City Fields to receive share of £67 million investment

The Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and West Yorkshire Combined Authority have secured the new government funding to help boost economic growth and create jobs.

A share of the cash will also help to accelerate development on the M62 corridor, and enable small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) to access grants to support the growth of their businesses and create new jobs and for a new flexible business support fund to help more companies to export.

Coun Peter Box CBE, chairman of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and leader of Wakefield Council, said: “I am pleased that the Wakefield district is continuing to benefit from the funding that the West Yorkshire Combined Authority is able to secure.

“We’re already beginning to see just what can be achieved through genuine partnership working between councils and businesses - including the University Centre and new, affordable housing schemes.

“This new funding will be used across the district to continue to boost our local economy and create more jobs.”

This additional funding takes the total Growth Deal investment for the Leeds City Region to over £1.1bn.

The initial Leeds City Region Growth Deal, secured by the LEP in March 2014, was the largest Growth Deal settlement of any LEP area in the country.

It enabled the Combined Authority and local council partners to put in place an overall £1bn investment package to upgrade West Yorkshire and York’s transport network.

The first scheme to benefit from this transport investment is the £33m Wakefield Eastern Relief Road which is set to be completed early this year, opening up new development land and creating job opportunities.