UK Infrastructure Strategy: Doncaster Chamber Responds

Since the Government published its Infrastructure Strategy last week, we’ve taken a bit of time to get to grips with the details. Here’s what we think are some of the main takeaways for Doncaster.

 

Why This Matters…

It might not seem like this is where the adrenaline is, but this strategy is significant for Doncaster.

Firstly, any 10-year Strategy provides a level of coherence, confidence and certainty against a fast-moving external backdrop. Anything that gives long-term funding certainty is an improvement.

Doncaster is home to several scaling-up businesses and relies on reliable connectivity by road, rail, and a decent internet connection – basic stuff, but important.

And yet, we see our most used and useful everyday assets continue to crumble around us. From grid to water infrastructure, action is long overdue.

 

Why we’re wading in…

Infrastructure underpins our manifesto, including transport, growth of emerging sectors such as AI, digital services, and green technologies, as well as planning – the latter of which was a hot topic in this financial year’s first Quarterly Economic Survey.

Business sentiment on this is gloomy at best: just 12% say public transport meets their needs, 21% say the same for rail, and only 36% for road. South Yorkshire’s infrastructure isn’t keeping pace, and businesses are calling for across-the-board improvements. If Doncaster is to uphold its role as a national hub for logistics and rail, investment must follow.

This strategy confirms the £1.5bn South Yorkshire transport investment, announced on 4 June, including franchised buses and long-overdue upgrades to the M18. Given road traffic in Doncaster has risen by over 13% in the past decade, this investment is crucial for Doncaster’s Airport City plans and 1,000 new homes in Gateway East.

The City of Doncaster Council’s Infrastructure Strategy, published six months ago, sets out a longlist of ‘oven-ready’ priorities. As promised in our Manifesto, we’ve been working with partners to refine and support this plan from a business perspective. In all honesty, it’s a genuinely useful and coherent strategy that shows CDC is on the front foot when it comes to coordinating infrastructure and services across the borough.

 

Here's our take…

We were encouraged to read the strategy’s logical, common-sense (bordering obvious) approach in bringing together transport and utilities infrastructure with social infrastructure like hospitals, schools and prisons. Something the CDC Infrastructure Strategy also does really well.

The introduction of ‘place-based business cases’ in the strategy proposes places combine infrastructure projects to meet broader needs. Another sensible step that shows we’re on the right lines with our efforts to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport. Our wider vision to create a high-value economic cluster alongside traditional aerospace, logistics, jobs, retail, leisure, and housing, all backed by strong transport links, will attract new investment into Doncaster and South Yorkshire. It makes clear value-for-money sense.

With all of this, our message is simple: just get on with it — and do it productively and effectively.

Expensive projects that drag on for years or become political footballs help no one. We were therefore glad to read that a new approach to mega-projects like HS2 means we can feel the benefit through supply-chain opportunities and long-term economic growth.

This strategy confirms that South Yorkshire Combined Mayoral Authority will receive a single, combined funding package, replacing multiple messy separate grants. This gives Mayor Oliver Coppard greater flexibility and long-term certainty to deliver better services by focusing on joined-up priorities and enabling faster, locally informed decisions.

That said, it’s vital that this funding is felt in every corner of South Yorkshire, not just in the core city of Sheffield, so that all communities see the benefits of investment and growth.

Beyond addressing public estate maintenance, this strategy aims to make the UK a clean energy superpower. Doncaster is well positioned to benefit from major planned projects like gas-fired power stations, solar farms, wind turbines, and biomass facilities. However, we know based on our LSIP work (more info here if you’ve never heard of it), ongoing skills shortages remain a key barrier to meeting the 2030 clean power target. Progress in low-carbon hydrogen production, highlighted in the strategy, should boost confidence for companies like Doncaster’s GeoPura.

It’s not lost on us that skills and growth go hand in hand. It’s something we’ve been tackling head-on through our Local Skills Improvement Plan. This latest strategy, alongside the modern Industrial Strategy, shows a welcome commitment to investing in the training and talent our region needs.

The strategy highlights AI Growth Zones—clusters of AI-focused data centres with better energy and planning support. Doncaster has submitted two bids to become one of these zones. Two locations are already confirmed, and we await the outcome of Doncaster’s applications.

Complimenting the work of Doncaster’s Finance For Enterprise and others, it’s encouraging to see the recognition of private capital into the UK infrastructure market by working with pension funds and public financial institutions to complement and maximise the value of the extensive public investment.

 

Looking ahead…

This strategy offers practical solutions to long-standing challenges we all know too well. The real work now is local. Doncaster needs to turning our grit and ambition into action to deliver what our communities need. From the Chamber’s perspective also pledging to take on significant responsibilities ourselves and emphasizing where the private sector can lead in unlocking Doncaster’s potential.

As with so many strategies before, we’re cautiously supportive, but experience tells us that businesses will judge by deeds, not words.

The government acknowledges it can’t do everything at once, but provides clear direction and fresh momentum for Team Doncaster, with bold goals to build the strategic assets that will shape our future.

 

Where our Transport and Infrastructure Forum comes in…

The Doncaster Transport and Infrastructure Forum exists to provide expert business insight and strategic advocacy to shape Doncaster’s transport and infrastructure priorities.

Chaired by a senior business leader, the Forum will bring together a diverse range of stakeholders from transport, development, business, education, and the voluntary sector.

We’re inviting individuals and organisations who are committed to acting in the best interests of Doncaster and South Yorkshire, who can contribute constructively while respecting diverse views, and who are willing to champion the Forum’s recommendations within their own networks, if that sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you.

 

Sian Booth
Head of Policy and Partnerships