South Yorkshire metro mayor Dan Jarvis calls on Government to deliver financial backing for Brexit support and transport schemes

South Yorkshire metro mayor Dan Jarvis has asked Government to deliver financial backing on a number of schemes to help the region.
Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis
Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis

The Sheffield City Region mayor, and MP for Barnsley Central has penned a letter to Chancellor Sajid Javid calling for support on Brexit and schemes connected to transport in South Yorkshire.

Mr Jarvis again outlined the disparity between investment in London and the South East and said the requests were a 'matter of urgency'.

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In 2019, the Government announced new spending plans for public services and investment. These will need to cover, at least, the 2020/21 financial year, for which there are currently no plans in place.

The mayor has asked for a so-called 'Brexit boost' of £35 million 'scaleup investment fund' to aid with securing investment into the region and 'support the delivery' of deals which are 'already in the pipeline'.

Mr Javid has also been asked to comfirm SCR's bid of the full £220 million Transforming Cities Fund to deliver a huge overhaul of public transport and enable major investment in cycling and sustainable travel.

The wishlist also includes £13 million to develop business cases for a railway station at Doncaster Sheffield Airport and any issue arising from the ongoing South Yorkshire bus review.

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Mayor Jarvis also wants a 'commitment to opening a dialogue' between the Sheffield City Region, the Treasury and the Department for Transport to fund renewal of Supertram.

Another £24 million is also being sought by the mayor to work with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Innovate UK for schemes that will deliver 'innovative research and development programmes'.

Mayor Jarvis said: "In anticipation of the one-year Spending Review you are currently undertaking I am writing to you as a matter of urgency to set out some short term and deliverable commitments you can make to support the Sheffield City Region’s economy.

"For too long, fiscal announcements have delivered local government budget cuts and continued the disproportionate investment in London and the South East.

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"This has left the North’s productivity, wages and disposable household income rates decades behind where they should be.

"I recognise that the Spending Review will need to deliver quick, but transformational, wins that begin to deliver on recent commitments to the North. They should also signal the future direction of the Government."