Guidance

Agreed shared Local Growth Plan priorities

Updated 21 July 2025

Applies to England

Economic growth is the number one mission of this government. The English Devolution White Paper, published in December 2024, set out our plan to rewire England by devolving power and funding from central government to local leaders who know their area best. A key part of this rests on the development of ambitious Local Growth Plans by Mayoral Strategic Authorities, ensuring the benefits of a growing and future-facing economy are felt across the country.

Local Growth Plans provide a long-term 10-year strategic framework for growth in their region. They are produced and owned by Mayoral Strategic Authorities, focused on the holistic needs and opportunities in their region, and should set out where the authority will focus its devolved powers and funding to drive productivity, support the national growth mission and help deliver the Industrial Strategy. Local Growth Plans should highlight connections between local and national initiatives to support the growth-driving sectors set out in the Industrial Strategy and its eight Sector Plans.

As stated in our guidance for Mayoral Strategic Authorities on developing Local Growth Plans, government intends to introduce a statutory requirement for all Mayoral Strategic Authorities to produce a Local Growth Plan, which will be implemented as part of the English Devolution Bill.

Shared priorities explainer

All Local Growth Plans must include “shared priorities”, which Mayoral Strategic Authorities have co-determined with government (via the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).

Shared priorities are a region’s most significant opportunities and constraints to economic growth which would most benefit from central-regional collaboration, as determined using robust evidence. They are cross-cutting priorities that can benefit a wide range of sectors and the regional economy at large.

Once agreed, these shared priorities will guide both national and regional policy, benefitting from support via both the Mayoral Strategic Authorities’ devolved funding, powers, functions and national government levers.

Government has worked in partnership with Mayoral Strategic Authorities to agree a focused set of shared priorities. Ensuring they are agreed across and hardwired into the work of all government departments, to enable agreed shared priorities to be used by various departments, Arm’s Length Bodies, agencies, and stakeholders to act as a focal point for collaboration to guide their work, funding and support.

The Deputy Prime Minister wrote to Mayors across England, in April 2025, to confirm the collectively agreed shared priorities that will underpin the development of their Local Growth Plans. Mayoral Strategic Authorities will now publish their Local Growth Plan publicly as soon as practicable.

We recognise as opportunities and challenges evolve over time, Local Growth Plans will need to be updated. As the shared priorities are held between both the area and central government, Mayoral Strategic Authorities should agree changes to those shared priorities with government. This will ensure that both central and regional government can continue to collaborate and focus efforts on these priorities as they change over time. This page will be updated to reflect any agreed changes to shared priorities.

Government will continue to work with all new Mayoral Strategic Authorities established after April 2025 to agree shared priorities, informed by the approach set out in our guidance.

We recognise that each place is different and there is no one size fits all approach to agreeing shared priorities. When new shared priorities are agreed they will be added below.

Agreed shared Local Growth Plan priorities are listed below by Mayoral Strategic Authority.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority

Place-making shared priority

Increase the availability and affordability of housing and commercial development sites to support the expansion of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s priority sectors, and to increase the region’s attractiveness to workers and investors. Opening up sites will unlock and accelerate Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s priority sectors’ high potential for economic growth. Addressing this will require government and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• deliver innovative partnerships and models which could unlock sites for both housing and commercial development

• work together to address planning capacity constraints and local site viability issues, such as addressing infrastructure constraints in energy and grid capacity, water supply, and digital connectivity

This would expand the region’s skills supply and attract private and international investment in sectors with high potential, while also supporting environmental improvements to drive sustainable growth.

Transport shared priority

Improve transport to make connectivity, including commuting, more efficient, affordable and effective, and to open up housing, business and industrial development sites across the region. Addressing this will require government and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• identify options and investment for an improved and better joined up transport network, including opportunities to address congestion and connectivity issues in and between key urban sites like Cambridge and Peterborough and their surrounding areas through improved public transit

• engage national rail infrastructure plans to support the region’s growth ambitions

This would enable workers and businesses to move efficiently and reliably between Cambridge and other key industrial and commercial employment sites across other parts of the region, boosting productivity.

