West Yorkshire leaders have secured an £1.8bn devolution deal

West Yorkshire leaders have secured a devolution deal to unlock more than £1.8bn to improve living standards through better public transport and stronger businesses. 

The agreement includes government commitment to support the development of a West Yorkshire Mass Transit System through investment from the Transforming Cities Fund.

£317m will be spent on improving public transport, cycling and walking infrastructure.

A further £3.2m will be used to support the development of housing sites across West Yorkshire and £25m will be used for the development of a British Library in Leeds.

The deal also includes a guaranteed £1.1bn over the next 30 years as part of a new West Yorkshire Investment Fund that will be used for future housing sites and a new heritage fund.

In addition to the funding, this deal gives West Yorkshire more decision-making powers to set its own priorities.

Work is already underway to explore the implications of franchising the bus services across the region.

Becoming a devolved mayoral area will help West Yorkshire to access future funding and powers due to the governments increasing focus on making mayoral combined authorities its primary route for supporting regional economic development.

In a joint statement, West Yorkshire leaders said: ‘We have secured an ambitious deal recognising the strong case we have made for investment which delivers growth benefitting all our communities.

‘It also represents a significant transfer of power from Whitehall, ensuring more decisions that affect our communities are taken here.

‘This deal will help the region which drove the first Industrial Revolution to do so again in the Green Industrial Revolution by investing in transport, including a modern low-carbon mass transit system, supporting our towns to ensure they remain vibrant places to live and work, helping our businesses thrive a preparing our young people with the skills they need for the future economy.

‘The powers secured through this deal will give us greater flexibility to take decisions which address local concerns without asking permission from Whitehall and Westminster, including the ability to intervene more directly in local transport and in the operation of local bus services.’

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