West Yorkshire mayor welcomes new tax powers that could speed up Leeds tramline
‘This is real devolution’
The Mayor of West Yorkshire has welcomed Andy Burnham’s plans to let English mayors keep a share of income tax and business rates in their area.
The Prime Minister said the policy would be designed so that “every local leader will have the power and resources to improve public transport, build homes and create jobs”.
It should allow Tracy Brabin to push faster with the £2.5bn tram network for Leeds and Bradford, as the devolution programme will involve “removing Whitehall barriers and speeding up approvals”.
Ms Brabin said: “This is real devolution and exactly what mayors have been pushing for so we can deliver further and faster for our communities.
“Giving extra powers and a proportion of income tax to regions means people will be able to see and feel the real benefit of their hard work and where that money is going.
"This will enable us to deliver on our ambitious plans including vital improvements to public transport, providing better skills and employment support so people can fulfill their potential, and building the homes that people need."
Mayors are also being given a fast-track route to building new tramways, roads and light rail, the Transport Secretary has said today.
Large transport projects put forward by local leaders need to have Department for Transport approval before they are built.
The cost threshold at which mayors need to seek approval was set at £200 million.
But Heidi Alexander announced on Friday that this would rise to £500 million.
The change will mean elected leaders can bypass the queue for Whitehall sign-off on their projects, if they cost less than half a billion pounds.
“Today we’re giving local leaders more power to shape transport in their community,” the Transport Secretary wrote in a post on X.
“Locally funded transport schemes up to £500 million no longer need Whitehall approval, meaning fewer projects get bogged down by bureaucracy, and you get the services that make your life easier.”
The Prime Minister began his devolution drive during the first week of his premiership.
He hosted several mayors at his inaugural No 10 North meeting in Manchester last Friday, including Ms Brabin.
“What I’m trying to do here is make the UK one team where we’re all pulling behind you because your place is where growth happens or it doesn’t happen,” Mr Burnham told the gathered mayors.
The ‘West Yorkshire Needs a Tram’ campaign group has called on the Prime Minister to make a “cast iron pledge” to fully fund a West Yorkshire mass transit system, 33 years after the last attempt at a city tram was approved.
Leeds remains the largest city in Western Europe without a tram system, and after numerous false dawns, plans to build a highly-anticipated mass transit system in West Yorkshire have been delayed by several years to the late 2030s.
The £2.5bn project would connect Leeds and Bradford as well as Elland Road and the White Rose Centre.