East Midlands Combined County Authority

Innovation shared priority

Improve commercialisation of research and increase knowledge transfer and innovation across the region’s growth sectors and associated supply chains. Addressing this will require government and East Midlands Combined County Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• strengthen connections between academic institutions, key innovation assets and industry

• boost adoption and diffusion of new technologies across the business base

This would support businesses to capitalise on the region’s academic and research specialisms and assets as well as increase investment in technologies, boosting productivity in key growth sectors.

Skills shared priority

Increase the skills base, including in specialist technical skills, to support residents into better employment opportunities and take advantage of opportunities in key growth sectors. Addressing this will require government and East Midlands Combined County Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• improve integration of skills training and employment programmes
• work with higher and further education, employers and training providers to boost in-work training and support specialist career pathways, particularly in green and digital industries

This would deliver a more joined-up approach which addresses local workforce challenges, providing the talent pipeline for key growth sectors.

Transport shared priority

Improve the speed, reliability, and access of transport connections within and outside the region to improve people’s access to jobs, education and training and grow the economy, whilst meeting commitments to reducing carbon emissions. Addressing this will require government and East Midlands Combined County Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• deploy newly devolved transport powers and funding in the context of the evolving national strategies for infrastructure and local transport

• ensure the needs of future growth and investment sites for strategic road connections and improvements are baked into national plans

• reflect the ambitions of the region in the national rail planning processes, including through mayoral partnerships

• pursue opportunities for collaboration on transport innovation through an East Midlands ‘sandbox’

This would support creating the best possible regional and local transport infrastructure and system for our residents and businesses.

Greater London Authority

Housing and transport shared priority

Improve the availability of homes and transport connectivity, to boost the supply and mobility of London’s workforce. Addressing this will require government and the Greater London Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• deliver innovative partnerships between all levels of government, regulators and the development industry, and with pan-regional partners, to unlock stalled housing sites and bring forward new sites, including through investment in infrastructure to improve transport connections and energy capacity

• enable London to fund more of its own infrastructure needs by better capturing the benefits of growth

• improve coordination and drive investment to ensure London has the skills and sector capacity to build at the scale required

This would help to retain and attract talent in growth-driving industries and support lower income Londoners employed in the foundational economy to access affordable, below market rate homes.

Skills and employment shared priority

Improve talent pipelines into high potential sectors and reduce rates of economic inactivity and in-work poverty, enabling residents to rejoin or increase participation in the workforce and support them into better employment opportunities. Addressing this will require government and the Greater London Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• develop an integrated approach to training, employment support and career pathways through London government’s Inclusive Talent Strategy

• work with employers to invest in developing talent pipelines for strategic sectors

• address the barriers faced by marginalised groups of Londoners in accessing these opportunities

This would deliver a more joined-up approach which addresses local workforce challenges.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority

Innovation shared priority

Improve the city region’s innovation ecosystem, to support the growth of businesses and increase innovation. Addressing this will require government and Greater Manchester Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• support translational Research & Development and commercialisation activities across Greater Manchester’s key innovation assets

• improve diffusion of innovation between businesses and innovation assets

• increase the supply of suitable laboratory facilities and industrial space

This would help to boost productivity in key growth sectors and provide improved opportunities for skilled workers across the city region.

Housing and transport shared priority

Improve infrastructure, to drive improved access to housing and employment for residents across the city region. Addressing this will require government and Greater Manchester Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• improve the Bee Network and intraregional transport to and from Manchester

• align national and local investment to deliver increased housing and unlock employment sites

This would support business growth and the expansion and productivity of key growth sectors in Greater Manchester’s growth locations.

Skills and employment shared priority

Increase the skills base and reduce economic inactivity, to enable residents to rejoin or increase participation in the workforce and support them into better employment opportunities. Addressing this will require government and Greater Manchester Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• improve integration of skills, health and employment programmes to provide personalised, wraparound support, tailored to key growth sectors

• work with Skills England, local colleges, further education institutes, and the business community to improve skills-matching to local demand

This would deliver a more joined-up approach which addresses local workforce challenges, providing the talent pipeline for key growth sectors.

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority

Innovation shared priority

Scale up and further enhance the City Region’s innovation ecosystem to catalyse economic outcomes, boost productivity, and create more skilled jobs across growth sectors. Addressing this will require government and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:  

• maximise translational Research & Development and commercialisation activities across Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s innovation assets and capabilities

• focus on scaling up established and emerging high growth innovation clusters

• increase the number of innovation-active businesses

• boost adoption and diffusion of new technologies across the business base

• drive enhanced industry investment across the innovation ecosystem

This would boost productivity in key growth sectors and provide improved opportunities for skilled workers across the city region. 

