating a fifth of Britain's income,
0:00:30 > 0:00:33dominating our economy like never before.
0:00:33 > 0:00:34It's not rocket science.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37It was the Romans who first did this 2,000 years ago,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40establishing London as our national hub port.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46While London sometimes has more growth than it can handle,
0:00:46 > 0:00:48the rest of the country struggles to get enough.
0:00:48 > 0:00:49There's that odd idea
0:00:49 > 0:00:52that everything happens in London, and that somehow,
0:00:52 > 0:00:55if it's not happening in London, then it's not important.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58So how should our great cities,
0:00:58 > 0:01:02once powerhouses of the global economy, cities like Liverpool
0:01:02 > 0:01:08over there, now respond to our lopsided, London-centric economy?
0:01:09 > 0:01:10'In this programme,
0:01:10 > 0:01:15'I'll argue that our biggest cities offer the best hope for growth.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18'I ask whether we could create a supercity of the North
0:01:18 > 0:01:20'with the pull of London.'
0:01:20 > 0:01:24It's an inverted city with a green belt centre, beautiful
0:01:24 > 0:01:29scenery and lots of suburbs with quaint names like Manchester,
0:01:29 > 0:01:35Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, Preston, Liverpool. That's a big city.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41And if ever-larger cities are going to drive our economy,
0:01:41 > 0:01:43what becomes of our small cities and towns?
0:01:45 > 0:01:49You can't build West Bromwich on a football team and shopping alone.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51It's not good enough. It deserves more than that.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55This is the story of the economic forces polarising
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Britain, of London versus the rest.
0:01:59 > 0:02:00And what, if anything,
0:02:00 > 0:02:04we can do to make sure the whole country gets a piece of the action.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40'I've come to the National Cycling Centre in Manchester to find out
0:02:40 > 0:02:44'how Britain became the world leader in track cycling.'
0:02:44 > 0:02:46Holy Moly!
0:02:46 > 0:02:47It's almost vertical!
0:02:50 > 0:02:53This is an ideal place to learn about the forces
0:02:53 > 0:02:57that are shaping the economic geography of our country.
0:02:57 > 0:02:58Hi, Charlie. I'm Evan. Lovely to see you.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00Hi, Evan. Good to meet you.
0:03:00 > 0:03:01So what am I going to do?
0:03:01 > 0:03:04So we're going to introduce you to track cycling.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07Got a bike for you here. This is a track bike, fixed wheel.
0:03:07 > 0:03:08Absence of brakes, I notice!
0:03:08 > 0:03:11Absence of brakes. Yup. Don't need those!
0:03:11 > 0:03:12Um...
0:03:12 > 0:03:15And we've got some pedals to match your shoes.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17So we've got some clip-in pedals,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20so on the bottom of your shoes, you've got cleat there, and that.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23- So you fall off, basically? - We're not going to fall off.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28Key thing for me is I want to know you can stop.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31You want to know I can stop? I tell you, I want to know I can stop!
0:03:31 > 0:03:32OK. Right, off you go, Evan.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37Right.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40OK.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42It is a bike and it's upright.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48'What this centre illustrates is the power of clustering the very
0:03:48 > 0:03:50'best in one place, the Bradley Wiggins
0:03:50 > 0:03:53'and Chris Hoys, raising each other's game.'
0:03:55 > 0:03:57One more lap at jogging pace? Yeah, one more lap.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01Yeah, this is OK. It's all right. It's actually... It's fine.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04'I could clearly do with more practice.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09'But improvement is actually about more than that.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11'It's about training with others.'
0:04:13 > 0:04:15Build the pace, Evan, and join the track!
0:04:16 > 0:04:18That's it! Lift the pace nicely!
0:04:19 > 0:04:23'Picking this one national centre of excellence brought
0:04:23 > 0:04:26'the best of Britain's cycling talent together in Manchester.'
0:04:26 > 0:04:28Black line now.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30'And it's allowed them to take on the world.'
0:04:30 > 0:04:35RAPID COMMENTARY FROM OLYMPIC GAMES
0:04:35 > 0:04:40'..Who's going to get it? Chris Hoy gets the gold medal
0:04:40 > 0:04:43'here in the Keirin! That's his sixth gold medal.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46'He becomes the greatest achievement ever...'
0:04:46 > 0:04:49HE PANTS
0:04:49 > 0:04:52It's not too bad, actually. Just not too bad.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58It's a real hub of cycling activity,
0:04:58 > 0:05:02and all the athletes are based in and around Manchester,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05so it's that... It's really that cluster of people who,
0:05:05 > 0:05:09again, are working together, learning from each other, pushing
0:05:09 > 0:05:13each other, and trying to develop each other as individuals.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21This cycling hub is a great national asset.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25It's also a fantastic example of the power of bringing resources
0:05:25 > 0:05:27close together.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31Economists refer to this as the economics of agglomeration.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33And it's what you see here.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36And the forces that make it work in cycling and sport,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39they also make it work in business and other areas of the economy,
0:05:39 > 0:05:45and they explain why hubs can have such a peculiar gravitational pull.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56The mother of all hubs in Britain is, of course, London.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01Last time, we saw how the capital sucks in money, business
0:06:01 > 0:06:02and, above all, talent.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08It's bagged more than its share of graduates. It has the top jobs.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14What it brings together is the agglomeration of talent,
0:06:14 > 0:06:17very, very bright people, people who meet each other
0:06:17 > 0:06:20and who spark off each other as they do, I believe,
0:06:20 > 0:06:24in a cyclotron or some kind of nuclear device.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28And that's when you get the explosion of innovation,
0:06:28 > 0:06:30and that's what takes things forward.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40Hubs, like London, with their agglomeration effects and critical
0:06:40 > 0:06:45mass, have lots of advantages but they also create lopsided economies.
0:06:48 > 0:06:49The more people in them,
0:06:49 > 0:06:53the more want to come to benefit from proximity to the rest.
0:06:54 > 0:06:59And London's economic success has spread to the region around it.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01It's pulling the whole of Britain south.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15'Here's an example of what I mean -
0:07:15 > 0:07:19'the decision by a large drugs company to move key
0:07:19 > 0:07:22'jobs from one end of Britain to the other.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24'It was one of the scariest announcements I've
0:07:24 > 0:07:26'heard from a business since the crash.'
0:07:28 > 0:07:31'£4.5 billion. That, we're told, is
0:07:31 > 0:07:35'the value of AstraZeneca to the Northwest economy, so the bombshell
0:07:35 > 0:07:37'news that they are closing all research
0:07:37 > 0:07:39'and development in Cheshire,
0:07:39 > 0:07:42'with the loss of 2,000 jobs, will cost the region dearly.'
