Five-year plan sets out capital region strategy
AFIVE-YEAR strategic plan to leverage maximum economic and social benefits from the £1.2bn City Deal for the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) has been agreed.
The strategic business plan, which was approved by the CCR cabinet, made up of the region’s 10 local authority leaders, details what is needed to achieve the long-term objectives of the CCR City Deal, as well as how the £495m Wider Investment Fund will be used over the next five years to drive the actions forward.
The funding consists of £375m of grant backing from the UK Treasury, on which interest will be incurred from so called ‘cost of carry’, or bringing capital funding forward to fund projects, and the £120m of borrowing from the local authorities themselves.
The interest and capital repayment cost to the 10 local authorities over the next 25 years has been put at just over £200m. Based on a head of population basis, Cardiff will be liable for £50m of the projected repayment profile – which equates to just over 23% of the total. Blaenau Gwent will have the lowest exposure, at 4.6% or around £9.7m,
The remainder of City Deal funding, also backed by the Welsh Government, has been ring-fenced for the next phase of the south east Wales Metro with electrification of the Valley Lines – although the wider investment fund is expected to back Metro plus projects.
The overarching economic objectives of the City Deal are to create 25,000 new jobs and leverage £4bn in private sector investment.
Three programmes have been agreed in:
Regeneration and infrastructure A housing investment fund has been proposed to support the need for more homes to be built across the region.
The fund will support house building, ranging from larger builders and developers on stalled housing schemes on former industrial sites, through to small builders, community builders, custom builders and regeneration specialists, on small sites across the region.
The fund will also help stimulate the SME building sector across the region by providing loan development finance and launching a customer build scheme releasing smaller plots of public sector land with a full package of support for SMEs to deliver new homes in the communities. Connecting the region The digital strategy will help to make the area a “smart region,” driving innovative and disruptive solutions to attract private sector partnership and investment, including Welsh and regional connectivity, regional and community fibre connectivity, mobile 5G Access and maximising open data. Skills and employment The skills for the future project will provide region-wide school engagement with pupils and parents to offer careers advice and guidance, support for businesses to address barriers of participation, including a skills investment fund and a commitment to support delivery of over 10,000 additional apprenticeships, graduate internships and upskilled employees in the private sector.
Last spring the cabinet agreed to invest £37.9m to support the development of a compound semiconductor industry cluster in the region.
The project is expected to leverage up to £375m of private sector investment over the next five years, and the creation of up to 2,000 highvalue, high-tech jobs, with the potential for hundreds more in the wider supply chain and cluster development.
And, last month the cabinet agreed to commit £40m to support in principle the £180m Metro Central development, a project that will deliver a new central transport interchange in Cardiff, with a muchneeded upgrade of Cardiff Central train station at its heart – although this project will also need financial backing from the UK Government to be realised.
Andrew Morgan, chair of the CCR regional cabinet and leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, said: “The Cardiff Capital Region City Deal is a unique programme of collaborative working, which will enable economic change, improved digital and physical connectivity, improved skills and educational opportunities, and regeneration across the region.
“It is an investment in its people, and aims to bring fairness and opportunities for all, no matter where they live in the region.
“It builds on the region’s proud heritage, the beauty of our natural landscape, and the vibrancy of our rich cultural and social life
“To do this, the City Deal partners will work together, with a clear vision of what life and its demands will look like in 20 years’ time, to ensure the CCR maximizes its potential on a global stage.
“By attracting new investment and growing more successful businesses, by improving our connectivity, by developing our skills and education, we will restore the capital region to its historical role as the “engine room” of the Welsh economy.”