A full collaboration of all parties is essential if Peel’s plans for the Ocean Gateway are to come to fruition, development director Lindsay Ashworth said this morning. Speaking to Insider before his presentation on the Liverpool stand at the MIPIM exhibition in Cannes, Ashworth said: “The Ocean Gateway project is about making the North West a super-region. Liverpool has got all the potential, as Manchester is exhausted in terms of expansion. Five years ago, there were still people being possessive and myopic, but the collaboration is much better now. It is positive because the last thing you need in a recession is unnecessary delays.” Peel’s Ocean Gateway proposals form part of the Northwest Regional Development Agency’s Atlantic Gateway strategy, which aims to create “a sustainable economic zone” in the region. Councils and local authorities in the Liverpool and Manchester city regions yesterday signed up to support the framework.