0:07:50 > 0:07:54Here I am, 40 minutes south of Manchester.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Now, this may not look like it, but it's one of Britain's most
0:07:57 > 0:08:00historic centres of drug discovery.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07The site, which bizarrely contains its own farm,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10was designed in the '50s, when we thought scientists worked best
0:08:10 > 0:08:14if they had peace and quiet, privacy and isolation.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Was there a sort of mentality about isolating
0:08:18 > 0:08:20the staff in order to keep the secrets?
0:08:20 > 0:08:22We know that secrecy
0:08:22 > 0:08:26and patents have been a big part of life in the pharma industry.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30We were very secretive, quite closed about our work,
0:08:30 > 0:08:34wanting to get things in but not be so forthcoming with our information.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37If I look at how we're working as a company
0:08:37 > 0:08:40and how we want to work going forwards, we do want to be much
0:08:40 > 0:08:43more open, much more transparent, much more collaborative.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50Drugs that were discovered here are still in common use,
0:08:50 > 0:08:53including beta-blockers and, more recently, hormonal
0:08:53 > 0:08:55treatments for breast and prostate cancer.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03But today, AstraZeneca has a problem. It's been off the pace.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06The patents on some of its most important drugs are running out.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12And so, bosses think the answer is a move to a hub already packed
0:09:12 > 0:09:15with medical research facilities - Cambridge.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21I think it could be absolutely game-changing for us.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25If you think about the inventiveness, the entrepreneurism,
0:09:25 > 0:09:28the fantastic science I think is happening in Cambridge,
0:09:28 > 0:09:31and if we can open our doors to that, make it accessible, make
0:09:31 > 0:09:34ourselves accessible, cos we're doing fantastic science, too, and
0:09:34 > 0:09:38bring those two things together, I just think it ups our game totally.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44Hard to believe, but AstraZeneca say
0:09:44 > 0:09:47they would forgo all of this in order to be better
0:09:47 > 0:09:52plugged into a network, somewhere crowded, lots of other researchers,
0:09:52 > 0:09:54a kind of safety in numbers.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57And I'll tell you this - you hear that same message again
0:09:57 > 0:10:01and again from different companies in different industries.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05And perhaps what makes it most frustrating is that it's
0:10:05 > 0:10:09the high-end activities, the brainiest work, that seems to
0:10:09 > 0:10:12benefit most from the networking. And it means that the hubs,
0:10:12 > 0:10:17those southern hubs, end up getting the very best jobs.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30'And that pull is re-shaping Britain.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36'In the popular, boom towns, growth begets growth
0:10:36 > 0:10:38'and growth begets headaches all round.'
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Here in Cambridge, for example.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48This city could grow as fast as builders can concrete over
0:10:48 > 0:10:49the countryside.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53Externally, the striking, contemporary design is
0:10:53 > 0:10:56a modern interpretation on traditional Cambridge
0:10:56 > 0:11:01architecture and takes inspiration from numerous local landmarks.
0:11:02 > 0:11:07This development is located next door to the new AstraZeneca site.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11A three-bedroom apartment costs £425,000.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16In the property market, you have cold spots
0:11:16 > 0:11:20and you have hot spots. It's hard to predict where they'll be,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23but you certainly know which is which when you meet them.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27And in terms of hot spots, this is positively scorching.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33- Right. This is the master suite. - Master suite.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36So it comes with wardrobes built in. Built-in wardrobes.
0:11:36 > 0:11:37En-suite bathroom.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42- En-suite shower room.- Shower room. Yup. There we go. Very nice.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44How easy is it to sell the apartment?
0:11:44 > 0:11:46Very, very easily.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51Basically, as fast as they can plan and build them, you can sell them?
0:11:51 > 0:11:53Yes, we can. And we're very pleased to do so.
0:11:53 > 0:11:54SHE LAUGHS
0:11:57 > 0:12:00'Cambridge has a difficult choice.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04'Many want to preserve the countryside around the city.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07'But if the economic geography of Britain is changing, letting
0:12:07 > 0:12:11'the successful cities expand has a certain logic.'
0:12:12 > 0:12:15You hear people say, "We need more jobs."
0:12:15 > 0:12:18You hear people say, "We need more homes."
0:12:18 > 0:12:20Well, one way of getting both would be to say,
0:12:20 > 0:12:22"Let's have more Cambridge."
0:12:22 > 0:12:27Let the city build even more, break through all those boundaries.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30Wouldn't be an easy decision. People like their green belt.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32But if you want more opportunity, growth
0:12:32 > 0:12:37and income, a good start would be to allow it.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Why shouldn't Cambridge be a city of two million?
0:12:47 > 0:12:52'It is hard for cities to be flexible in size.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54'While some cities have growing pains...
0:12:56 > 0:12:59'..others have to confront the question of how to shrink.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05'At different points in history,
0:13:05 > 0:13:09'different parts of the country have had their moment to shine.
0:13:09 > 0:13:14'Economic forces build places up and then knock them down again.'
0:13:17 > 0:13:18Take Liverpool.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25It was once a global shipping hub,
0:13:25 > 0:13:28with more millionaires than any city outside London.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39'But in the last 50 years, it's been an example of the pains
0:13:39 > 0:13:42'an area suffers as the economic tide turns.'
0:13:46 > 0:13:47Wow.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50I don't think you'll find a better statement of Liverpool's
0:13:50 > 0:13:55illustrious history as a great global city than this.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58Liverpool was, of course,
0:13:58 > 0:14:01the gateway to the Atlantic and to the Americas.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04And this, in fact, was the check-in area
0:14:04 > 0:14:07for the passengers on those ocean liners,
0:14:07 > 0:14:09the first-class passengers.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21But what you have to remember is that time passes, things change,
0:14:21 > 0:14:22industries fade.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26What did it for the ocean liners was the arrival of the aeroplane.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29And it's not just industries that fade.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32The tide of history can turn against cities, too.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40In the early 20th century, houses were being thrown up to
0:14:40 > 0:14:43accommodate Liverpool's growing population,
0:14:43 > 0:14:44as in Cambridge today.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51'But Liverpool's old industries faded, the city lost jobs
0:14:51 > 0:14:52'and lost people.'
0:14:55 > 0:15:01Today, it contains just under half a million. It was once 850,000.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11Going to take you to the suburbs of Liverpool and
0:15:11 > 0:15:14show you some of the places made famous by The Beatles
0:15:14 > 0:15:15and other bands from the 1960s.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22'For Liverpool, a great history is an asset in the tourist trade,
0:15:22 > 0:15:24'but it is also a burden.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29'The city has too many buildings which are interesting
0:15:29 > 0:15:32'historically, but surplus to requirements.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36'Vacant housing is a planning issue which can't be
0:15:36 > 0:15:39'hidden from the tourists.'
