Further to signing the Heads of Terms Agreement between the ten local authorities in the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) as well as the UK and Welsh Governments in March 2016, each of the local authorities must formally approve a Regional Cabinet comprising of the relevant local authority leaders. The Regional Cabinet, currently in a shadow status, will oversee the region’s economic growth and delivery of the proposals under the City Deal.
The City Deal comprises an investment programme of £1.2billion into the regional economy, including £734m for the creation of a South East Wales Metro transport scheme. Each authority must approve a commitment by the ten authorities to borrow a total of £120million as part of the CCR City Deal Wider Investment Fund.
The CCR Shadow Regional Cabinet of local authority leaders indicated in its meeting on January 6, 2017, that it would like each authority to have agreed to these commitments by February, 2017 – enabling the Regional Cabinet to come out of its Shadow status from March 1, 2017.
Councillor Andrew Morgan, chair of the CCR Shadow Joint 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 we 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.”
The ten local authorities are: Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Merthyr, Monmouthshire, Newport, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Torfaen, Vale of Glamorgan.