Universities back City Deal

The Vice-Chancellors of Cardiff University, Cardiff Metropolitan University and University of South Wales have joined forces to back the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal.

In a joint statement, Professor Colin Riordan, Professor Cara Aitchison and Professor Julie Lydon said the City Deal was “the most exciting and significant economic investment opportunity for the region in recent history”.

Full joint statement below:

We note that each local authority comprising the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) City Deal will shortly be voting to determine their Council’s future involvement in the Deal.

We believe the CCR City Deal is the most exciting and significant economic investment opportunity for the region in recent history.

With the capacity to leverage an additional £4 billion of investment and deliver 25,000 jobs, the City Deal has the potential to fuel innovation, growth and productivity within the region for the foreseeable future.

With a combined turnover in excess of £770 million per annum, more than 11,500 staff, and nearly 72,000 students, the three universities are major institutions in the region, with significant potential to contribute to the region’s economic development. Working in partnership Cardiff Capital region’s universities will deliver a city deal that drives aspiration in education as well as innovation in the economy.

We are committed to working collaboratively and with other partners from the private and public sectors to support the successful delivery of the City Deal objectives.

In summary we would:

• Be demand-led and respond to business need for innovation
• Stimulate new business demands and opportunities through research-led innovation
• Develop the skilled workforce required to fire the economy of the CCR
• Work with existing businesses within the region to drive productivity through research, development and innovation
• Promote the CCR internationally
• Work to attract investment from across the globe to the CCR

We therefore wholeheartedly hope that the appropriate agreements are reached to enable the City Deal Joint Cabinet to come out of Shadow, and for the hard work of delivering the City Deal to truly begin.