The way forward

Business must shape devolution

THE CHANGING skyline of Leeds is indicative of the West Yorkshire city’s resurgence. A city where growth – and progress – had stalled before the last recession is now one of the most dynamic in Britain.

Yet, if the latest research by Cambridge economists and academics is accurate, this is just the beginning. They believe nearly 50,000 knowledge-based jobs could be created in the city centre between now and 2030 if key policies are in place when it comes to transport, skills and the regeneration of redundant land so there’s sufficient office space to meet the potential demand.

It’s not just Leeds where the potential prize is so great – towns and cities across Yorkshire have an abundance of sites which are ripe for redevelopment. The challenge is delivering up a joined-up economic policy so these opportunities do not go to waste at a time when town hall and combined authority leaders still struggle to see the bigger picture – the issues at stake transcend archaic local authority boundaries.

More than six months after senior business leaders wrote an open letter to The Yorkshire Post challenging local politicians to make 2017 the year of devolution, the deadlock has still not been broken. Given this, now is the time for this region’s innovators and investors to come together and form a plan which provides the necessary skills and transport infrastructure to support the ambitions of all those cutting-edge businesses that wish to invest in Yorkshire. This is far more important than narrow party political considerations which have become, frankly, tedious, tiresome and not worth the time of day.