Spending plans for £17m investment fund set to move forward
Councillors will be asked to approve a plan to deliver almost £17m of Government’s funding to address problems in North Yorkshire, from a lack of broadband coverage to poor rural transport links.
North Yorkshire has been allocated £16.9m over three years from the Shared Prosperity Fund, which was established in the wake of Brexit to replace money that would have been secured from the European Union.
In July, the county submitted a high-level investment plan for how it intends to spend the funding.
The Government has still to respond, but on 25 October North Yorkshire County Council’s executive will be asked to approve a framework setting out how the investment will be delivered and to approve ongoing planning for the first year’s spending.
The council, the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership and seven district and borough councils have worked on the project, which from 1 April next year will be administered by the new single North Yorkshire Council, which will replace the eight current councils.
A Local Partnership Group brought together local, regional and national organisations to develop the investment plan.
A delivery framework distils this into five areas for action: addressing issues caused by rurality and tackling inequality; building pride in places; decarbonising communities and economy; boosting productivity; and tackling the challenging labour market.
Council leader Councillor Carl Les, who chairs the partnership, said: “Our aim is to build on people’s pride in their communities and to increase the opportunities available to residents and businesses.
“Our plan focuses on enabling communities to create the foundations for their own economic development, supporting businesses to thrive, innovate and grow and helping to reduce the barriers people of any age could face in entering and progressing in work and education.”
In September, North Yorkshire was allocated an additional £5,417,000 from the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs’ Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF).
The Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs’ Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) is linked to the Shared Prosperity Fund and targets rural communities.
To access the funds, the county council must submit an addendum to its Shared Prosperity Fund investment plan by the end of November to outline the rural issues faced by communities and businesses and set out how the funding could be used.
