About us
The Mersey Dee Alliance consists of the following strategic partners:
- Cheshire West and Chester Council
- Denbighshire County Council
- Flintshire County Council
- Merseytravel
- Welsh Assembly Government
- Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council
- Wrexham County Borough Council
- NWDA (Northwest Regional Development Agency)
Partners are represented at Board level by three elected members from each authority. The Board meets a minimum of three times per year with an additional annual general meeting. Each partner contributes a small annual fee towards the operational budget.
Core business is taken forward by a Strategy Group drawn from senior officers within each partner organisation, which meets a minimum of four times per year.
Cheshire West and Chester Council is the Accountable Body for the Partnership and currently employs one and a half full-time equivalent staff to service the partnership.
Business Plan
The MDA’s business plan is available to download here. The current plan is for the period 2008-11 and focuses on strategic policy integration and the delivery of projects in transport and accessibility, key sites, employment and skills, sustainability, environment and place marketing.
The associated delivery plan is also available to download here
Partnership origins
From April 2007 the former Mersey Dee Alliance (Chester, Cheshire, Ellesmere Port and Neston local authorities, Wirral and Merseytravel) and the Four Counties Partnership (Chester, Cheshire, Ellesmere Port and Neston, Flintshire and Wrexham local authorities and the Welsh Assembly Government) were merged and with the addition of Denbighshire, formed the new Mersey Dee Alliance Partnership. Partners decided to keep the name ‘Mersey Dee Alliance’.
The former MDA delivered the NWDA funded BESS programme (Business Employment Support Strategy) (Download Evaluation by Amion Consultancy). The Four Counties Partnership was involved in the development of the North East Wales / West Cheshire Sub-regional Spatial Strategy
In April 2009, due to local government reorganisation, Cheshire West and Chester Council replaced Chester City, Cheshire County and Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Councils and the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) joined the partnership.
Successes to date
Joint working on common strategic interests before the period of the current Partnership yielded important successes, not least the North East Wales / West Cheshire Sub Regional Spatial Strategy and the Sustainable Environmental Appraisal , which won the region’s Best Strategic Planning Document Award at the Royal Town Planning Institute’s (RTPI) Northwest Regional Planning Achievement Awards 2007. The strategy was underpinned by a sub-regional study (GVA Grimley 2004), and before that commissioned studies on employment, skills, training and transport options have given a consistent message and firm evidence base for policy making.
The North West Development Agency (NWDA)-funded Business Enterprise Support Strategy (BESS) (2002-7) was a successful £1m programme of regeneration for deprived wards operating across county boundaries that levered in an additional £700k from other public and private sources. The programme led to initiatives such as Cheshire Oaks Retail Academy and ‘Workwise’ which provides transport solutions to enable people to access employment and training opportunities. Workwise has been recognised as national best practice, and played a role in Merseytravel and Merseyside local authorities winning Beacon Status for Accessibility in 2008.
Strategic Vision in Context
The MDA is guided by strategy set by both the Welsh and English/North West contexts. For example:
- In planning, the non-statutory North East Wales / West Cheshire Sub Regional Spatial Strategy sits within the framework of the Wales Spatial Plan and the Regional Spatial Strategy for the North West of England (both statutory).
- In the field of economic development, the North West Regional Economic Strategy / Integrated Regional Strategy and the Wales Economic Development Strategy, A Vibrant Economy. For skills, the Skills That Work for Wales Strategy 2008, and the English Skills Strategy and Education and Skills White Paper 2008, drawing on the Leitch and Webb Reviews.
In transport, the Wales and North West National, Regional and Local Transport Plans.
- North West Regional Transport Strategy
- North Wales Regional Transport Plan
- Wales Transport Strategy
- DfT National Transport Strategy
Local Transport Plans:
North East Wales
Recent policy
... a major economic area crossing national and sub-regional boundaries ...
The recent city regions and sub national economic development agendas in England have great relevance to the MDA area. As a major economic area crossing national and sub-regional boundaries partners recognise that alignment of policy initiatives and joining up delivery across a functional economic area is key to meeting the needs of the area’s economy and inhabitants, whilst still recognising the importance of maintaining the individuality of its constituent parts and building on its cultural and linguistic diversity.
To this end the partnership considers it important to respond to consultations on issues that may affect or have an impact on the sub region.