Housing shared priority

Increase the availability and affordability of homes, making the region a more attractive place to live and invest in, by being a national fore runner in the development of a Spatial Development Strategy. Addressing this will require government and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:  

• use arms-length delivery vehicles and Mayoral powers where appropriate to support housing development

• develop a single City Region housing delivery pipeline that unifies national, regional and local housing delivery expertise and aligns funding in a blended team

• consider pump-priming investment to create a housing mission roadmap alongside Liverpool’s Spatial Development Strategy, that can evidence the step-change in delivery needed to regenerate our region

This would help bring together all the opportunities in Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to ensure partnership working that delivers housing delivery in the region.

Skills, employment and health shared priority

Increase the skills base, address health inequalities and reduce economic inactivity, to enable residents to access employment opportunities, with a focus on key growth sectors. Addressing this will require government and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:  

• review skills pathways and work flexibly to ensure they are joined up

• test new approaches to supporting 18-year-olds, including Skills Bootcamps

• consider flexibilities within existing programme pathways

• improve the integration of skills, health and employment programmes

• support the proposed Office for Public Service Innovation (OPSI), and jointly agree a series of test, learn and grow prototypes to iteratively develop novel approaches to tackle health inequalities

This would help deliver a more joined-up approach which addresses local workforce challenges, providing the talent pipeline for key growth sectors.

Transport shared priority

Improve transport connectivity and capacity in strategic transport corridors to boost productivity, investment and unlock growth. Addressing this will require government and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:  

• improve transport links between the two vibrant city centres of Liverpool and Manchester

• increase rail capacity in Liverpool

• enhance Liverpool City Region’s status as a leading Port City

• particular projects Liverpool City Region Combined Authority wish to explore with government include:

  • establishing an East-West mass transit route from Liverpool to Manchester, better connecting their world class universities and their two growing airports

  • unblocking the bottleneck at Liverpool Central – the busiest underground station outside London – to maximise local and regional rail connectivity, regenerate our city centre, and create investment opportunities

  • enhancing Liverpool City Region’s status as a leading Port City, maximising the value of Liverpool City Region’s Freeport and its assets by using sustainable movement of freight. This includes effective and efficient access to the Port of Liverpool

This would support residents to access more economic opportunities thereby boosting productivity, while also facilitating growth and inward investment in the region.

North East Combined Authority

Skills and employment shared priority

Increase levels of employment and strengthen the technical skills base, helping residents to progress into or increase participation in the workforce and supporting people into better employment opportunities. Addressing this will require government and the North East Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• improve the integration of skills, health and employment programmes to provide more effective and more personalised support, including to help people progress into opportunities in key growth sectors
• develop a robust evidence base, in conjunction with employers and providers, to anticipate and respond to changing skills demand from new jobs growth and the changing skills needs of people and roles
• work with employers to boost in-work training and good employment

This would deliver a more joined-up approach to employment and skills that addresses workforce challenges, provides a talent pipeline for key growth sectors, and improves opportunities for all.

Innovation shared priority

Increase business creation and growth in the region, including by increasing the concentration of businesses innovating and those with the potential to scale-up or export. Addressing this will require government and the North East Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• improve the support available to businesses including the availability of early-stage funding for highly innovative businesses and entrepreneurs
• collaborate with Universities for North East England to increase spinouts and improve commercialisation, adoption and diffusion of innovation and research
• develop a joint strategic approach to identify and secure a balanced mix of energy-intensive industry in the North East, improve “last mile energy connectivity” to employment sites, and ensure energy availability is not a barrier to the region’s ambitions for industrial growth

This would help to boost productivity in key growth sectors and provide improved employment and career progression opportunities across the region.

