Six strategic projects to start after £14m funding approved
A £14m funding package has been approved that will result in the some of the first projects getting underway following the Leeds City Region growth deal.
West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Investment Committee has today supported plans for six projects which are expected to unlock more than £100m of private investment, provide new local housing, and bring currently derelict sites back into use.
The projects include investment opportunities at One City Park in Bradford and Northgate House in Halifax, and the development of housing and employment sites in Leeds, York and Skipton.
Cllr David Green, chairman of the WYCA’s West Yorkshire & York Investment Committee and Leader of Bradford Council said: “Since the Local Growth Fund was announced last summer we have worked hard to bring forward projects, so delivery can start in April.
“This £14m of Local Growth Funding investment will act as a real catalyst for strategically important schemes, resulting in thousands of new jobs and homes across the Leeds City Region. There are also benefits to be gained from planned West Yorkshire plus Transport Fund investment, improving links between homes and jobs and ensuring businesses are better connected.
“These funds will be repaid and will then be reinvested in future projects to support jobs and growth.
“This is precisely the kind of ambitious growth programme that the LEP and the Combined Authority have come together to make possible and to implement.”
In Bradford funding of £5.2m from the Local Growth Fund for One City Park will pay for the creation of 8,500 sq metres of high-quality office space through the demolition and redevelopment of the former Tyrls Police Station.
Northgate House in Halifax will be available for redevelopment, with £1.3m from the local growth fund package paying for the clearance of the site. £850,000 will be used to build a new canal bridge in Skipton, opening up a large site at Horse Close and other nearby areas around 300 new homes and business developments.
Building flood defences in York Central, will be made possible through the use of £1.65m of local growth funding, which will be the start of the regeneration of 35 hectares of brownfield land.
Eight brownfield sites in East Leeds will be brought back into use for housing development at a cost of £1.1m while a further £4m will be used at Red Hall, to relocate Council facilities, demolish redundant buildings and make way for the route of the new East Leeds Orbital Road, opening up land for new homes.
Roger Marsh, chairman of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and member of the WYCA’s West Yorkshire and York Investment Committee, added: “We have set out a powerful ambition of transforming the Leeds City Region into a net contributor to the national economy, and now it is time to turn that ambition into action. These projects will play a key role in unlocking economic growth by building close to 1,500 new homes to meet housing demand and regenerating our urban centres to attract investment and create good quality jobs.”
