Leeds City Region: Innovation and Enterprise centres at two universities

AN ADDITIONAL £54.6m has been committed, on top of the £572.9m announced last July, for a range of projects across Leeds City Region.

Roger Marsh, chairman of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP), said: “This expansion of the £1bn Growth Deal we secured last summer is further demonstration of the government’s confidence in Leeds City Region as an economic powerhouse-in-the-making, capable of generating extraordinary growth for the North and the nation, and transforming us into a net contributor to national wealth.”

Innovation and Enterprise centres are proposed for the Universities of Huddersfield and Leeds, supporting advanced manufacturing, health and medical and digital and creative sectors.

Other projects that this additional funding will assist are an enhanced business grants programme, a housing and regeneration programme to develop key sites for housing and employment growth, and a decentralised energy programme

Mr Marsh added: “I welcome this additional funding, which will enable us to support more local small businesses to reach their full growth potential, boost innovation and enterprise in manufacturing, healthcare, digital and other fast-growing sectors, and invest in low-cost, efficient local energy that will make our region a global leader in the low carbon energy revolution.

“Most importantly, this investment will enable us to go further and faster in delivering the ambition set out in our Strategic Economic Plan of creating sustained good growth that benefits everyone who lives and does business here.”

Cllr Peter Box, leader of Wakefield Council and chairman of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, welcomed the additional funds but reiterated the authority’s view that devolution of powers was also required.

He said: “We have proved in the Leeds City Region that strong partnership working between the public and private sectors delivers better economic outcomes, quicker and at better value for the taxpayer than centrally administered schemes.

“We are clear though, in our ongoing dialogue with government, that this must be a staging post in our journey towards full devolution and giving our City Region all of the tools it needs to unleash its enormous economic potential.”