Mayor David Skaith celebrates success of £10.5 million investment supporting people across York and North Yorkshire

Communities across York and North Yorkshire are benefitting from £10,530,916 of investment through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and the Rural England Prosperity Fund, with Mayor David Skaith celebrating the programme’s strong results and lasting impact.

The funding was delivered across four key themes:

Communities and Place
Support for Local Businesses
People and Skills
Rural England Prosperity Fund

Across all four areas, the programme exceeded expectations and delivered significant outcomes for residents, businesses and local organisations. Headline achievements include:

6,427 people gaining new digital skills
1,908 economically inactive people supported
1,623 businesses receiving tailored supporta
4,360 additional users of improved community facilities

In total, 16 projects received funding, covering a range of areas such as supporting local communities, providing business support, decarbonising businesses and upskilling the region.

David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, said:

“Thousands of people in communities from Hawes to Whitby and so many places in between have seen the difference the SPF programme has made to their lives.

"Whether it’s at a village hall or a cricket ground, all the projects that I’ve visited have blown me away with passionate people turning their places into community hubs.

“The progress we’ve made shows what we can achieve when we give local groups the tools to improve their communities, support local businesses and boost skills.”

Since the programme concluded in March, the Combined Authority’s evaluators Thrive Economics calculated that every £1 invested through UKSPF has generated around £5.70 in economic benefit for people, businesses and visitors across the region.

The Combined Authority have run the programme in collaboration with North Yorkshire Council, City of York Council, as well as working with other organisations across the region.

North Yorkshire Council’s leader, Cllr Carl Les, who is a member of the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, said:

“We have seen major benefits for our communities and businesses across North Yorkshire from the millions of pounds that have been invested through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).

“The funding, which was at first overseen byourselves and is now delivered by the combined authority, has been used for key issues that we are committed to tackling as a council.

“From supporting local businesses and improving career opportunities through better skills and training to enhancing our towns and High Streets, protecting the environment and boosting our rural communities, the funding is benefiting thousands of people in North Yorkshire.”

Cllr Pete Kilbane, Executive Member at City of York Council for Economy and Culture, said:

“The impacts of this investment touched all parts of our city - from supporting entrepreneurs to turn their dreams into reality and enabling people to gain employable skills, to regenerating Acomb’s Front Street and bringing diverse cultural opportunities to York.

“We were extremely proud to see the jobs created or safeguarded as a direct result of this funding, with hundreds more people benefiting from opportunities to build the skills and confidence they need to secure rewarding, well-paid employment.

“The fact that this investment contributed £39 million to York’s economy, is due in no small part to the energy and passion that we’ve seen demonstrated time and again by the people and organisations, who worked hard throughout this programme and who turned this funding into real change and opportunity for our people, places and communities.”

One of the projects that benefitted from the funding was NinetyOne Jewellery, where owner Emma Lindsay received support from the Growth Hub. Through tailored guidance, confidence‑building and practical business tools, Emma felt empowered to pursue her ambition of building a creative jewellery brand alongside her mum.

Emma Lindsay said: