Chair's blog: the positive impact of our £1bn Growth Deal is being felt across the region

Our £1billion-plus Growth Deal with government is now halfway into delivery, and its impact is being felt across the region in the shape of new, world-class college facilities, homes, commercial developments and transport infrastructure, and – crucially – more skilled jobs created and safeguarded for local people.

We secured our Growth Deal back in 2014. It was – and indeed still is – the largest Growth Deal of any local enterprise partnership area in the country.

The Deal provides around £690million of devolved Government investment, made up of £516million local growth funding plus £173.5million Department for Transport funding to improve transport in Leeds, which was announced as part of the deal. Unlike anywhere else in the country at that time, the City Region also secured a further £420million to establish an overall £1billion West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund to improve road, rail and other transport links across the region over a 20-year period.

Three years since we received our first tranche of funding, investment has now been approved by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority for over 100 significant Growth Deal projects.

In Bradford, our Growth Deal is supporting the creation of the New Bolton Woods urban village between Bradford and Shipley, which will ultimately bring 1,000 new homes to the area. It is also helping to bring the iconic Odeon building back into public use as a mid-sized live events venue, alongside an additional £4million investment we secured from the Government’s Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund.

In Calderdale, Transport Fund investment is helping to reduce road congestion on the A629 between Halifax and Huddersfield, supporting the council’s transformation of the town centre, and helping to protect homes and businesses in the Calder Valley from flooding.

Kirklees has seen major Growth Deal investment in innovative new facilities for skills development and business growth including the newly launched Springfield Centre in Dewsbury, the Huddersfield Innovation and Incubation Project at Huddersfield University and the fantastic Process Manufacturing Centre at Kirklees College, which provides apprentices with hands-on training in partnership with industry.

Leeds has also benefitted from investment in new college facilities including a new campus for Leeds College of Building on the city’s South Bank, Leeds City College’s hugely impressive Printworks campus and the under-construction Quarry Hill campus. At the University of Leeds, the Nexus innovation and incubation centre is set to open in September with Growth Deal investment and will play a key role in supporting SMEs to achieve high-value growth.

The Wakefield Eastern Relief Road – the first of our Transport Fund schemes to be completed in June last year – is helping to ease congestion on a key commuter route in the city and has also opened up land to build 2,500 houses.

Commuters in York will soon see reduced congestion on the York Outer Ring Road when a major package of Transport Fund investment is completed. They are also currently invited to have their say on proposals for a new entrance and improved facilities for the city’s station, which will open up access to the neighbouring York Central business district.

Meanwhile businesses across the region are growing and creating jobs thanks to grant funding and other business support, again funded through our Growth Deal.

The Jolly Sailor microbrewery in Selby has increased its productivity and saved £3,000 a year on its water and energy costs through a resource efficiency grant, while small and medium-sized businesses in Craven and Harrogate are receiving intensive, one-to-one support from dedicated SME Growth Managers funded jointly by the LEP and our partner councils.

These are just a few examples of how our Growth Deal is having a positive impact on our economy.

However, with just three more years of Growth Deal funding left, it is vital that our region secures the means to generate further, badly-needed investment beyond Brexit if we are to continue this momentum.

The Northern Rail fiasco, which has brought misery to rail passengers across our region in recent weeks – well-documented by the Yorkshire Post – is a powerful reminder of the consequences of under-investment in the key infrastructure that underpins our economy.

Currently, the only way to achieve the sustained investment we need is through a meaningful mayoral devolution deal – the benefits of which neighbouring northern city regions are already enjoying. I will continue to do all I can to support efforts for a suitable deal to be done at the earliest possible opportunity.

Through our Growth Deal we are already proving that devolution to our region works, and makes a tangible and lasting difference to our economy, local communities and people’s lives.