Unlocking Growth cities
England’s largest cities are being offered a menu of transformative new powers which the government wants to explore as the basis of a series of bespoke ‘City Deals’. The Deputy Prime Minister announced the City Deals in Leeds on 8 December 2011.
The Government will work with different cities over the coming months and years to agree a series of tailored ‘city deals’. Read more
Whats happened so far…
Nick Clegg explained that;
- We have already taken some important steps to help cities drive forward growth:
- creating Local Enterprise Partnerships to bring together civic and private sector leaders to drive growth;
- putting greater financial powers in the hands of local authorities through business rate retention and new borrowing powers;
- creating 24 Enterprise Zones with the power to use Tax Increment Financing;
- providing a new £100 million urban broadband fund, which will create up to 10 ‘superconnected cities’; and
- investing £744 million in urban areas through the Regional Growth Fund, with a further £1 billion for the Regional Growth Fund
