BARNSLEY is poised to reap huge benefits from a historic £900m devolution deal secured by the Sheffield City Region.
Local politicians and business leaders from the city region - which Barnsley is part of - have secured an 'in-principle' deal with Chancellor George Osborne to transfer national powers and control for funding from government that will allow South Yorkshire to take control of its own affairs.
Alongside this transfer of powers, a massive £900 million additional cash boost has been secured over the next 30 years to deliver major regeneration, infrastructure and business growth schemes.
The deal breaker, which government insisted upon, was that the city region agrees to the creation of a directly-elected mayor for South Yorkshire.
The Sheffield City Region said the agreement now puts it at the front of the government's 'northern powerhouse' pack and marks another step in the journey it has taken over the last five years in securing greater control over its own economic affairs.
• Full story in the Barnsley Chronicle issue dated October 9, 2015.
