Sheffield City Region and the Chancellor strike new £900m devolution deal

Chancellor George Osborne as signed a new devolution deal for the Sheffield City Region, which will act as part of the government’s Northern Powerhouse programme.

In September, the Sheffield City Region was one of 38 towns, cities, counties and regions to submit proposals to Westminster to be given more power from the government.

Today it was announced the Chancellor and civic leaders from South Yorkshire have agreed to a deal that will see the authority have more control in how public money is spent in its area.

As well as being worth millions of pounds, the deal will allow the local authority to elect a metro mayor for the region, who will oversee transport budgets and strategic planning. Additional devolved powers will also be given to the area’s Combined Authority.

Among these include a new gain share deal within an envelope of £30m a year for 30 years, which enables Sheffield to use new funding to boost local growth and invest in local manufacturing and innovation.

The City Region will use the funding to develop some of its world class assets, including the Sheffield and Rotherham based Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District, aligning the new Doncaster-based National College for High Speed Rail with the new Institutes of Technology to help meet the wider set of national infrastructure challenges, major town centre improvement plans in Barnsley and the Enterprise Zones across the whole City Region.

This devolution deal showcases the government’s efforts to achieve a Northern Powerhouse, rebalance the UK’s economy and end the dominance of London.

A Sheffield City Region Mayor will be elected for the first time in 2017 by voters across South Yorkshire.

Chancellor George Osborne said: “Sheffield is forging ahead in the Northern Powerhouse, which this historic deal proves is taking shape.

“I want to thank the civic leaders of South Yorkshire who have worked with me to embrace this opportunity.

“It has the power to change the shape of local government in the region in a way that would have been unthinkable even just a few years ago.

“For local people, it will mean the decisions that affect them being taken locally. Manchester is not a one-off – far from it. In becoming the second great northern city to sign up to managing its own affairs with this ambitious agreement, Sheffield City Region is playing a vital part in helping to build the Northern Powerhouse.”