Plans approved for greater strategic investment in South Yorkshire

Returning Supertram to public control, a new partnership with Homes England and greater infrastructure investment were agreed at a meeting of South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority’s Board.

Members approved the business plan for a new wholly-owned, arms-length company, South Yorkshire Future Trams Limited, which will run the concession from March 2024.

This includes investment in restoring and renewing the tram’s infrastructure such as power lines and track, and the renewal of the trams themselves.

Taken together, the three decisions are intended to provide more strategic investment to improve the economy and infrastructure across South Yorkshire.

South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said: “We’ve always owned the tram, but for most of the last 30 years it’s been managed and run by Stagecoach.

“Bringing the tram back into public control is a down-payment on our ambitions for a different type of transport network in South Yorkshire; one that puts the needs of our communities first.

“It does come with risks, but it is the right thing to do, because if we want to build a bigger, better economy, to make sure people have the opportunity to move about our region quickly and cheaply, to take traffic off our roads, then we need an effective, efficient mass transit network.”

Members approved plans to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the South Yorkshire Pension Authority to increase investment in the region, which will support existing business and new businesses.

They also agreed in principle to enter into a Strategic Place Partnership with Homes England, which will attract further Government and private sector investment to build more homes.

Coppard added: “If we want a bigger, better economy we need more long-term investment into South Yorkshire.

“I promised to work with South Yorkshire Pensions Authority to invest more of their money here in our region, and I’m pleased to say I’ve kept that promise.

“But we also need investment in the bricks and mortar of our communities, so we have also agreed to enter into a strategic place partnership with Homes England.

“That means we’ll be at the heart of how decisions are made in the critical area of housing for our region.”