An exciting time to be doing business in Yorkshire

THESE are positive times for Yorkshire.  The city regions and the whole of the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ have a lot to look forward to in the coming months and years, if recent momentum can be continued.  Devolution deals could take this to a new level.

The Northern Powerhouse announced by George Osborne last year linking the cities of the North from Liverpool to Newcastle has become well established as a concept, so much so that it’s now its own ‘brand’ and is starting to be recognised on an international scale.  

Chancellor George Osborne presented a ‘Northern Pitchbook’ during his recent visit to China, setting out £24bn of investment opportunities including the 130 hectare regeneration scheme at South Bank in Leeds.  The first direct flights from Manchester to China have also been announced as part of the recent Chinese state visit, which also saw plans for a £130m ‘China Cluster’ at Manchester Airport.

Meanwhile, a delegation from Leeds City region and other parts of the Powerhouse attended one of the world’s leading property fairs, MIPIM in Cannes, earlier this year, with plans to attend again in 2016.  And Sheffield and Leeds City Regions have clubbed together to promote 20 ‘oven-ready’ projects in MIPIM UK.

Back at home, the Government has committed to improve infrastructure to stimulate the region, such as the £600m upgrade to the northern rail hub, and improvements to the A1 North and other roads.  All this on top of HS2.

Against this backdrop, the movement towards devolution would appear to make strong sense: giving the Combined Authorities greater freedom and flexibility to pursue the interests of the areas and stimulate economic activity.

38 devolution bids were submitted at the beginning of September, with the Government expected to respond to bids by the Spending Review on 25 November.

The Leeds bid set out a series of 27 ‘asks’ including greater powers to raise and direct funding towards those areas that will have the greatest impact on economic growth including transport and infrastructure, housing and regeneration, and support for business and skills.

A lot has already been achieved through previous City Deals as well as investment via the Regional Growth Fund.  According to Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Leeds is ahead of the national average in terms of its rate of business growth.  There are now 119,000 businesses in the Leeds city region, an increase of 9% on 2014 compared to a national rise of 7%.

Meanwhile, Leeds’ devolved youth programme has seen 8 out of 10 participants getting into work compared to 3 out of 10 nationally.

Regeneration of the city centre continues apace.  Just in the view from our office window for example, one can see four cranes against the skyline working on major builds!

Devolution seems to be working for the city regions in Yorkshire so far. Successful devolution deals could see city regions like Leeds and Sheffield truly take growth to the next level.  One great advantage the areas have is that they have gone down the Combined Authority (CA) route.  The Government has indicated that it looks favourably on CAs, as working more collectively across larger areas can unlock a greater scale of possibility.

There is still some way to go.  Even when the deals are agreed, the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill itself is still going through Parliament and secondary legislation will be needed to enact many aspects of it.  

But one exciting prospect the Bill currently holds is that CAs will be given a “general power of competence” – this could bring even more room for independent action and innovation.

All in all, it’s certainly a case of ‘watch this space’ – and then hopefully seeing it prosper.