‘Leeds first’ funding policy leaves Bradford fuming

Bradford East MP David Ward has responded with fury to the decision to snub the city’s bid to house Leeds’ City Region’s Enterprise Zone.

But fears heightened in Bradford after Neil McLean, the chairman of the council and business-led Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), was quoted as saying that Leeds has to “take the lead” and that other towns and cities would benefit as investment in Leeds “cascades” down to them.

Mr Ward and other MPs are to meet Mr McLean on Friday to air their concerns that the LEP is more focused on helping Leeds than addressing issues elsewhere, such as Bradford’s city centre where vital regeneration schemes are stalled.

Mr Ward said: “The regional development agency – Yorkshire Forward – identified Bradford as being the number one priority for investment and committed £35m of funding, which has now been stopped.

“Simply encouraging more investment into a city which is more successful and wealthy than Bradford cannot be in the best interests of Bradford and doe not amount to a regional strategy in my view.”

The LEP covers 11 councils –from Barnsley to York – and brings together businesses and local authority leaders in an attempt to boost the economy as Yorkshire Forward is abolished.

Other figures inside the LEP acknowledge there has been a “backlash” from Bradford after the Board proposed setting up an Enterprise Zone – where companies who set up will get business rate discounts, fast-track planning, tax incentives and superfast broadband – in the Aire Valley, south of Leeds, rather than Bradford city centre.

Those concerns have been fuelled after Mr McLean told a national newspaper: “There is an acknowledgement that Leeds has to take the lead. Other towns and cities in the region will benefit if Leeds surges ahead.”

But insiders argue that the entire city region will benefit because business rates from firms within the Enterprise Zone will be kept in the city region to support economic development in other towns and cities.

Leeds City Council leader Keith Wakefield said: “These are very difficult decisions.

“We appreciate the fact Bradford really does need that support and the whole thing is about how all of us together share in the revenue so we can assist places like Bradford.

“We recognise Bradford’s got a strong and urgent case and the Enterprise Zone was a difficult decision.”

However, the situation exposes the tensions LEPs will have to overcome.

Mr McLean said: “My recent comment on Leeds taking a lead in driving economic growth was made by specific reference to the Centre for Cities report which highlighted the growth potential of Leeds.

“The Partnership’s objective is to help the city region economy and its 100,000 strong businesses to grow and flourish and the LEP Board is committed to finding the best options to achieve this for the benefit of all cities and towns in the city region.”

He added: “I have always been clear that the Partnership is about driving the potential of the whole of the city region and the only way to achieve this is by working together. The Leeds City Region’s strength is that it has a number of economic centres that collectively make it the largest city-region outside London with the greatest potential to grow.”