0:15:39 > 0:15:41Now, you might notice, as we move through the Dingle,
0:15:41 > 0:15:43the fashion accessory for this season -
0:15:43 > 0:15:47the metal curtains, a new design by Laura Ashley.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49'There's a special house here,
0:15:49 > 0:15:52'a one-time home of a well-known local musician -
0:15:52 > 0:15:53'a certain Richard Starkey.'
0:15:56 > 0:15:58All right. Thanks very much. Thanks, guys.
0:16:08 > 0:16:13So the birthplace of Ringo Starr is somewhere down this street.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17It's a beautifully rickety little street, actually.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21The houses almost look a bit wobbly.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29I think you can tell that it's this one
0:16:29 > 0:16:31because there's lots of graffiti here.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38What a funny old place!
0:16:38 > 0:16:40On the one hand, of course, you can see you want to preserve
0:16:40 > 0:16:43something like this, what a piece of heritage.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46On the other hand, you can
0:16:46 > 0:16:50also see, you don't want to let a property like this
0:16:50 > 0:16:54kind of obstruct any redevelopment of the whole neighbourhood.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03Liverpool is wrestling with the problems left by its diminished
0:17:03 > 0:17:06population, even though it's now returned to growth.
0:17:07 > 0:17:12These boarded-up streets are the subject of bitter rows.
0:17:12 > 0:17:13Should they be preserved
0:17:13 > 0:17:17or should they be demolished to make way for fewer, newer homes?
0:17:23 > 0:17:29Liverpool City Council wants to demolish most of these houses
0:17:29 > 0:17:32but they're up against a national campaign to save them.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40'Many residents want these houses pulled down,
0:17:40 > 0:17:41'even the ones they live in.'
0:17:43 > 0:17:46You've got "demolish" on your window there, Sharon.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48Why do you want to demolish?
0:17:48 > 0:17:51Because the houses are not fit to live in. They're slums.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55And this whole area is being ruined by people poking their noses in.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57When you say poking their noses in,
0:17:57 > 0:17:59you're talking about the national campaign groups...
0:17:59 > 0:18:03- Yeah, it's ridiculous. - ..who are saying, "Keep the houses"? - It's got nothing to do with them.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06They don't live round here. They come from down south.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09You must have known Ringo Starr. He lived in this area, Irene.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11I mean, there's... So people do...
0:18:11 > 0:18:13There are tourists buses, tourists coming
0:18:13 > 0:18:17from all over the world to visit the heritage of the Welsh Streets,
0:18:17 > 0:18:22your streets. What do you say to the idea of pulling them all down?
0:18:22 > 0:18:25I want to be on the bulldozer when it comes in!
0:18:25 > 0:18:28That's what I say about pulling them down!
0:18:28 > 0:18:30And as for Mr Starkey...
0:18:34 > 0:18:37..the house he lived in,
0:18:37 > 0:18:39he was only there till he was four.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47It's not just a couple of months they've been
0:18:47 > 0:18:50talking about this. It's well over a decade.
0:18:50 > 0:18:51It's as though we're paralysed
0:18:51 > 0:18:53when it comes to these kinds of decisions.
0:19:03 > 0:19:08Our changing economy creates painful choices, opposite problems
0:19:08 > 0:19:12evident in Liverpool and in Cambridge.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15And these are examples of a national issue
0:19:15 > 0:19:18because the migration of business seems to be in one direction.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27This graph shows how economic output has shifted between North
0:19:27 > 0:19:30and South from the 1970s on.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37Our economy is more white collar and with that, it's more London-centric.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48'These days, the trend feels inevitable.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54'But history tells us that London's dominance is not set in stone.'
0:19:57 > 0:19:59We're standing in the Grand Midland Hotel,
0:19:59 > 0:20:05now the Renaissance Hotel, in St Pancras Station in London, and
0:20:05 > 0:20:10this was built in the 19th century as a symbol not of London's
0:20:10 > 0:20:14power, but of the commercial and cultural might of the North.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18This was the wealth creators of Derby and Sheffield
0:20:18 > 0:20:22saying to the people in London, "Look what we have created in the
0:20:22 > 0:20:26"North of England - the bricks, the rail, the glass, the steel.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28"And we're going to come down to London
0:20:28 > 0:20:31"and we're basically going to plonk an embassy of northern
0:20:31 > 0:20:34"industrial might right in heart of the capital."
0:20:35 > 0:20:39But our industries changed and London became the place to be.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52The lesson from London is that today's economy, more than ever,
0:20:52 > 0:20:57favours hubs, places that are globally connected.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01'And that means cities, big cities.'
0:21:06 > 0:21:08'And here's the thing -
0:21:08 > 0:21:11'Britain is a bit weird in its distribution of cities.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15'Urban economists have observed a common
0:21:15 > 0:21:18'pattern in the size of cities in countries.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21'It's been labelled Zipf's law.
0:21:21 > 0:21:26'Take Britain's largest urban areas - London, Manchester,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29'Birmingham, Glasgow, Newcastle and Durham,
0:21:29 > 0:21:31'Liverpool, Bristol and Leeds.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35'If Britain followed the pattern seen elsewhere, we'd see them
0:21:35 > 0:21:39'line up by population size, like this.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42'The biggest city would be roughly twice the size of the second
0:21:42 > 0:21:46'city, and three times the size of the third, and so on
0:21:46 > 0:21:47'down the line.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51'But here is what we actually have.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56'We see London at the top, then
0:21:56 > 0:22:00'Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, all below that line.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05'Some economists have concluded that Britain is unusual not because
0:22:05 > 0:22:10'London is so big, but because our second tier cities are too small.'
0:22:11 > 0:22:15In fact, we seem to be missing our second city altogether.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20All this implies that if you were redrawing the map of this country,
0:22:20 > 0:22:22you probably would channel
0:22:22 > 0:22:26more resources into fewer big centres and you'd hope the
0:22:26 > 0:22:29economic benefits would spread out to the regions around them,
0:22:29 > 0:22:33just as has occurred with London and the Southeast.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35But there is a particular peculiarity of the UK.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39We've taken our capital, we've turned it into a global hub
0:22:39 > 0:22:42and we've let that distract from the effort of developing
0:22:42 > 0:22:43our national ones.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58'So how can we rectify that?
0:22:58 > 0:23:00'I've come to Birmingham,
0:23:00 > 0:23:04'long recognised as Britain's second city, to search for answers.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07'Its recent past offers a lesson -
0:23:07 > 0:23:10'a lesson, in fact, in what not to do,
0:23:10 > 0:23:14'in what happens if you try to hold a successful city back.'
0:23:22 > 0:23:26Right up to the 1950s, Birmingham had a diverse economy
0:23:26 > 0:23:28with lots of thriving small firms.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34And with wage levels high and jobs plentiful, there was
0:23:34 > 0:23:37a matching confidence and cockiness about the place.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42I found the city exciting.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45The modern buildings reflect its position as the nation's
0:23:45 > 0:23:47industrial powerhouse.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50You feel as if you've been projected into the 21st century.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56This promotional film was voiced by Telly Savalas,
0:23:56 > 0:24:00who actually never went to Birmingham.
