Member Article

Leeds LEP promises £5.2 billion and 62k jobs by 2021

The Leeds City Region LEP has submitted a Strategic Economic Plan to the Government, which will, according to them, increase the regions economy by a quarter and shave £675 million off the national beneifts bill.

The LEP is bidding for a portion of the Govenrment’s £2 billion Local Growth Fund.

The organisation aims to deliver £5.2 billion in additional economic output, 62,000 extra jobs, and £675 million in benefits savings by 2021.

Roger Marsh, Chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership commented: “This is a game changing moment for our City Region.

!We genuinely believe that nowhere is better placed than right here, to rebalance the UK economy and deliver sustained future growth.“

“As a relevant, essential and enabling partner to business growth we will work hard to ensure growth is firmly back on the agenda in 2014.

“Put simply, for every £1 net we receive from the tax payer, we aim to deliver up to £10 enhanced economic output by 2021.

“Our Plan is bold but highly credible. We need our partners, businesses and individuals to get behind the region and demonstrate to government that we are ready to get to work. For the City Region, it is no longer why, but why not.”

The LEP’s Strategic Economic Plan is the product of over nine months research, and consultation with over 600 organisations, businesses and individuals across the City Region.

As part of attempting to ensure the plans success, the LEP is also combining its own resourses, pooling EU funding, business rates, transport and other local funding to create a £1.6 billion West Yorkshire plus Transport Fund and a self-sustaining Leeds City Region Investment Fund “to unlock future development and investment.”

The submission of the Strategic Economic Plan comes a day ahead of the inauguration of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

The Combined Authority will be the accountable body for the funding from the Local Growth Fund, providing a governance framework and ‘democratic accountability’ to decision-making, and will work alongside the LEP to deliver the Local Growth Deal for West Yorkshire and the entire Leeds City Region.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .