Bids could be made for funding to improve airport links and infrastructure work ahead of the creation of a hi-tech business park.

A new £23.9 million fund for West Yorkshire has been handed to the new Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership.

Now council and business leaders have six weeks to draw up their plans for the money.

They must submit their bids to the LEP, the body set up to replace the regional development agency, which must in turn submit proposals to the Department for Communities and Local Government.

The fund is being made available to get stalled infrastructure projects moving again and promote wider economic growth.

Councillor David Green, the Council’s executive member responsible for regeneration and transport, told the Telegraph & Argus that improving transport links to Leeds-Bradford Airport and infrastructure work to prepare the way for the planned £25m advanced manufacturing park at Buck Lane would be considered as possible bids.

He said: “As with all these things, the devil is going to be in the detail.

“And £24 million across the Leeds City Region is not a huge amount of money when it comes to infrastructure.

“Clearly the Leeds City Region team will need to address each of the local authorities’ priorities against their own set of criteria and those of the Government department.

“We don’t know yet which schemes are likely to be approved at a city-region level but there are a number in the Bradford district that may be eligible and we will need to go through the detailed criteria.

“We will need to demonstrate that any schemes we put forward will unlock a potential for growth and jobs.”

Neil McLean, chairman of the Leeds City Region LEP board, said: “This is another positive development for the partnership and we are going to work together to put forward a comprehensive and innovative proposal in support of projects that can create jobs and boost growth.”

The Leeds City Region is one of 38 LEPs which have been allocated a share of the Government’s £500m Growing Places Fund, which is designed to revive projects that have stalled because of the economic slowdown and get Britain building again.

A decision on which schemes will receive a share of the cash is expected in January.