0:24:00 > 0:24:01But by the '70s,
0:24:01 > 0:24:05the city he describes had suffered a reversal of fortune.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08Yes, it's my kind of town.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15It was partly thwarted by policy-makers keen,
0:24:15 > 0:24:18as they are now, to distribute success around the country,
0:24:18 > 0:24:21back then, from Birmingham to the North.
0:24:24 > 0:24:30They passed laws, like the 1965 Control of Office Employment Act.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35So, so long, Birmingham. Here's looking at you!
0:24:41 > 0:24:46Activity was curtailed. Some firms left, and here is the story of one.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52'This is the historic site of the Bird's Custard factory.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56'Eggless custard, invented by a chemist called Alfred Bird.'
0:24:57 > 0:24:59Where's that recipe book from Bird's?
0:24:59 > 0:25:00Ah, here we are!
0:25:05 > 0:25:06Now, what does it say?
0:25:08 > 0:25:14- Take three dessert spoons full of... - Ah! Thank goodness for Bird's!
0:25:14 > 0:25:16The guests won't be disappointed after all.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22- There we go. All right. Thanks very much.- Oh, thank you very much indeed.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24Lovely!
0:25:27 > 0:25:29Mm. It actually isn't bad.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Eggless custard powder probably isn't Birmingham's greatest
0:25:36 > 0:25:39ever innovation, but it's certainly up there.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44Goodness knows how many pints of this stuff I had as a child,
0:25:44 > 0:25:48but the story of Birmingham's custard actually carries
0:25:48 > 0:25:52an important lesson for those who hope that you can control
0:25:52 > 0:25:55the flow and location of economic activity
0:25:55 > 0:25:58and usefully constrain some cities to help grow others.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08Patricia Byrne was married to a Bird's Custard worker
0:26:08 > 0:26:12when rumours began to circulate that the jobs would have to leave
0:26:12 > 0:26:13the city altogether.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17This is, what, early 1960s?
0:26:17 > 0:26:20Er...'64. '63, '64.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23- Oh, OK. Look. Yeah, here's a... - It started off.- Here's a letter...
0:26:23 > 0:26:27I think that was '62, that... It was mentioned first in '62.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30Ah. Oh, he's talking here about false rumours.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33"I must remind you that, up to the present, no decision to leave
0:26:33 > 0:26:35"Deritend..." That's the Birmingham one?
0:26:35 > 0:26:37That's right. Well, they'd all denied it to start off with.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39"No decision has been taken.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41"A large number of our people are working out the cost,
0:26:41 > 0:26:43"savings, disadvantages and advantages."
0:26:43 > 0:26:46- Lovely(!) - Then it gradually does come true.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51The company packed up everything for the move
0:26:51 > 0:26:54and it brought its employees and their families with it.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59It was the 3rd February, nice, frosty morning.
0:26:59 > 0:27:00He got the day off.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04The youngest one cried all the way. She cried all the way.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Bird's considered a move to Merseyside.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16They'd be given incentives to help set up there.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20But in the end, they decided it would be too disruptive.
0:27:22 > 0:27:28So Britain had a new custard capital, but here's the thing -
0:27:28 > 0:27:30the factory didn't move where the government had hoped,
0:27:30 > 0:27:34up north to a development district, where they needed the jobs.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37No! It headed south
0:27:37 > 0:27:40to the county of Oxfordshire, the town of Banbury.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46Patricia still lives in Banbury, all these years later.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53Are you like a Southerner now, rather than a Midlands person?
0:27:53 > 0:27:55Not really.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59I think, actually, your life really is only what you make it, anyway.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01And it's what you've got and what you treasure is up to you.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09But there is a positive lesson to draw from this tale.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12And it tells us about the innate strength of Birmingham -
0:28:12 > 0:28:15the power of cities and hubs.
0:28:17 > 0:28:18So Birmingham lost its factory,
0:28:18 > 0:28:22it didn't move to the parts of the country that needed custard
0:28:22 > 0:28:26production more badly, but there is one last chapter to this tale.
0:28:26 > 0:28:31It's what happened to Alfred Bird's old plant - and it's still in use.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33It's called Custard Factory.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36But the chemistry being practised is very different.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40It's the human chemistry of new smaller businesses.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44You see, the big cities have a big capacity to reinvent themselves.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50After 20 years of dereliction,
0:28:50 > 0:28:53and decades of decline in Birmingham,
0:28:53 > 0:28:55the site was developed for small business use.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00Today, over 2,000 people are employed here.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06It seems cities are irrepressible -
0:29:06 > 0:29:08ideal as centres for new businesses,
0:29:08 > 0:29:12with support networks on tap - you simply can't beat them.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18And that offers a clue as to one way the rest of Britain could
0:29:18 > 0:29:20respond to London.
0:29:20 > 0:29:22Try to be more like London.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27London's got the size, the scale and the impact.
0:29:27 > 0:29:29So it's not just a cluster of businesses,
0:29:29 > 0:29:33it's a cluster of clusters, a cluster squared.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36And the rest of the country needs to get a piece of the action.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39And I think it does that by taking a leaf out of the London book.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43It builds up the urban centres, the big cities, and it's
0:29:43 > 0:29:47a point that, in the past, hasn't been properly understood.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52This all suggests we need a counterweight to London.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54A proper, big second city.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59But that is the opposite of what we've been trying to create.
0:30:08 > 0:30:13From Birmingham, to West Bromwich. It's just a short hop.
0:30:13 > 0:30:17But it's a jump from a big city to a town.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20And it raises the question - where should the money go?
0:30:23 > 0:30:28Is it better to invest more in the main city or to spread it round
0:30:28 > 0:30:29to places like West Brom?
0:30:35 > 0:30:37For example, ten years ago,
0:30:37 > 0:30:42this arts centre was built to boost West Brom's economy.
0:30:42 > 0:30:43Did it work?
0:30:46 > 0:30:49The man who designed it is going to show me around.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53- Will.- Hi, welcome to The Public.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56Well, it's fantastic, isn't it? I've not been here before.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01So, Will, what is it?
0:31:01 > 0:31:04I describe it often as a box of delights,
0:31:04 > 0:31:07because it's a big, blackish box with funny windows,
0:31:07 > 0:31:10and inside there's lots of stuff going on.
0:31:13 > 0:31:18So, I mean, I am impressed - it is quite hi-spec, isn't it?
