Member Article

Devolution, tourism and high speed rail on PM’s agenda for Yorkshire

The Prime Minister and Chancellor have set out their long term economic plan for Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire which focuses on tourism, transport and devolution.

The pair met up to deliver speeches at the headquarters of AQL to set out the detailed plan as part of a day-long tour of the region.

The plan aims to deliver at least £6.4 billion of investment in transport in Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire.

They promised to creating a more modern rail network in Yorkshire by looking at the case for providing the infrastructure needed to allow the new East Coast InterCity Express trains to run at 140mph, by supporting the private sector contribution to make the electrification of the Selby to Hull railway line a reality, and by asking Sir David Higgins to produce an interim report on the future of Leeds Station by autumn 2015

The PM and Chancellor also promised to devolve greater powers the great cities and counties of Yorkshire, by continuing work on the recent Sheffield City Region devolution agreement, and working towards a devolution deal for West Yorkshire tooImprove governance across the region by announcing that the government will conclude a new Devolution Deal with West Yorkshire Combined Authority by the Budget, following the successful Devolution Deal signed with Sheffield in December

Backing British cycling and supporting the culture and tourism sector with £1.5 million to help Welcome to Yorkshire was also announced, with a further £1.5 million to help bring the Turner Prize to Hull in 2017 and support for any bid to bring the Cycling World Championships to Yorkshire - as well as £450,000 towards creating a new cycle gateway to the Yorkshire Dales National Park

As both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have set out clearly, the only way for the UK’s recovery to be truly sustainable is for it to be truly national.

Prime Minister, David Cameron said: “Our long-term economic plan for Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire, which will create more jobs and financial security for hardworking people across the region, is a key part of our work to build a Northern Powerhouse that can take on the world.

“The North is growing and by ensuring we have world-class infrastructure, backing business and supporting the industries of the future, we are determined to go even further.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne said: “We want a truly national economic recovery. The evidence is that this is happening. Yorkshire is growing and creating jobs and on many measures doing so more quickly than the rest of the country.

“Now we need to sustain this and remove the decade’s old North and South divide. That is why the Prime Minister and I are here today setting out how we will build a Northern Powerhouse.”

The long term economic plan for Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire is predicted to create 100,000 new jobs, boost the region’s growth by up to £13 billion.

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