Millions to be spent on Yorkshire infrastructure
The Government has announced substantial investment for Yorkshire in its Budget, as part of what it brands its ambition to “level up” opportunity and share prosperity across the UK.
As part of the Transforming Cities Fund there will be £166m for Sheffield City Region, including a new Bus Rapid Transit link in Barnsley and a new tram stop on the Tram-Train line to Rotherham at Magna.
And £317m is being made available for West Yorkshire. This includes £39.9m for Halifax to deliver a new bus station, improved rail station and other improvements to complement the revitalisation of the town centre and £30m for active and sustainable travel across Bradford.
The Budget allocates up to £95m for the British Library site at Boston Spa. This investment will underpin the library’s plans to open a major new site in the centre of Leeds, creating a new British Library of the North.
The Government will provide a £25m Heritage Fund to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to support the Library in establishing this new site.
As part of what The Government says is the largest ever investment in England’s strategic roads, it will investigate how the A1 Doncaster to Darrington road in Yorkshire can be improved to speed up journeys and boost economic growth.
And it will explore how to connect communities in East Lancashire and West Yorkshire better.
Finally, a £1bn fund that the Government has already committed to pay for next generation digital infrastructure, will include a £1m allocation for the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Jeremy Oliver, Partner, Garbutt +Elliott, commented on the announcement saying: “The promise of millions to be spent in Yorkshire on infrastructure is great news. This investment will be a great boost for the economic growth of the region. Improving transport facilities will make workers more mobile, making labour markets more efficient and increase productivity.”