0:31:18 > 0:31:20All rather nicely done.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23Well, we worked very hard to make a very tight budget work.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29- TV:- 'It looks like the end of the line for a project that's cost'
0:31:29 > 0:31:32tens of millions of pounds of taxpayers' money -
0:31:32 > 0:31:34The Public arts centre in West Bromwich.
0:31:37 > 0:31:39My visit to The Public
0:31:39 > 0:31:43coincided with its last week as an arts centre.
0:31:43 > 0:31:48It's closed down because the council couldn't afford the running costs.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52You can't build West Bromwich on a football team and shopping alone.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56It's not good enough, it deserves more than that.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00It does, of course, but it's always going to be in the shade
0:32:00 > 0:32:02of the great hub next door, Birmingham.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07I suppose my point about the big city is that the
0:32:07 > 0:32:11rest of the country needs to learn something from the London
0:32:11 > 0:32:14experience, which is, essentially, you just want to make these
0:32:14 > 0:32:17bigger cities and not spread it too thinly, and not think of...
0:32:17 > 0:32:20No, but the great disadvantage of...
0:32:20 > 0:32:24And I have to see it from both sides, not just because I did this building...
0:32:24 > 0:32:27Is that you put everything into a place like London, and it
0:32:27 > 0:32:31becomes unaffordable for the people of West Bromwich even to visit.
0:32:36 > 0:32:39But for me, this story could be summarised
0:32:39 > 0:32:42"good building, wrong location".
0:32:47 > 0:32:51If we'd used the centre to big up Birmingham instead, which is
0:32:51 > 0:32:55after all just down the road, it might have taken off.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02Ever since the northern Spanish city of Bilbao successfully
0:33:02 > 0:33:07reinvented itself on the back of their spectacular modern art museum,
0:33:07 > 0:33:10cities all over the world have been trying to pull off the same trick.
0:33:10 > 0:33:14And it will work in some of them, but it can't work everywhere.
0:33:14 > 0:33:16And the danger of trying it everywhere is you just
0:33:16 > 0:33:19spread your resources too thinly.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29Now, the more familiar argument in Britain is not Birmingham
0:33:29 > 0:33:33versus West Brom - it is London versus the rest.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35And there is anger about that.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40We're entering a situation now whereby a government is
0:33:40 > 0:33:44able to allocate £30 million of public money to
0:33:44 > 0:33:47build a garden bridge across the River Thames.
0:33:47 > 0:33:52Meanwhile, you have regional museums and theatres and galleries
0:33:52 > 0:33:53turning the lights out.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57So if you're a young designer in Huddersfield or Stoke on Trent
0:33:57 > 0:34:01or Wakefield who needs access to culture, to museums, to grow as
0:34:01 > 0:34:05an artist, you're being denied that at the same time as we can build
0:34:05 > 0:34:09a nice bridge so that we get more visitors from Chongqing into London.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14You can obviously see his point.
0:34:14 > 0:34:18But you still might want to focus the non-London spoils,
0:34:18 > 0:34:20meagre as they may be.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26The people who should probably hate me most
0:34:26 > 0:34:29for the argument I'm making are not the people running big cities
0:34:29 > 0:34:33outside London, but it's the people running the secondary cities,
0:34:33 > 0:34:37the ones that aren't going to be big, important centres in their region,
0:34:37 > 0:34:41but are going to be sort of one or two spots down the league table
0:34:41 > 0:34:43in their area. They're not going to be hubs -
0:34:43 > 0:34:45they're going to be the spokes.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55To see what this means, I've come to Wigan, lodged comfortably
0:34:55 > 0:34:57between Liverpool and Manchester.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04So this is it, Wigan Pier.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08Orwell, he took the name and made it an unfortunate
0:35:08 > 0:35:13byword for the grimness of industrial life in the Depression.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17But today, if anything, it's just a testament to how far we've all come.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19I mean, you can go and get a drink over there.
0:35:19 > 0:35:21You can drink to the souls of the previous generations
0:35:21 > 0:35:24who had it much harder than we do.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31Wigan Pier is now a cliche of Northern England
0:35:31 > 0:35:35and it's given the town an image it would like to shake off.
0:35:35 > 0:35:39The plan was to redevelop a Wigan Pier Quarter, creating
0:35:39 > 0:35:41hundreds of jobs.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45And it started with £6 million of public funds
0:35:45 > 0:35:47and the refurbishment of this vast cotton mill.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53The building was completed in 2007.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59Alas, most of the offices still lie empty.
0:36:00 > 0:36:05It's another investment that placed hope above economic reality.
0:36:09 > 0:36:14Sometimes it seems like every town wants its own media village,
0:36:14 > 0:36:17tech hub, life sciences centre, but it's not going to happen.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20These are industries far better concentrated
0:36:20 > 0:36:22in a small number of centres.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26Doesn't mean everywhere else has to be bereft of economic activity.
0:36:26 > 0:36:29It's just a matter of them focusing on industries that serve
0:36:29 > 0:36:33local residents or which can flourish in isolation.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40And that's the positive message from another
0:36:40 > 0:36:42site across the canal in Wigan.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49So much mill, just look at it all.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52All listed, of course, making it very hard
0:36:52 > 0:36:54to know what you do with it.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57But there is some hope. Here, follow me.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00# So chic Freak out
0:37:00 > 0:37:04# Ah, freak out... #
0:37:04 > 0:37:09This business opened two years ago in what was a mill canteen.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13None of it would have been possible, without the friends, and the
0:37:13 > 0:37:17family, and the support, really, of the local people that wanted to
0:37:17 > 0:37:20bring this back, and resurrect what they had in the '80s, really.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25They discovered a gap in the market,
0:37:25 > 0:37:27genuine demand in the local community.
0:37:27 > 0:37:29So much so that the community stepped in
0:37:29 > 0:37:32and helped prepare the site.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38We had everybody in here, painting from six o'clock at night
0:37:38 > 0:37:41till half 11 in the evening, seven days a week,
0:37:41 > 0:37:45for about six months, to just try and get the place open.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48But this is successful - you can make money out of this?
0:37:48 > 0:37:50Yeah, we're making a living, we're employing,
0:37:50 > 0:37:53we have 34 people that we employ, on a part-time basis.
0:37:53 > 0:37:59- 34?- Yes, floor marshalls, snack bar staff, skate hire staff,
0:37:59 > 0:38:02bar staff, accountants, marketing,
0:38:02 > 0:38:08so, yeah, we do very well for the small business
0:38:08 > 0:38:10that we started out to be.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20Roller disco-ing is a great business here.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26OK, it's not molecular biology or space science,
0:38:26 > 0:38:31but it proves there is life in towns and smaller cities...if it fits.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45Mind you, it's a tough message.
0:38:45 > 0:38:49It means the best paid jobs are going elsewhere.
