West Yorkshire devolution deal secured

A West Yorkshire devolution deal has been secured for West Yorkshire, unlocking more than £1.8 billion in investment for the region.

As announced in Rishi Sunak’s Budget speech, the agreement includes a government commitment to support the development of a West Yorkshire Mass Transit System and investment from the Transforming Cities Fund which, with the other resources available through the deal, will enable the delivery of the full pipeline of West Yorkshire transport projects submitted in the region’s bid.

The deal also includes a guaranteed £1.1 billion over the next 30 years in a new West Yorkshire Investment Fund, money to develop plans for future housing sites and a new heritage fund which will support the creation of a new British Library North in Leeds.

This gives West Yorkshire far greater decision-making powers allowing the region to set its own priorities including ensuring a vibrant future for towns and our rural areas while securing the economic success of our cities. Work is already underway exploring the implications of franchising bus services and identifying the actions we need to take to meet our ambitious carbon-reduction targets.

In a joint statement, West Yorkshire Leaders said: "We have secured an ambitious deal recognising the strong case we have made for investment which delivers growth benefitting all our communities and helps us tackle the climate emergency. It also represents a significant transfer of power from Whitehall, ensuring more decisions that affect our communities are taken here.

"Through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, in partnership with the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, we have worked closely together for many years to grow the economy, improve our transport network and upskill our people. The fruits of that collaboration can be seen in the new college buildings, railway stations, park-and-rides and cycling infrastructure schemes across our region.

"This deal will help the region which drove the first Industrial Revolution to do so again in the Green Industrial Revolution by investing in transport, including a modern low-carbon mass transit system, supporting our towns to ensure they remain vibrant places to live and work, helping our businesses thrive and preparing our young people with the skills they need for the future economy. The powers secured through this deal will give us greater flexibility to take decisions which address local concerns without asking permission from Whitehall and Westminster, including the ability to intervene more directly in local transport and in the operation of local bus services.

"This deal also provides funding for the Yorkshire Leaders Board and we look forward to working with our partners at a Yorkshire level to ensure we secure the maximum economic benefits of the Yorkshire scale and brand while also using our collective strength to confront some of our biggest challenges. In the coming weeks this deal will be the subject of an extensive consultation process with our communities, businesses, charities and trade unions and we want as many people as possible to make their views heard."