Council signs up to £1.2bn City Deal that could bring 28,000 jobs
BRIDGEND council has formally signed up to the £1.2bn City Deal for the Cardiff Capital Region and it’s going to cost £11.2m over the next dcade.
It is one of 10 authorities which has signed up to the scheme which promises to create 25,000 jobs.
City Deal also aims to leverage an additional £4bn in private sector finance for the City Deal projects and will be ratified with a formal signing by the 10 authority leaders on March 1. That will mark the establishment of a functioning City Deal joint cabinet – which is currently in shadow format.
Following the signing, which will take place at Cardiff Airport, the CCR City Deal will enter into a transition phase.
Bridgend council’s Chief Executive Darren Mepham said: “The City Deal is still at an early stage, and any investment in it will ultimately be de- termined by the precise timescale of the project and what other pressures the council may be facing at that time.
“The 10 councils are making a capital contribution based on relative population to the City Deal which totals £120m.
“As Bridgend county borough accounts for just under 10% of the population, we would be looking at paying £11.28m into the fund over the course of a decade. In order to have the impact on the econo- my that we need, it will be important for the City Deal partnership to ensure that the investment fund is spent faster than the rate at which the Government contributions arrive.
“The Government is contributing the lion’s share of the money, but as their contributions will come in annual instalments over the next 20 years, the partner councils will have to finance any shortfalls in cash flow in the meantime.
“So the affordabil- ity envelope tells us that it would cost £19.9m to finance our share of the deal in the event that the council would have to borrow money to fund its direct contribution while also covering any cash flow associated with Government payments.
“Ultimately, the City Deal will deliver £1.2bn over 20 years, and Bridgend County Borough will be among the areas to benefit from this mas- sive investment.” The local authorities of the city region are: Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Newport, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Torfaen, Vale of Glamorgan.