Yorkshire LEPS reach partnership deal
THE three local enterprise partnerships set up in Yorkshire have agreed to work together to promote the region’s common economic interests.
The abolition of regional development agency Yorkshire Forward and the establishment of three new local enterprise partnerships – in the Leeds and Sheffield City Regions and another covering York and North Yorkshire – had raised concerns that region-wide cooperation would be sacrificed in favour of fierce competition between the county’s towns and cities.
Some business leaders had also argued there was intrinsic value in Yorkshire as a brand that could be lost as part of the shake-up.
It is thought this agreement is designed to address those concerns with the three LEPs looking at sectors where they may have common interests as well as working together in areas such as transport infrastructure and EU matters.
The agreement stops short of establishing a formal Yorkshire Enterprise Partnership – one of the suggestions made following the decision to close Yorkshire Forward – but is seen as a positive move to ensure that key issues continue to be addressed on a region-wide basis.
