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Yorkshire projects to benefit from latest allocation from Government's Levelling-up Fund November 20, 2023

Yorkshire projects are to benefit from part of a Government spread of £1.1 billion in the third round of allocations from its Levelling-up Fund announced on Monday November 20.

The money will be spread across 55 projects which have been provisionally selected by the Government. The Levelling-Up projects are in places across Britain, outside London, from Torbay in the south of England, across Wales and the North of England to Moray in the north of Scotland.

Among the allocations are:

An allocation of £47.9m has been made for for an upgrade of the Penistone Line• £47.9m for an upgrade of the Penistone Line linking Sheffield and Huddersfield via Barnsley and Penistone. The upgrade aims to help reliability of rail travel between Sheffield in South Yorkshire and Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. The funding will also help provide enhanced station facilities such as electric vehicle charging points, car clubs, cycle hire and parcel delivery lockers.

• Keighley, West Yorkshire, has been provisionally awarded £19.81m to boost its strong manufacturing heritage. Levelling-up funding will contribute towards a new Advanced Robotics and Engineering Institute to support the expansion of the advanced manufacturing and engineering industry.

• Sheffield, in South Yorkshire, is set to receive nearly £19.39m for its Parkwood Springs scheme to create an urban country park around its former ski centre, an area which has been derelict for more than 10 years.

• Doncaster, South Yorkshire, is allocated £17.95m for its Doncaster North project after it missed out on funding in the second round of Levelling-up allocations at the start of the year.

• The Huddersfield Open Market Regeneration Project in West Yorkshire is set to receive just under £16.65m.

• In Leeds, West Yorkshire, the Heart of Holbeck project has been allocated nearly £15.95m. The project aims to enable local businesses to engage with the communities of Holbeck.

• Wakefield, West Yorkshire, is due to receive over £15.25 aimed at plans for redevelopment of The Ridings centre in the city.

Making the announcement, Levelling-up Secretary Michael Gove said: "Levelling up means delivering local people’s priorities and bringing transformational change in communities that have, for too long, been overlooked and undervalued."

Meanwhile, the Government also announced on Monday that West Yorkshire would be the third of its 'Investment Zones' — one of 12 to eventually be rolled out across the UK. The West Yorkshire Life Sciences Investment Zone will be based around universities in Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield and a cluster of life sciences businesses. The zone could unlock over £220 million of investment over five years, supported by Government funding and tax reliefs.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, visiting Huddersfield business Paxman Coolers Ltd to make the announcement ahead of his Autumn statement on Wednesday November 22, and was also confirming the Investment Zones programme in England would be extended from five to 10 years.

The Government announced its first Investment Zone in South Yorkshire back in July with the news that investors, developers and start-ups would be offered support and financial help to start, scale up and relocate businesses there. The first investment announced was a £80m-plus research project led by USA aircraft giant Boeing into manufacturing lightweight structures for aeroplanes.

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