'The numbers speak for themselves - where better to put your money?'

It's one of the 'very few' industries that the UK is actually doing well in - and it could unlock tens of billions of pounds more.

But what role will the North of England play in the future of the creative sector? According to a new report, it's already leading the way.

A 'bold vision' for the UK's creative industries, aimed at cementing the UK's reputation as a 'creative superpower', has been set out this week by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). The report calls for 'creative corridors' to be established across the UK, including one in the North.

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Building on the success of 'creative clusters' such as Salford's MediaCityUK, the report says that joining up other hotspots across the region would 'supercharge' their potential. A potential Northern corridor could run from Chester and Liverpool, through to Greater Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield, then onto Newcastle and Tyneside, Teeside, Gateshead, Durham and Darlington, the report suggests.

From live music and film, to video games and digital technologies, each place playing to their strengths would work together to become more than the sum of their parts. It's a vision reminiscent of the Northern Powerhouse set out by the Tories 10 years ago.

But it's a model that the report suggests should be rolled out across the country. And according to RSA chief executive Andy Haldane, the former chief economist at the Bank of England who led the government's Levelling Up taskforce, it's a worthwhile investment.

"The numbers in a way speak for themselves," he said. "It is one of the very few - regrettably few sectors - where the UK genuinely is internationally competitive that we're perceived as having a, if you like, comparative advantage. We see that in the export numbers of our creative exports, service sports, that we top three in the world for that. So we are perceived internationally as doing well.

"In some ways there is no better diagnostic whether you do something well than can you flog it to foreigners. Are they buying your stuff? And the fact is they are. And that's a surefire sign that this is a sector that we in comparative terms do very well at."

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News before launching the report at The Lowry in Salford, Mr Haldane explained why he believes that creating 'creative corridors' across the country is the way forward for the UK. "The UK's blessed in the number of creative clusters it has," he said. "More than 50 creative clusters, more than 700 microclusters and more than 20 just here in Manchester where I sit.

"But the real benefits we know come from the connecting and coalescing of those clusters in the form of a corridor or in the form of a supercluster of the likes that we have in the South East for the creative industries. That's where the real benefits come, the benefits of scale, the benefits of joining up, the benefits of a deep pool of labour, a deep pool of ideas and innovation, a deep pool of finance."

Northern mayors are broadly behind the vision having set up the One Creative North initiative and announcing last month plans for a £50m fund offering loans to creative businesses in the region. But according to Mr Haldane, new clusters must be created as well.

"The Lowry was built as a big bold project with nothing around it," he said. "And now, as I survey the scene, and it's an absolute hub.

"You can build by betting big with an investment. In the same way as happened here in Salford, as the same way as is happening in Sunderland and Bradford."

It comes after the new Labour government highlighted the creative industries as one of eight sectors that will be central to its new industrial strategy. But Mr Haldane argues that the benefits of investing in the creative industries go beyond the economy alone.

"It was no surprise that when we think back to the riots over the summer, that was often in places that invested too little in their community and communal spaces, in their social infrastructure and therefore eroded that sense of pride, that sense of belonging, that sense of community cohesion," he said. "So for me, the benefits absolutely are felt locally, not just in jobs and pay, but in health and wellbeing and in social cohesion."

"If you view this in purely commercial terms," he added, "the return on investment in this sector looks to be as high as any other sector you can shake a stick at right now. But more than that, if you want thriving and cohesive communities, we now know from our own experience and indeed experiences around the world, that an investment here is not just nice, but essential, foundational to having communities that have a sense of pride, a sense of belonging, a sense of dynamism and a sense of cohesion.

"And those are all things that we sorely miss across regrettably large swathes of the UK right now. Where better spend your marginal pound if you're Keir and Rachel than nurturing just those things?"