South Yorkshire model shapes Burnham’s industrial revival agenda

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South Yorkshire industrial revival model

Highlights

AMRC in Rotherham, established in 2001 by the University of Sheffield, now partners with Boeing, BAE, and McLaren, expanding into Lancashire and North Wales.
AMRC launched COMPASS, an advanced materials facility supporting Boeing's aim to meet demand for 44,000 new aircraft over 20 years, focusing on lighter planes and lower fuel use.
Burnham’s growth strategy seeks to spread AMRC-style productivity gains to deprived areas like Greater Manchester, requiring faster impact than previous long-term projects.

Rotherham model links research with manufacturing

As reported by Financial Times, Burnham’s view of industrial renewal draws heavily on projects such as the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in Rotherham, which was established in 2001 by the University of Sheffield as a place where research and commercial development could work together. Its industry partners now include Boeing, BAE and McLaren, and the centre has expanded beyond South Yorkshire into Lancashire and North Wales.

Yesterday the AMRC launched COMPASS, short for Composites at Speed and Scale, a new advanced materials facility that Boeing sees as part of meeting demand for 44,000 new aircraft over the next two decades. Boeing UK and Ireland president Sir Jeremy Quin says the investment is aimed at lighter aircraft and lower fuel use, adding that the Sheffield base is the company’s biggest single research and development project in Europe.

The project is presented not as a return to older heavy industry but as a future-focused manufacturing strategy rooted in the region’s existing capabilities. South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard argues that places such as Sheffield need to build on assets already in place, including technical expertise, infrastructure and institutional partnerships, instead of trying to imitate Silicon Valley without the same foundations.

Skills, local growth and wider economic pressure

The AMRC also reflects a wider argument among metro mayors that skills policy must sit at the centre of industrial strategy. Andy Silcox, the AMRC’s chief technology officer, says engineering still does not receive the same respect in the UK as in some other countries, echoing broader concerns that technical education is undervalued.

Materials physicist Richard Jones, who helped establish the AMRC and has influenced Burnham’s local industrial thinking, argues that regional policy should focus on businesses producing tradable goods and services. He says such activity matters not only because it brings income into communities, but also because it gives places a clearer economic purpose.

That challenge remains significant beyond individual success stories. While the productivity gains around the AMRC are notable, Burnham’s broader promise of growth in every postcode implies spreading similar benefits into less advantaged areas in Rotherham, Greater Manchester and other places that lack an obvious economic centre, and doing so faster than long-term projects such as the AMRC have managed so far.

Our earlier article on Andy Burnham’s planned rapid policy rollout explained how he intended to move quickly in government, with early measures aimed at easing living costs, supporting parts of the North Sea energy sector, and speeding up devolution. It also outlined preparations for wider public-service reforms, including proposals around a free-at-the-point-of-use national care service and possible intervention in Thames Water.

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