Sheffield benefiting from hundreds of new jobs and £100m inward financing from investment zone
Hundreds of jobs and £100m investment have come to Sheffield three years after the first government-funded investment zone was established in South Yorkshire.
The South Yorkshire Investment Zone (SYIZ) was created by the last government in 2023.
A progress report discussed Sheffield City Council’s economic development, skills and culture policy committee (March 26) said: “The ambition of the SYIZ is to lever in £1.2bn of private sector funding and create 8,000 jobs by 2030.”
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) is receiving £160m over 10 years to support growth in advanced manufacturing and associated sectors.
The sectors being targeted are:
- Steel;
- Aerospace;
- Automotive;
- Defence;
- Power and energy;
- Nuclear;
- Life sciences and health tech.
The Don Valley Corridor plan linking Sheffield and Rotherham announced last week at the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Catcliffe on the Sheffield-Rotherham border is a key part of the plan.
Growth
It aims to bring 18,500 new jobs and more than 10,500 new homes to an area stretching from Sheffield through Attercliffe, Tinsley and Templeborough into Rotherham Gateway, the town centre and Bassingthorpe.
There are also two Business Rate Retention (BRR) areas associated with the investment zone – one around Doncaster Sheffield Airport and the other stretching from Sheffield city centre to Meadowhall.
SYMCA and the relevant councils can retain any growth in business rates above an agreed baseline for 25 years. SYMCA and the city council have agreed a 75:25 split in favour of the council.
The money retained can then be used to fund more business growth and job creation.
Ben Morley, assistant director for programmes and accountable body, said that South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, who are managing the investment zone, received requests for “£X million for this or that” almost the next day after it was announced.
However, a lot of detailed work then had to take place to establish the ground rules and how SYMCA would work with the government.
Expansion
The committee report said: “To date 21 projects have been approved with £12.8m of funding awarded. These investments will generate nearly £100m of match funding and create over 450 direct jobs.”
A high-tech computing firm Aegiq Ltd, which is a spin-out from the University of Sheffield, has used £2.1m of investment zone support to enable its relocation and expansion within Sheffield city centre. The number of staff will double from 25 to 50.
Engineering solutions company Amodo Design Ltd used a £0.25m grant to deliver a £1m premises expansion, relocating in the city centre, in order to expand its operations to deliver multi-million-pound contracts and employ up to 30 engineers.
Castings Technology Institute used investment zone funding and a mix of other investment and loans to to help expand its Sheffield facility and purchase machinery.
The report said: “This investment will strengthen the UK manufacturing supply chain and increase employment from 82 to 125 people.”
Negotiations
Mr Morley said he could not disclose details yet of where some funding is going because there are non-disclosure agreements in place while negotiations continue.
However, proposed investments currently being discussed range from “relatively modest” amounts of £250,00-£300,00 to £5 million, which would also bring significant added funding with them.
Inevitably, some proposals being made will not actually transpire, Mr Morley said.
Coun Ibby Ullah said there is huge demand for apprenticeships. He stressed the need for inclusiveness to ensure that people of all social backgrounds, ages and qualifications can benefit from economic growth and jobs.