0:38:51 > 0:38:52I test this argument with
0:38:52 > 0:38:58Ian McMillan - a poet, broadcaster and professional Yorkshireman.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01When I was a young man, people said, "If you want to make a living as
0:39:01 > 0:39:03"a writer, you've got to move to London."
0:39:03 > 0:39:05Somehow, London has got to be the place where you go,
0:39:05 > 0:39:08and I've managed to make a living for 30 years without going there.
0:39:08 > 0:39:13Somebody rang me up and said, "can you come on the television and talk about living in Barnsley?"
0:39:13 > 0:39:15I said, "Yes". He said, "We'll send a car to your house."
0:39:15 > 0:39:17I said, "Where do you think I live?"
0:39:17 > 0:39:19He said, "Well, you obviously live in London."
0:39:19 > 0:39:20I said, "No, I live in Barnsley,
0:39:20 > 0:39:23"and you've got me on to talk about living in Barnsley."
0:39:23 > 0:39:27He repeated the words one at a time and went, "You live in Barnsley?!"
0:39:27 > 0:39:33Barnsley wouldn't, in this scenario, have big destination tourist
0:39:33 > 0:39:36things - it might have a few niche places, you know.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40But you can see its future very differently to seeing its past.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44It would say we're not a kind of a great hub any more,
0:39:44 > 0:39:47we are a spoke in the shape of the North of England.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49I'd feel defeated by that, I really would.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52I'd feel that we've sort of given up,
0:39:52 > 0:39:56we've become Milton Keynes or we've become one of those new towns
0:39:56 > 0:39:58where they're connected by roundabouts,
0:39:58 > 0:40:02where all those people who live there were simply serving
0:40:02 > 0:40:06the bigger place. I find that really distressing.
0:40:06 > 0:40:10If I told you that we'd be more productive
0:40:10 > 0:40:16if we kind of saw the big cities as where we put all
0:40:16 > 0:40:20our effort, would that make you feel any better about it?
0:40:20 > 0:40:23Well...don't you leave places as wastelands?
0:40:23 > 0:40:26There's just a few little hotels
0:40:26 > 0:40:29and a few tiny little am-dram things.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32Doesn't that leave a lot of the country just sitting,
0:40:32 > 0:40:35waiting for the telly to come on, or something?
0:40:40 > 0:40:45It is surely a dilemma, but if we prefer our national cycling team
0:40:45 > 0:40:49to cluster so its members can better copy, collaborate and compete
0:40:49 > 0:40:53with each other, why wouldn't we encourage new industries
0:40:53 > 0:40:56to organise in the same way in big urban centres?
0:41:01 > 0:41:06Well, if you believe that message, then there is good news to report.
0:41:06 > 0:41:11Britain's big cities are evolving, and evolving in the right direction.
0:41:11 > 0:41:15And leading the pack, the city of Manchester.
0:41:18 > 0:41:19You probably don't need me
0:41:19 > 0:41:23to remind you that Manchester has football on its side,
0:41:23 > 0:41:26but there's more to its renaissance than sporting trophies.
0:41:30 > 0:41:35So Manchester scored on two fronts important to any ambitious city -
0:41:35 > 0:41:40a growing international profile and a growing population.
0:41:41 > 0:41:46And as a result, if Britain needs a second city, this is it.
0:41:46 > 0:41:48Not my view. Yours.
0:41:49 > 0:41:54We polled a representative sample of the British public by phone
0:41:54 > 0:41:56and asked which city, outside London,
0:41:56 > 0:41:58might be an alternative capital.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03Here is how people responded -
0:42:03 > 0:42:07Manchester the winner, over second-place Birmingham.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14And it should be no surprise that here in Manchester,
0:42:14 > 0:42:17more than in any other city outside London,
0:42:17 > 0:42:21we can see the economic forces which favour big hubs in action.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31I'm travelling to one of the UK's most high-profile industry
0:42:31 > 0:42:33clusters - Salford Quays.
0:42:38 > 0:42:43First, the BBC came. Now dozens of media companies have followed.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57And here I find a rather strange construction site.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01It may not look like it, but these streets are brand-new.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10CORONATION STREET THEME
0:43:12 > 0:43:15What's been happening in Coronation Street isn't just of interest
0:43:15 > 0:43:16to soap fans.
0:43:16 > 0:43:20No, it makes a valuable economic point as well.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24'It's just the mean, sneaking, underhand way she does everything!'
0:43:24 > 0:43:26- There you are, that's provocation!- Now, look...
0:43:26 > 0:43:28You sort out the physical side of this thing.
0:43:28 > 0:43:32Physical side? I'll physical side you over that wall, you old bat!
0:43:32 > 0:43:35Neighbours don't always get along,
0:43:35 > 0:43:38but in modern businesses, locating right next door
0:43:38 > 0:43:44to your closest rival - in this case the BBC - is seen as key to success.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47And for ITV, it meant moving not just their offices
0:43:47 > 0:43:51but risking a relocation of the Coronation Street set.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56People talked about whether the soundscape of being
0:43:56 > 0:43:58down in Salford would be different from the city centre.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01You know, "Are there more seagulls?"
0:44:01 > 0:44:03And a lot of us stood on a bare site,
0:44:03 > 0:44:06listening to the birds for a lot of time!
0:44:06 > 0:44:10So the fact that the BBC occupied several buildings here was
0:44:10 > 0:44:14totally instrumental in you putting your building here?
0:44:14 > 0:44:16A very important part of it.
0:44:16 > 0:44:19You sort of build on other people's talent.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22We train our own talent, people poach it,
0:44:22 > 0:44:24other people train talent, we poach theirs.
0:44:29 > 0:44:34Salford Quays is a classic story of agglomeration economics -
0:44:34 > 0:44:37one company attracts another, attracts another.
0:44:38 > 0:44:42And with them all, the jobs, the income, the growth, the people,
0:44:42 > 0:44:45that elusive city buzz returns too.
0:44:50 > 0:44:52Ian Simpson helped pioneer the return
0:44:52 > 0:44:55to city-centre living in Manchester.
0:44:57 > 0:44:59He built a huge tower block,
0:44:59 > 0:45:03mainly residential, in the middle of the city.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06It was designed to attract well-to-do residents
0:45:06 > 0:45:08to the urban lifestyle.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13So you kept the top floor for yourself?
0:45:13 > 0:45:14The top two floors.
0:45:14 > 0:45:16- THEY LAUGH - Right.
0:45:16 > 0:45:20- That is quite a front door, I have to say.- It's a heavy door.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23Today, Beetham Tower is fully occupied.
0:45:23 > 0:45:27Just gives you an idea of the view that we get from the top, here.
0:45:27 > 0:45:29Goodness, wow, look at that!
0:45:29 > 0:45:31You certainly get a picture of Manchester.
0:45:33 > 0:45:36And then this leads through into the olive grove, which is...
0:45:36 > 0:45:40..a balcony space, effectively, but it's enclosed.
