City Deals Insights

We have interviewed the Core Cities to find out about their experiences of the City Deals

Report published on 18 February 2013

As Wave 2 City Deal submissions are assessed by the Government, Centre for Cities, in association with the Core Cities Group, has interviewed representatives from all eight Core Cities about their experiences of Wave 1 City Deals. We asked them for their views on the City Deals process so far including: the achievements of City Deals; difficulties experienced with City Deals; their messages for the Government; and their advice for Wave 2 cities.

Our interviews with the Core Cities have generated lessons for the cities themselves, for the Government and for those cities now involved in negotiating Wave 2 deals. This short paper summarises views from the Core Cities which provide valuable insights into the progress of the Government’s devolution agenda, and into the impact it could have on economic development across England.

We are grateful to the Core Cities for generously sharing their time and thoughts with us.