Business Matters: Mayor Tracy Brabin, West Yorkshire Combined Authority | Episode 50

Transport for the North Podcast

Welcome to another episode of the Transport for the North Podcast! Join our new Business Matters series, which looks at transport investment as an enabling force to encourage job creation, economic growth and increased access to opportunity for the 16 million people living here. This time Gemma speaks to Mayor Tracy Brabin. As England's first female Metro Mayor and as the leader of West Yorkshire Combined Authority, she tells us about the wide-ranging benefits of setting up a business in West Yorkshire, highlighting the great mix of urban and rural living, with the potential to have a brilliant quality of life when living and working in the region. She also reviews some of the positive change that the region has seen, such as the move of Channel 4, the initiation of the National Infrastructure Bank and the Northern Department for Transport Office in Leeds. Mayor Brabin says it is crucial that we recognise the importance of seeing drastically improved connectivity to cities such as Bradford, which she says needs a new city centre through station on a new railway line between Manchester and Leeds. Bradford is the UK's youngest city, with 25% of the population under the age of 18, demonstrating the urgent need to provide better opportunities through vastly improved connectivity for communities in this area of West Yorkshire. She also calls for the HS2 Eastern Leg to be delivered to Leeds, to increase capacity on the North's network, opening up opportunities for greener freight transport and faster services. Finally, Tracy encourages listeners to get involved with her #TellTracy campaign, encouraging Northerners to share their experience on the North's rail network; you can get involved here: https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/a-mayoral-combined-authority/telltracy-about-your-rail-experiences/