The Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) City Deal Shadow Regional Cabinet welcomes the decision by the City of Cardiff, Monmouthshire and Blaenau Gwent Councils to give their unanimous commitment to the CCR City Deal programme.
The Shadow Regional Cabinet awaits the decision of all ten local authorities who will be meeting between now and February 9, 2017. Their commitment would see the Regional Cabinet come out of Shadow from March 1, 2017.
Each authority within the CCR must also approve a commitment by the ten authorities to borrow a combined total of £120million as part of the CCR City Deal Wider Investment Fund.
Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil Councils agreed unanimously to commit to the City Deal in meetings on Wednesday.
Councillor Andrew Morgan, chair of the CCR Shadow Regional Cabinet, and leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, said: “This is an important part of the City Deal process. The ten authorities have worked extremely closely over the past 16 months to get the City Deal to this position, but support for the City Deal from those authorities’ members is critical if we are to collectively take this hugely exciting Deal forward.
“Together, the local authority partners can bring about an economic and social step-change in the Cardiff Capital Region, through improved transport, supporting innovation, an improved digital network, developing skills, supporting enterprise and business growth, and through housing development and regeneration.”
Subject to the votes by each authority, the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal would enter into a transition phase. The Cardiff Capital Region Transition Plan (to be published) will detail key activity to be undertaken, including establishing a Regional Office to drive the delivery of the Regional Cabinet’s work programme (to be published) in anticipation of receiving proposals at the end of this year.
City of Cardiff Council Leader Cllr Phil Bale said: “Wales will have seen nothing on this scale before. This represents a fundamental shift in how Welsh councils do business together. We are breaking new ground, delivering for the region and everyone who lives in it.
“Together we can be stronger, smarter and we can share the wealth we create across the region building a better and a fairer Wales. The critical mass needed to compete internationally can only be achieved through the collective power of 1.5m people working together in a joined up system and sharing in the benefits that brings. We are committed to the City Deal and we are committed to unlocking the benefits it can bring to our city and our region.”
Cllr Steve Thomas, Leader of Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, commented he was ‘pleased that local members had supported the City Deal, which presents a great opportunity to improve the economic performance of the whole region and improve the lives of people in our local communities’. He added: “I look forward to Blaenau Gwent working closely with the other Councils in the region to maximise benefits for the area and making the deal a success over the coming years.”
Cllr Peter Fox OBE, Leader of Monmouthshire County Council, said: “This is a key date in the future of the Cardiff Capital Region. It’s been tremendous to see everyone working in collaboration to agree this City Deal. As Vice Chairman of the Cardiff Capital Region Shadow Cabinet I look forward to seeing the development of innovative projects that will improve the lives of people in all our communities and generate sustainable economic growth now and in the future.”
The ten local authorities are: Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Newport, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Torfaen, Vale of Glamorgan.
