The chancellor has set out plans for £2.3billion in funding to deliver major regeneration projects and developments, primarily in the north of England.
The City Investment Funds comprise £2.3billion in new grant, loan and patient capital funding, which will be deployed by mayors in the largest city regions. The funds will be used to back Local Growth Plans and speed up city-centre regeneration and the delivery of new homes by tackling viability gaps and attract private investment.
Up to £1.7billion will be provided to mayors in the north, which the chancellor says will give them the tools to “bulldoze through roadblocks holding up big city-centre projects and large‑scale regeneration schemes” and unlock growth in the heart of cities.
The funding is expected to deliver housing and career opportunities within a short commute of home for 9 million people.
The £1.7billion will be used to fund development in cities across the Northern Growth Corridor, including Leeds South Bank, Liverpool Central, Manchester Victoria North, Newcastle and Gateshead Quays and Sheffield City Centre and Innovation Spine.
The £2.3billion in funding comprises £1.5billion from the government’s Housing Acceleration Fund and £800million from the City Densification Fund.
Chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said: “I want every part of Britain to do well. That’s why we’re going for growth all across the country, not just in a few places, because I want everyone to be able to succeed no matter what their parents do, where they grow up, or where they choose to settle down.”
“Our economic plan is the right one. By bringing back stability in our public finances, boosting investment in our infrastructure and driving reform, we’re building a stronger, more secure economy.”
Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “We have long made the case for the North as the UK’s biggest growth opportunity and it is great to see the Chancellor giving it such strong backing.”
“Over the past decade, Greater Manchester has become the UK’s fastest growing city region, and in the next, we are ready to go even further and faster. We have a plan to re-industrialise the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution and now have the necessary investment to deliver it.”
The chancellor also announced that funding for the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor has doubled to £800million, which Reeves says will speed up land assembly and enabling infrastructure, while a consultation on a Development Corporation for Greater Oxford will begin to drive growth alongside existing proposals for one in Greater Cambridge.
The funding includes:
In West Yorkshire, the mayor will have access to £145million to support jobs and development in places such as the Leeds South Bank.
In South Yorkshire, the mayor will have access to £85million to support jobs and development, including in the Don Valley Corridor and Sheffield Innovation spine.
In the North East, the mayor will have access to £120million to accelerate job creation and development across places such as Newcastle and Gateshead Quays.
In Greater Manchester, the mayor will have access to £175million to support jobs and development across places such as Victoria North.
In the Liverpool City Region, the mayor will have access to £95million to support jobs and development across places such as Liverpool Central.
