South Yorkshire is to be the first Investment Zone in the UK, creating 8,000 new jobs and attracting £1.2bn worth of private investment by 2030.
Using government support worth £80m, the new Investment Zone will use the region’s success in advanced manufacturing and will help make South Yorkshire the best place to start, scale or relocate businesses from around the world, boosting the UK economy.
The first investment announced is a more than £80m Boeing-led research project into manufacturing lightweight structures for aeroplanes – a key part of making aviation more sustainable.
Compass will be built as an extension to the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre’s Factory 2050. It will be built with support from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, Sheffield City Council and the High Value Manufacturing Catapult.
South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “Our Investment Zone will help put South Yorkshire back where we belong; at the forefront of this country’s manufacturing-led growth.
“Technology created in South Yorkshire built the modern world. Because in South Yorkshire we have always known how to deliver practical solutions to big challenges. Yesterday it was stainless steel and our coal industry, today it is AI, Robotics and creating lighter, stronger materials for Jet Zero.
“That’s why this new Investment Zone status is so important. Because with the support of partners like Boeing, and working with the government, we’re showing we have the tools, the technology and the confidence to build on our strengths as not just the world’s first, but the world’s best Advanced Manufacturing District.”
The Investment Zone – the first of 12 such zones built around universities and high-growth industries – will build on the success of South Yorkshire’s Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District, expanding it to incorporate Rotherham town centre and Sheffield city centre, with Opportunity Sites across Barnsley and Doncaster.
Investors, developers and start-ups will be offered a combination of targeted support and financial interventions to start, scale up and relocate their businesses including:
• Help with relocating through funding for capital, infrastructure and feasibility work.
• Help unlocking barriers to planning, with support from dedicated Investment Zone planning officers throughout the process.
• Skills support schemes to upskill workforces and boost opportunities for graduates whilst tackling issues around economic inactivity.
Supply chain funding to build the capability and competitiveness of suppliers to access regional, national and international growth markets.
Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council Leader Sir Stephen Houghton said: “Although the focus of the project covers Rotherham and Sheffield, the Investment Zone will bring strong benefits to the whole of South Yorkshire. The wider programme will provide us with new opportunities for growth and development in our borough.
“It will enable us to attract new businesses, provide scale up support to those already here, and create new jobs, which will bolster our local economy through opportunity sites at J36, J37 and in Goldthorpe.
“South Yorkshire’s Investment Zone will bolster the already attractive offer for innovative businesses looking to make the most of our pre-existing cluster of digital and tech companies and strengthen the growing reputation for Barnsley as a destination for digital businesses.”