Transport shared priority

Improve transport connectivity to create a green, integrated transport network that works for the movement of people and freight, supporting access to wider employment, learning opportunities, and essential services. Addressing this will require government and the North East Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• identify further opportunities to increase rail and Metro coverage, capacity, and resilience, which could include improving connections to Washington and County Durham

• unlock housing development and commercial activity by ensuring new developments are well supported by the public transport network and addressing pinch points on the road network

• connect key employment sites to the sustainable transport network and improve freight transportation between key locations such as the ports and the airport

This would attract inward investment and expand the available talent pool for business to boost productivity in key sectors, supporting inclusive growth by better connecting communities with opportunities.

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority

Skills, employment and health shared priority

Grow the Workforce by increasing the skills base and reducing economic inactivity, to enable residents to rejoin or increase participation in work and support them into better employment opportunities. Addressing this will require government and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• reduce fragmentation, duplication and inflexibility in the skills, employment and health spaces, better integrating Working Win, Connect to Work, Work Well, Growth Accelerator, Shared Prosperity Fund

• improve the integration of skills, health and employment programmes to provide personalised, wraparound support, tailored to key growth sectors

• support the growth accelerator and trailblazer, moving 17,500 economically inactive individuals into work or retaining work for those in work or just out of work

• deliver prevention through neighbourhood health and work measures

• target life science research and innovation funding towards population and preventative health challenges

• integrate data across health and employment to harness technology and AI in the delivery of a larger workforce

This would deliver a more joined-up approach which addresses local workforce challenges, providing the talent pipeline for key growth sectors.

Transport shared priority

Improve public transport connectivity, to improve accessibility to key growth locations across the region, including into Sheffield and its advanced manufacturing assets in Rotherham. Addressing this will require government and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• support a renewed and expanded tram network

• take forward a publicly controlled bus system

• improve Active Travel infrastructure and behaviour change

This would support increasing the effective size of the region and boost productivity. Particular projects South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority wish to explore with government include new rail capacity at Rotherham, Sheffield, and Doncaster; options to release employment opportunities around the A1/A19 and Hickleton Marr; and options to improve connectivity between Sheffield and the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District.

Placemaking, investment and communities shared priority

Tackle the demand deficit by driving investment, which will increase business and housing density in key urban centres, enabling a more complex and diverse regional economy. Addressing this will require government and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• enable additional housing and commercial development, through place-based investments working with private and public partners

• deliver public and private investment through innovative public private partnerships and planning vehicles (such as Mayoral Development Corporations) to ‘stack capital’ to tackle the region’s demand deficit

• work with the region, the South Yorkshire Pension Authority, and pension funds to assess the finance barriers to scaling businesses

• increase the rate of both public and private Research & Development in Local Growth Plan sectors

• consider how to best leverage inward or outward visits and events to help showcase relevant regional investment opportunities

This would support regeneration in urban centres, supporting business growth and productivity in key growth sectors. Helping to restore the fabric of communities across South Yorkshire to drive growth, wellbeing and pride.

Tees Valley Combined Authority

Skills and employment shared priority

Increase the skills base and reduce economic inactivity to enable residents to rejoin or increase participation in the workforce and support them into better employment opportunities. Addressing this will require government and Tees Valley Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• improve integration of skills, health and employment programmes to provide personalised, wraparound support, tailored to key growth sectors

• work with employers and training providers to boost in-work training, aligning this to local skills demand

This would deliver a more joined-up approach which addresses local workforce challenges, providing the talent pipeline for key growth sectors.

Transport shared priority

Improve transport accessibility and travel experiences to better connect workers across the region to employment and industrial sites. Addressing this will require government and Tees Valley Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• improve the frequency, accessibility and quality of existing public transport networks, which is particularly important for the inclusive growth agenda

• ensure sufficient capacity and address pinch-points to improve the efficiency of the road network and enable high quality, quick, affordable, reliable and safe journeys for people and freight

• ensure devolved transport funding is better able address the specific challenges in the Tees Valley, including spending on road schemes

This would support residents to access more economic opportunities, with businesses better able to attract talent across a wider geography and facilitate growth and inward investment.

Housing and commercial development shared priority

Increase the availability and viability of high-quality commercial land and space, such as office, industrial, research and development space, and appropriate housing, to increase business density and to attract and retain talent. Addressing this will require government and Tees Valley Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• deliver innovative partnerships and models that unlock sites for both housing and commercial development and bring forward brownfield sites

• work together to deliver increased housing, including potentially addressing planning capacity constraints and local site viability issues

• identify and implement interventions that improve perceptions of place

This would provide the foundations for greater business investment and expand the available talent pool for business, boosting growth and productivity in key sectors.

