City of York Council celebrates fund which has added £39 million to local economy

City of York Council is celebrating the success of its UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) investment programme, which has delivered significant benefits to businesses, communities, and residents across the city, adding £6.30 to the economy for every £1 invested – a total of £39 million.

The council invested £5,507,510 from the Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, in addition to £384,817 from the Rural England Prosperity Fund. The funds aimed to boost productivity and living standards, increase pride in place and build strong communities.

The funding has been invested through a wide-ranging programme of grant and support schemes aimed at supporting businesses and local communities.

You can find out more about the achievements of the fund by watching our video: https://youtu.be/-M0h_yY6Ch8 

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

“The impacts of this investment have 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.

“I’m extremely proud to see that 125 jobs have been 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 has contributed £39 million to York’s economy is due in no small part to the energy and passion that I’ve seen demonstrated time and again by the people and organisations who we’ve worked with throughout this programme and who have turned this funding into real change and opportunity for our people, places and communities.”

One of the 41 providers funded through the UKSPF programme was Next Door But One, which has delivered new and accessible performances for all ages, and offered free career development support for early-career creatives in York.

Matt Harper-Hardcastle, CEO and Artistic Director of Next Door But One, said: 

“As a small but rapidly growing theatre company in York, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund has been central to our ability to strengthen the infrastructure of our work, respond to local need and take brave steps forward with initiatives that make the arts accessible, meaningful and relevant to the diverse communities we serve.

“Through this funding, we’ve been able to reach new audiences and support early-career performing arts professionals to develop their businesses and practice.”

Since the launch of the programme in 2022, City of York Council has supported 41 programmes across three priority investment areas: Communities and Place, People and Skills and Supporting Local Businesses.

The Fund provided £2.6 billion of new funding for local investment between April 2022 and March 2025, and allowed Local Authorities to target funding where it was needed most, building pride in place, supporting high quality skills training, supporting pay, employment and productivity growth and increasing life chances.

A single-year UKSPF extension has been announced by Government, covering the 2025/26 financial year. Due to changes in the way government funding is allocated, the UKSPF programme will now be delivered at the wider York and North Yorkshire level, via the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority. 

York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority will receive £8,782,899 (£2,914,393 capital and £5,868,506 revenue) of investment to be committed in the 2025/26 financial year, and the Combined Authority is currently working to allocate the funding to projects spread across the region.