0:45:40 > 0:45:42My goodness.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45I wanted to be able to walk amongst the olive trees.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48- These are real olive trees? - Real Tuscan olive trees, yes.
0:45:50 > 0:45:54'But while Manchester has found its mojo,
0:45:54 > 0:45:56'it still has a long way to go.
0:45:56 > 0:45:58'Ian Simpson lives here,
0:45:58 > 0:46:03'but much of his work is in London. He knows just how big the gap is.'
0:46:04 > 0:46:06The equation is so distorted
0:46:06 > 0:46:11that you might be paying £2,500 a square foot
0:46:11 > 0:46:14for somewhere in London, central, whereas in Manchester,
0:46:14 > 0:46:18if you got £300 a square foot, you'd be doing well.
0:46:18 > 0:46:21There's very little residential being built in this city
0:46:21 > 0:46:22at this moment in time.
0:46:22 > 0:46:26We need to see those values move forwards a little bit,
0:46:26 > 0:46:28which prior to the previous recession we were...
0:46:28 > 0:46:31They had improved but they've obviously gone off the edge
0:46:31 > 0:46:35of the cliff now. The only viable place is London.
0:46:40 > 0:46:44London has the size and the gravitational pull.
0:46:44 > 0:46:46So how can Manchester close the gap?
0:46:55 > 0:46:58Could we make it a bigger city?
0:46:58 > 0:47:01A kind of London of the North?
0:47:01 > 0:47:04Well, the answer is yes, quite possibly we could.
0:47:17 > 0:47:21To show why I think that, I've come, perhaps surprisingly,
0:47:21 > 0:47:27to a market town, 28 miles northeast of Manchester.
0:47:27 > 0:47:32A small town that has succeeded in attracting big-city types.
0:47:38 > 0:47:41It's a bit of a mystery, Hebden Bridge.
0:47:41 > 0:47:45It was once declared the fourth funkiest town in the world.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48It's popularly rumoured to have more lesbians per head
0:47:48 > 0:47:50than anywhere else in the UK.
0:47:53 > 0:47:57It's a buoyant mix of creatives, cooperatives, and entrepreneurs.
0:47:57 > 0:48:01It has over 500 independent businesses,
0:48:01 > 0:48:06and I find some of them more California than Yorkshire.
0:48:09 > 0:48:11If I had the dog, what would you serve the dog?
0:48:11 > 0:48:13We'd serve the dog one of our home-baked treats,
0:48:13 > 0:48:16which you can see up here, such as carrot and banana.
0:48:16 > 0:48:20- What, these are for dogs?- Yeah. - They look delicious. You're joking!
0:48:20 > 0:48:23What happens if I have one of those, does it kill me?
0:48:23 > 0:48:25It will turn you into a hairy dog!
0:48:25 > 0:48:26HE LAUGHS
0:48:27 > 0:48:28DOG BARKS
0:48:28 > 0:48:32Oh, the dogs are here. Do the dogs really like the snacks here?
0:48:32 > 0:48:34Yes, they do.
0:48:34 > 0:48:36This is a wonderfully coiffured dog.
0:48:36 > 0:48:38- This is a proper dog.- This is Gomez.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41You've been spoilt, I think, haven't you?
0:48:41 > 0:48:45You've been spoiled with little cakes and things, haven't you?
0:48:49 > 0:48:53Hebden Bridge was built on the back of the old weaving mills,
0:48:53 > 0:48:57but they closed and people began to leave in the 1960s.
0:48:57 > 0:49:01It looked like much of the town would be knocked down.
0:49:01 > 0:49:06Instead, though, it reinvented itself as successfully as London
0:49:06 > 0:49:07or any part of Britain.
0:49:10 > 0:49:14David Fletcher did his bit to help the town turn around.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18People working for larger companies in Leeds and Manchester,
0:49:18 > 0:49:20and so on, begin to come in, buy property
0:49:20 > 0:49:23at not absolutely rock bottom prices,
0:49:23 > 0:49:25and start investing in those properties.
0:49:25 > 0:49:30Bags of DIY going on, but more than that, a new creative spirit.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33I mean, this was the first time that new residents
0:49:33 > 0:49:36had moved into the town for a century, probably,
0:49:36 > 0:49:39and, you know, things began to buzz.
0:49:39 > 0:49:44And I think the lesson of Hebden Bridge lies in three words
0:49:44 > 0:49:45you heard there...
0:49:45 > 0:49:48Leeds and Manchester.
0:49:48 > 0:49:51Its success is built on its convenient location
0:49:51 > 0:49:52between the two.
0:49:55 > 0:50:00Connectivity is key and you can see that at the train station.
0:50:00 > 0:50:02- Lovely fresh bread. - What have you got?
0:50:02 > 0:50:05We've got white and we've got lavender.
0:50:05 > 0:50:07- Oh, I'll try lavender, thank you. - Right.
0:50:07 > 0:50:11- Is that 2.50?- 3.50, yeah.
0:50:11 > 0:50:12- You spotted the gap.- Yeah.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14Which is the commuter market in Hebden Bridge.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17Absolutely, absolutely. They are our target market.
0:50:17 > 0:50:19- Right.- New Hebden, we call them.
0:50:19 > 0:50:22One of the great things about Hebden Bridge is
0:50:22 > 0:50:25it's sort of halfway between the two, isn't it?
0:50:25 > 0:50:28I used to commute to Leeds and my partner commutes to Manchester.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30We googled it and googled all the villages around here
0:50:30 > 0:50:33and Hebden Bridge came up trumps.
0:50:36 > 0:50:38What Hebden Bridge tells us
0:50:38 > 0:50:42is the attraction of the Leeds/Manchester combination.
0:50:42 > 0:50:45Hebden Bridge - you might not believe it -
0:50:45 > 0:50:48is the second city in the country.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51It's an inverted city, with a green belt centre,
0:50:51 > 0:50:55beautiful scenery, and lots of suburbs with quaint names
0:50:55 > 0:50:58like Manchester, Leeds, Bradford,
0:50:58 > 0:51:01Sheffield, Preston, Liverpool...
0:51:01 > 0:51:06The population living and being supported
0:51:06 > 0:51:09within one hour's travelling time of here
0:51:09 > 0:51:13is over seven million. That's a big city.
0:51:17 > 0:51:21OK, so Hebden Bridge isn't our second city.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24But its ability to attract urban professionals
0:51:24 > 0:51:28suggests there is a big city struggling to emerge.
0:51:28 > 0:51:32Take a look at this. The night-time population of the North.
0:51:32 > 0:51:36Where people live. Already you can see the emergence of a super city,
0:51:36 > 0:51:39stretching from Liverpool to Leeds.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42But look what happens to the population in the morning.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44Thousands of commuters have made their way
0:51:44 > 0:51:48along transport lines to key hubs.
