Investment Committee being asked to approve over £30 million of Leeds City Region schemes

29 January 2019

Next week's meeting of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority will be asked to approve the progression of schemes worth over £30 million, designed to support economic growth from which everyone across West Yorkshire and the Leeds City Region can benefit.

Raising aspirations

Across the Leeds City Region, the £400,000 Raising Aspirations programme will help provide 3,500 of the most disadvantaged learners with support to raise their aspirations. Activities such as providing strengthened engagement with employers, experience of jobs beyond pupils - home communities and engagement with young role models working in priority sectors will be funded through grants to schools. Raising Aspirations will complement the work of the Local Enterprise Partnership's Enterprise Co-ordinators and will be funded through Business Rates Pool funding.

Calderdale

In Halifax town centre, the £10.65 million Northgate House scheme involves the refurbishment of the vacant former Calderdale Council offices to create 4,274m2 of quality offices and 1,115m2 of retail floor-space. Supported by £3 million from the Local Growth Fund, the refurbishment of Northgate House has the potential to generate over 425 jobs and generate £30 million of GVA to the local economy, as well as supporting vitality and vibrancy at the heart of Halifax town centre.

Also in Calderdale, a new, high-quality, 6km cycle route between Hebden Bridge and Todmorden will form part of the Calder Valley cycle route. Funded by the Department for Transport and part of the Combined Authority's CityConnect programme, the £2.1 million scheme is designed to cut the number of cyclists involved in road traffic accidents on the A646 corridor.

Kirklees

In Kirklees, the £8.19 million Huddersfield Southern Corridors scheme includes highways, junction and traffic signal improvements to reduce congestion that is constraining economic growth to the south of Huddersfield town centre. Funded through the Combined Authority's West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund, the scheme will also deliver new walking and cycling facilities, and improved air quality through a reduction in congestion will also help deliver local health benefits.

Leeds

In Leeds, the A647 Bus Priority Corridor scheme will result in increased reliability and improved journey times for buses along the route. Part of the £270 million Leeds Public Transport Investment Programme, which aims to increase bus use, the £9.68 million A647 Corridor scheme will see existing bus lanes extended, new bus priority measures at traffic signals introduced and bus stops relocated. The scheme will provide local people with better access to jobs as well as reducing levels of nitrogen oxides on a busy transport corridor.

In 2014, Leeds City Region agreed the largest Growth Deal in the country, consisting of around £695 million of devolved Government investment, made up of £516 million local growth funding plus £173.5 million Department for Transport funding to improve transport in Leeds, which was announced as part of the deal. A further £420 million through the Growth Deal to establish the £1 billion West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund to improve road, rail and other transport links across the region over a 20-year period.

Cllr Peter Box, Chair of the West Yorkshire combined Authority Investment Committee said: "Last year West Yorkshire Combined Authority invested over £150m in supporting businesses, improving transport, investing in skills and attracting jobs and at next week's meeting we have a wide range of schemes that will continue that work."

"All of them are designed to underpin our aims of generating economic growth across West Yorkshire and the Leeds City Region that will benefit all of our communities."

Approvals

Wednesday's meeting will also hear that progress has been approved on a number of schemes by the Combined Authority's Managing Director or Director of Delivery through the organisation's delegated decision process. These include the York Outer Ring Road Phase 2, the West Yorkshire-wide Urban Traffic Management Control scheme, multi-modal studies in Calderdale and Glasshoughton Southern Link Road.

The public meeting takes place at Wellington House in Leeds at 11am on Wednesday 6 February and everyone is welcome.

Link to the agenda and papers for the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Investment Committee meeting