Geoscience Ireland attended a series of events taking place around a trade mission led by Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphries TD.

Of particular note is the focus being placed on the Northern Powerhouse initiative which aims to rebalance the UK economy, by maximising the combined potential of the north of England’s cities and regions, including Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield and Tees Valley, an area of approximately 14,400 square miles with a population of 14.9 million people. The goal is to create a collection of modern cities sufficiently close to each other that ‘combined they can take on the world’, driving business, skills and economic growth, in order to position the region as a globally recognised economy. GI member companies, Murphy Surveys and Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions were in attendance, showcasing their services to prospective clients.

This initiative will involve major infrastructure developments to improve the region’s connectivity internally and externally. Projects include;

• Manchester Airport;
• HS2 & HS3;
• Manchester –Sheffield Road Upgrade ( incl significant underground works);
• Liverpool-Manchester-Leeds Rail Upgrade; and
• Housing (12,000 pa in Manchester alone).

For information, GI companies have the following projects in Northern England;

• ARUP & Priority Drilling; Sirius Potash – tunnelling project;
• Byrne Looby; Waste to Energy, Manchester;
• IE Consulting; Scour Analysis, Manchester;
• Irish Drilling; Mineral Exploration, Pennines;
• Meehan Drilling; Geothermal Wells, Durham;
• Mincon PLC factory; Hebden Br near Leeds;
• Murphy Surveys; HS2, Sisk;
• Nicholas O Dwyer: Water Resilience, Birmingham;
• Rubicon; archaeological projects; and
• Trench Control; WWTP, Barrow; Pile Installation, Coventry.

There are many opportunities in the region with well-established Irish contractors, some of which already use GI services, with room for expanding that group.