Northern Powerhouse 'best chance' for north Wales, says Crabb

The Northern Powerhouse plan for the north of England is the "best chance to bring transformational change to north Wales", the Welsh secretary has said.

Stephen Crabb told business leaders in Abergele there should be "no limits to the scale of north Wales' ambition".

He told the Institute of Directors that George Osborne's plans for economic growth in the north of England have "taken off at startling speed".

Mr Crabb also hailed Wrexham's new super-prison as a boost to the economy.

The prison will house 2,106 offenders, which will make it the UK's largest.

Mr Crabb told business leaders on Monday they should be in the driving seat to ensure north Wales reaped the benefits of the Northern Powerhouse.

Stephen Crabb (centre) meets north Wales business leaders in Abergele

"In north Wales, we have always looked east to Liverpool and Manchester for economic growth as much as we look south to Cardiff and Swansea," he said.

"The Northern Powerhouse represents our best chance to bring transformational change to north Wales.

"But in the same way that the UK government has had the confidence to devolve powers from the centre down to Manchester, we need to see the same confidence in north Wales from politicians in Cardiff.

"I want to see a strong alliance between the business community in north Wales and their partners.

"It is their role to hold the feet of both the UK and Welsh government to the fire so this part of the country can secure the world class infrastructure it deserves."

Later, on a visit to the site of the new Wrexham super-prison, Mr Crabb said the project had already contributed £19m to the local economy and was on course to create 1,000 jobs when the jail opened.

"Public sector projects like Wrexham prison demonstrate how the region is in prime position to make multi-million pound investments work," he said.