News: South Yorkshire's new £68m growth fund
A £68m funding pot has been allocated to South Yorkshire as part of the Government's attempt to kickstart economic growth by addressing regional disparities in productivity.
The Local Growth Fund is a follow up to the Shared Prosperity Fund, which itself was funding to replace European Union (EU) Structural Funds.
The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) will be able to use the money for infrastructure investment, business support and skills development.
Previous EU settlements saw South Yorkshire allocated €410m for 2007-2013 and from 2014-2020 this was cut to around €180m. A legal challenge into the government's decision followed.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) three-year fund, running from 2022/23, included an allocation for South Yorkshire of £46.2m, including £7.3m ro address functional numeracy skills. A 25/26 allocation was announced earlier this and provided another £22.5m for South Yorkshire. The £68m Local Growth Fund runs for four years from 26/27 to 29/30.
The money can be used flexibly in line with SYMCA's new Local Growth Plan - a ten year plan which aims to grow the business base and labour market through delivering against four missions based around businesses, places, people and the future.
Advertisement
Under infrastructure investment, the aim is to expand labour market reach and enable agglomeration benefits across functional economic areas. For business support, projects will need to strengthen regional clusters and increase innovation and investment to drive firm-level competitiveness and sectoral growth. Projects relating to skills development will work to provide the human capital aligned to priority sectors and emerging technologies.
A government policy statement explains that the funding is part of a new approach to regional investment with the Local Growth Fund "targeted at mayoral city regions in the North and Midlands with the highest productivity catch‑up and agglomeration potential, as part of a shift in how growth funding is delivered. It moves away from fragmented, short-term competitive pots to a single, flexible, long-term fund. This approach will empower regional leaders to drive local priorities and unlock the potential that exists in places across the UK, including city regions and high-potential sectors.
"For too long, local growth funding has been constrained by inefficiencies: short-termism, duplication, and wasteful competitive bidding. Opportunities for transformative change have been missed. The English Devolution White Paper set out a new vision: consolidating funding, devolving power, and allocating investment in line with locally led plans. By removing unnecessary processes and committing to long-term financial stability, we are enabling regions to plan and deliver this change with confidence.
"By backing the shared priorities agreed in Local Growth Plans, this investment will support small businesses, create jobs, regenerate commercial centres, enable new housing, and better connect communities through integrated transport – delivering the growth needed to fund our essential public services, enable further investment, and raise living standards."
The mayoralty will do well to support Rotherham's growth and replicate it across the region. Recent productivity statistics highlight Rotherham as one of the fastest growing sub-regions over the last two decades.
On the region's local growth plan, South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said: "Our goal is simple: to make sure South Yorkshire plays a leading role in solving the big challenges of our time, using the talent, resilience and creativity which defines us. We want those growing up here to believe, with confidence, that in South Yorkshire you can stay near and go far."
In previous years, Rotherham Council were able to decide were UKSPF funding should be spent - from shop unit grants and business support to Rotherham Children’s Capital of Culture and social value.
SYMCA website
Images: Harworth Group
The Local Growth Fund is a follow up to the Shared Prosperity Fund, which itself was funding to replace European Union (EU) Structural Funds.
The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) will be able to use the money for infrastructure investment, business support and skills development.
Previous EU settlements saw South Yorkshire allocated €410m for 2007-2013 and from 2014-2020 this was cut to around €180m. A legal challenge into the government's decision followed.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) three-year fund, running from 2022/23, included an allocation for South Yorkshire of £46.2m, including £7.3m ro address functional numeracy skills. A 25/26 allocation was announced earlier this and provided another £22.5m for South Yorkshire. The £68m Local Growth Fund runs for four years from 26/27 to 29/30.
The money can be used flexibly in line with SYMCA's new Local Growth Plan - a ten year plan which aims to grow the business base and labour market through delivering against four missions based around businesses, places, people and the future.
Advertisement
Under infrastructure investment, the aim is to expand labour market reach and enable agglomeration benefits across functional economic areas. For business support, projects will need to strengthen regional clusters and increase innovation and investment to drive firm-level competitiveness and sectoral growth. Projects relating to skills development will work to provide the human capital aligned to priority sectors and emerging technologies.
A government policy statement explains that the funding is part of a new approach to regional investment with the Local Growth Fund "targeted at mayoral city regions in the North and Midlands with the highest productivity catch‑up and agglomeration potential, as part of a shift in how growth funding is delivered. It moves away from fragmented, short-term competitive pots to a single, flexible, long-term fund. This approach will empower regional leaders to drive local priorities and unlock the potential that exists in places across the UK, including city regions and high-potential sectors.
"For too long, local growth funding has been constrained by inefficiencies: short-termism, duplication, and wasteful competitive bidding. Opportunities for transformative change have been missed. The English Devolution White Paper set out a new vision: consolidating funding, devolving power, and allocating investment in line with locally led plans. By removing unnecessary processes and committing to long-term financial stability, we are enabling regions to plan and deliver this change with confidence.
"By backing the shared priorities agreed in Local Growth Plans, this investment will support small businesses, create jobs, regenerate commercial centres, enable new housing, and better connect communities through integrated transport – delivering the growth needed to fund our essential public services, enable further investment, and raise living standards."
The mayoralty will do well to support Rotherham's growth and replicate it across the region. Recent productivity statistics highlight Rotherham as one of the fastest growing sub-regions over the last two decades.
On the region's local growth plan, South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said: "Our goal is simple: to make sure South Yorkshire plays a leading role in solving the big challenges of our time, using the talent, resilience and creativity which defines us. We want those growing up here to believe, with confidence, that in South Yorkshire you can stay near and go far."
In previous years, Rotherham Council were able to decide were UKSPF funding should be spent - from shop unit grants and business support to Rotherham Children’s Capital of Culture and social value.
SYMCA website
Images: Harworth Group
0 comments:
Post a Comment