Steer Davies Gleave’s Urban Dynamic Model helps secure £1bn funding package

Leeds City region has just been awarded one of the biggest City Deal settlements in the country, totalling £1 billion over 20 years. A significant part of this is for the City Region’s Transport Fund, amounting to £180 million over the six years from 2015 to 2021, followed by £420 million for 2021-2034, a total of £600 million.

The fund was set up to support an ambitious programme of transport investment designed to help regenerate the City Region’s economy and to support future growth. The investment strategy was designed and tested using Steer Davies Gleave’s Urban Dynamic Model, which was used to show where growth would be constrained by inadequate transport provision, and to demonstrate how much growth  - and new employment – would be generated following new investment.

Having identified where investment was required, the model was used to test over 60 candidate projects, sorting them on the basis of their value for money and assembling them into a coherent, targeted investment package worth £1 billion. The City Region's deal provides 60% of the funding needed to support this investment, with the remainder being raised via local initiatives.

We would like to congratulate Leeds City Region on their great success, while admitting to some pride of our own in having contributed towards it.

For more information about Steer Davies Gleave’s services, and how the Urban Dynamic Model could help you, please contact [email protected].