Blueprint for region’s future lays out key priorities for incoming mayor
The incoming South Yorkshire mayor must show vision and ambition to turbocharge the region’s Covid recovery and lay the foundations for sustainable, long-term prosperity, according to the CBI.
The business group has today launched its South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority Business Manifesto, a blueprint for the region’s future which urges the winner of May 5’s ballot to work with business to champion the area’s strengths in driving future growth.
Overcoming skills shortages, delivering improvements to physical and digital infrastructure and building new links between business, academia and all levels of government are priorities.
Securing new funding and devolved powers is also a key part of the manifesto.
Beckie Hart, CBI Yorkshire and the Humber director, said: “This May’s mayoral election comes at a critical time for South Yorkshire. The region faces multiple headwinds, like the increased cost of living and doing business, geopolitical instability and rising inflation, on top of ongoing post-pandemic recovery efforts. We’re at a crossroads, and future generations will judge the path we choose.
“South Yorkshire needs to be empowered to maximise its potential. It is a region with a rich cultural, leisure and tourism offer, and many assets of key importance to the UK economy – for example the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, which is home to many high value sectors, focusing on power generation and renewable energy vital for research and development.
“The next mayor should seek to capitalise on these assets to fuel an economy that plays to distinct local strengths which empower communities, reduce long-standing inequalities, and boost regional prosperity.”
The CBI’s manifesto includes recommendations in five key areas which outline how the newly-elected mayor can work in tandem with business to deliver economic growth to the region: Skills; Housing; Infrastructure; Devolution; and Climate Change.
As part of these five areas, the group wants the mayor to encourage direct links between schools and enterprise to open pathways into work and reduce the “brain drain” of talent from the region.
It wants the mayor to drive investment in retrofitting homes to improve energy efficiency and accelerate the region’s move to a net zero future and support development of a fully integrated, region-wide public transport system to improve access to education, skills and training.
And the CBI would like the mayor to enhance north-south and east-west connectivity by delivering Northern Powerhouse Rail in full, and HS2, specifically the eastern leg.