0:51:48 > 0:51:53This city is a long spread-out one, a bit like Los Angeles.
0:51:54 > 0:51:58At night, the prosperity generated in the centres of Manchester, Leeds
0:51:58 > 0:52:01and Liverpool spreads out across the region,
0:52:01 > 0:52:03filling the gaps in between.
0:52:03 > 0:52:06Including towns like Hebden Bridge.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08And with better East-West links,
0:52:08 > 0:52:13the whole strip could surely serve as a single travel-to-work zone.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26Research has shown that one big city
0:52:26 > 0:52:30is more productive than two cities half the size.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37But bigger cities require connections.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40Connections that come at a cost.
0:52:40 > 0:52:44Physical links. Rapid transport.
0:52:44 > 0:52:46It's something which we seem to understand
0:52:46 > 0:52:48when it comes to our capital.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55In the last programme, I explored Crossrail.
0:52:55 > 0:52:5826 miles of tunnel is being dug under London,
0:52:58 > 0:53:02connecting more people to the centre than ever before.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11London is paying for most of the £15 billion cost,
0:53:11 > 0:53:14but not all.
0:53:29 > 0:53:32And here's a stark contrast.
0:53:32 > 0:53:33A relic of an age,
0:53:33 > 0:53:38when the North of England was building connections, too.
0:53:38 > 0:53:41God, I don't think I've ever driven through a three-mile tunnel
0:53:41 > 0:53:43with no lighting of its own, no.
0:53:43 > 0:53:47It's an unusual adventure, isn't it?
0:53:47 > 0:53:53These are the disused Standedge Railway Tunnels under the Pennines.
0:53:53 > 0:53:55Tell me about yourself a bit, Graeme -
0:53:55 > 0:53:57you're a bit of a tunnel person?
0:53:57 > 0:54:03It pains me to say it, but I am a self-confessed tunnel anorak.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06Until the '60s, there were four train lines
0:54:06 > 0:54:10running between Manchester and Leeds. Now there are two.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14They are being upgraded, but it will still be two.
0:54:14 > 0:54:16When the first tunnel opened in 1849,
0:54:16 > 0:54:20most of the people hereabouts would never have left the valley.
0:54:20 > 0:54:22Probably some of them had never left the village.
0:54:22 > 0:54:26But suddenly you can drive social change -
0:54:26 > 0:54:28you can get on a train at Marsden,
0:54:28 > 0:54:30you can get to Manchester, Liverpool or Leeds.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33You got to hand it to them. You got to hand it to them.
0:54:33 > 0:54:35They certainly... They didn't lack ambition, did they?
0:54:35 > 0:54:38That was the wonderful thing about the Victorians -
0:54:38 > 0:54:41they didn't spend years and many, many, many millions of pounds
0:54:41 > 0:54:44on consultation. They got on and did it.
0:54:51 > 0:54:55So what has happened to our economic ambition for the North of England?
0:54:58 > 0:55:00The amount of money, public and private,
0:55:00 > 0:55:03which Britain has committed to spend on transport infrastructure
0:55:03 > 0:55:07in London is getting on for £5,000 per person.
0:55:07 > 0:55:11In comparison, if you live in an English region,
0:55:11 > 0:55:15you can expect an average of £700.
0:55:25 > 0:55:29If we want a Northern hub to enjoy the agglomeration benefits of London
0:55:29 > 0:55:33and the South, then it will take some investment to make it happen.
0:55:36 > 0:55:41But this country is in a bind when it comes to infrastructure spending.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44London's growth means it always seems to have
0:55:44 > 0:55:47pressing demands for transport and other investment.
0:55:49 > 0:55:54So London ends up using up the available cash.
0:55:54 > 0:55:55Since I've been Mayor,
0:55:55 > 0:56:00we've added 600,000 people to London. We're growing at the rate
0:56:00 > 0:56:07of 1,000 people a week, in our city. A Tube train full a week,
0:56:07 > 0:56:10and we are going to need Crossrail 2,
0:56:10 > 0:56:12it's going to be absolutely indispensable.
0:56:15 > 0:56:17But does that give the rest of the country
0:56:17 > 0:56:21enough of a shout at pulling more business its way?
0:56:23 > 0:56:27After all, the rest wants to be able to modernise and adapt.
0:56:31 > 0:56:34The biggest infrastructure project on the horizon
0:56:34 > 0:56:38is High Speed 2, a North-South rail link.
0:56:40 > 0:56:44But it won't improve the crucial East-West connections.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49There is intense anger, not at London's success,
0:56:49 > 0:56:54but the level of pump priming public subsidy that goes in here.
0:56:54 > 0:56:56So is it really a matter of national priority
0:56:56 > 0:57:00that we need a new Tube station in Battersea, which will cost a fortune?
0:57:00 > 0:57:03Crossrail, Crossrail 2, High Speed 2.
0:57:03 > 0:57:06Where's High Speed 2 beginning? Is it beginning in Manchester?
0:57:06 > 0:57:09No, it's beginning round the corner from here, in Euston.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16The truth is that if we're too relaxed about the gap
0:57:16 > 0:57:20between London and the rest, if we fail to find a counterweight
0:57:20 > 0:57:26to the capital, then we'll see the gap widen rather than shrink.
0:57:26 > 0:57:28The clever ones leave and go to London.
0:57:28 > 0:57:31I think it's because the perception, and probably the reality, is that
0:57:31 > 0:57:34the good jobs are there, as you have said, connections are there,
0:57:34 > 0:57:38the centres of cultural, social and economic power are there.
0:57:38 > 0:57:40But that doesn't mean they always have to be -
0:57:40 > 0:57:43that's what makes me cross. And you think, "Let's just stay here a bit,
0:57:43 > 0:57:46"let's just try, let's just try. There's a great party going on
0:57:46 > 0:57:49"down the street, but we can have our own party in this house."
0:57:54 > 0:57:58The relationship between Britain, a compact country, and London,
0:57:58 > 0:58:02its super-sized capital, may always be a somewhat fraught one.
0:58:02 > 0:58:06We're not going to reshape this country any time soon.
0:58:06 > 0:58:08But here's a suggestion for a deal.
0:58:08 > 0:58:11The rest of Britain shouldn't resent London.
0:58:11 > 0:58:15It's a great city. But Londoners mustn't resent attempts
0:58:15 > 0:58:19to ensure the rest of the country gets a piece of the action.
0:58:19 > 0:58:22The whole of Britain needs its investment, too.
0:58:23 > 0:58:28If we can all just accept those two simple propositions,
0:58:28 > 0:58:31we'd see that it doesn't have to be London versus the rest,
0:58:31 > 0:58:34it isn't one or other -
0:58:34 > 0:58:37we can surely allow ourselves a good deal of both.