West Midlands Combined Authority

Skills and employment shared priority

Increase the skills base and reduce economic inactivity, to enable residents to rejoin or increase participation in the workforce; and also reduce youth unemployment, by supporting them into better employment opportunities. Addressing this will require government and West Midlands Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• improve integration of skills, health and employment programmes to provide personalised, wraparound support, tailored to key growth sectors

• ensure that careers services are responsive to the needs of the region’s key growth sectors and that skills programmes meet the needs of the region’s employers

This would deliver a more joined-up approach which addresses local workforce challenges, providing the talent pipeline for key growth sectors.

Housing and commercial development shared priority

Increase business and housing density in key urban centres in the region such as Birmingham, to enable a more complex and diverse regional economy. Addressing this will require government and West Midlands Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• deliver innovative partnerships and models that could unlock sites for both housing and commercial development

• work together to deliver increased housing, including potentially addressing capacity constraints and local site viability issues

This would support regeneration in urban centres and business growth and productivity in key growth sectors.

Innovation shared priority

Boost the generation of innovation and its adoption and diffusion across businesses to support existing firms to adopt new technologies and/or transition into higher-value activities. Addressing this will require government and West Midlands Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• support translational Research & Development and commercialisation activities across West Midlands’ key innovation assets

• improve pathways for businesses to access finance

• drive improvements in small and medium-sized enterprises leadership and management skills

This would boost productivity in key growth sectors and provide improved opportunities for skilled workers across the region.

West of England Mayoral Combined Authority

Housing shared priority

Increase the availability and affordability of homes across the West of England, ensuring people living and working in the region have access to good quality, affordable homes that meet their needs. Addressing this will require government and the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• deliver innovative partnerships and models to secure investment and unlock sites for housing and commercial development

• unlock new housing developments that make increasing use of modern construction models, and exploring scaling up the level of housing on key development sites

• deliver significant regeneration projects, including unlocking the development of a new city district at Brabazon near Filton, and maximising the potential of Bristol Temple Quarter

• work together to address key barriers to delivering increased housing in the most sustainable locations, including addressing planning capacity constraints and local site viability issues

• develop the necessary infrastructure to support the expansion of sustainable new homes, including aligning with the region’s priorities on transport connectivity and delivering growth that aligns with the region’s climate and nature priorities

These actions will help deliver the housing growth needed to attract and retain businesses and workers vital to the economic growth of the region.

Transport shared priority

Improve transport connectivity across the West of England, ensuring people across the region have access to a safe, reliable, sustainable and affordable transport system. Addressing this will require government and the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• identify options for an improved and better joined up transport network, ensuring the region is an increasingly attractive location for new investment

• ensure action to improve transport connectivity in the West of England tackles issues such as the acute congestion in urban areas like Bristol; and linking market towns across the region to urban centres

• ensure options to improve transport connectivity link the places people live to employment and training opportunities

• ensure options for an improved and better joined up transport network contribute to the climate and nature priorities of the region

This action will help improve accessibility to key growth locations across the region, attracting and retaining the workforce that businesses require to thrive while boosting productivity.

Commercial development shared priority

Increase the development of the commercial space to drive up capital investment in the West of England, meeting the requirements of potential investors and regional priorities for driving growth. Addressing this will require government and the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• prioritise unlocking land for specialist commercial development that meets the needs of the region’s core sectors, supply chains and supporting businesses

• support and create affordable and flexible innovation spaces

This action will help to increase the supply and affordability of space to attract businesses and employers to the West of England and improve the region’s ability to retain high-potential start-ups and spinouts.

Skills shared priority

Address high vacancy rates in key growth sectors across the region. Addressing this will require government and the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• join up national and regional employment and skills services, with a specific focus on boosting and retraining opportunities linked to growth sectors across the region

• boost skills training in key sectors required to enable economic growth such as construction

• address barriers to employment in the region helping more people be able to progress in employment

This action will help address the high vacancy rates experienced by the region and help sectors with high growth potential fill the existing and new jobs that will boost regional productivity.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority

Skills and employment shared priority

Transform the skills base, especially via technical qualifications, and reduce economic inactivity, to enable residents to rejoin or increase participation in the workforce and support them into better employment opportunities. Addressing this will require government and West Yorkshire Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• improve the integration of skills, health and employment programmes to provide personalised, wraparound support to increase economic participation

• ensure all-age careers services are responsive to the needs of the region’s key sectors, employers and all residents

• increase investment in modern training and workspaces, and simplify and enhance access to and appreciation of technical education pathways, ensuring parity of esteem with traditional academic routes

• collaborate on the reform of the Growth and Skills Levy to drive up youth apprenticeships and mid to high level qualifications with a focus on regional economic need

• ensure that the system provides sufficient appropriate places for 16-18 year olds to meet local need and regional economic priorities, through appropriate investment of Further Education capital budgets and 16-18 revenue funding

• work together to review Further Education challenges such as VAT, national collective bargaining and borrowing

• explore innovative models of joining up services for families, to address barriers to economic participation and give children the best start in life

This would help to deliver a more joined-up approach which addresses local workforce challenges, providing the talent pipeline to meet increasing demand for higher level and technical skills.

Transport shared priority

Improve public transport in key corridors of opportunity to ensure existing communities and new commercial and residential developments in the region are well linked to growth opportunities. This will include a focus on connectivity between Leeds and Bradford, where the first mass transit route and rail station investment offer significant opportunity. Addressing this will require government and West Yorkshire Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• deliver Phase 1 of the West Yorkshire Mass Transit system

• resolve capacity issues at Leeds station, and improve rail connections to Bradford, so as to ensure future-proofed growth capacity that supports the economic transformation within the West Yorkshire Local Growth Plan

• reform the bus network through franchising to design services and routes that better serve our communities and deliver greater connectivity across the region, supported by a reformed bus revenue funding system

• build on the TransPennine Route Upgrade to maximise benefits of that investment

This would help to increase the effective size of the conurbation and boost productivity. Particular projects West Yorkshire Combined Authority wish to explore with government include delivery of a new through station in Bradford, electrifying the Leeds-Bradford rail link and the Calder Valley line from Bradford to Manchester, and improved services on the key route between West and South Yorkshire, including the Penistone line.

Housing and commercial development shared priority

Increase business and housing density in key corridors of opportunity and spatial priority areas, to support regeneration, business growth and affordable housing with retrofit of existing homes at scale. Addressing this will require government and West Yorkshire Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• deliver innovative partnerships, such as with the National Wealth Fund, along with exploring new delivery models and fiscal interventions that could unlock sites for both housing and commercial development

• accelerate housing delivery, including addressing planning capacity constraints and local site viability issues related to post-industrial remediation; and ensuring the necessary energy infrastructure to support development, including aligning with region’s priorities on transport connectivity

• secure full flexibility of funding and a co-commissioning model with Homes England

Our priorities are urban densification and regeneration at scale therefore long-term planning, funding and coordination is required. This would increase the effective size of the region and boost productivity.

York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority

Housing and commercial development shared priority

Increase sustainable and high-quality commercial and housing development to enable greater business investment and increase affordable housing. Addressing this will require government and York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• deliver innovative partnerships and models that could unlock sites for both housing and commercial development

• work together to deliver increased sustainable housing, including potentially addressing planning capacity constraints, local site viability issues and related infrastructure

This would support business growth and expand the region’s talent pool beyond the urban centres and into rural areas where key sectors are based.

Innovation shared priority

Improve commercialisation of research to increase knowledge transfer and innovation across the region’s growth sectors. Addressing this will require government and York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• strengthen connections between academic institutions and industry

• tackle some of the regulatory challenges that limit innovation

• work with government on innovation in food, farming and waste to support food security, health, and the environment as part of the National Food Strategy 2025

• explore investment models to unlock further private sector investment

This would support businesses to capitalise on the region’s academic and science specialisms and assets, boosting productivity in key growth sectors.

Utilities shared priority

Boost digital connectivity and skills to enable greater digital innovation. Addressing this will require government and York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to work together to explore actions including how to:

• improve the region’s broadband infrastructure, particularly in rural areas

This would support businesses to invest in and roll out technological and digital advancements in growth sectors located beyond larger urban centres, boosting productivity in these sectors.