Member Article

Devolution – a once in a lifetime opportunity

The North of Tyne devolution deal is on track with the government ‘minded to’ complete a devolution deal with the North of Tyne authorities, which will still be subject to the consent of local partners. Collective fingers are crossed to ensure the devolution debacle just over one year ago, when the North East Combined Authority voted against devolution by a majority four votes against three, does not re-occur writes Chris Dobson.

The deal will see £600 million of investment in the region over 30 years and create a new mayor elected in 2019 with powers over important economic levers including planning and skills.

A joint statement from the three local authorities involved - Newcastle City Council, North Tyneside Council and Northumberland County Council – says the deal will deliver “new, unprecedented devolution of powers and funding offers” as a once in a lifetime opportunity for the North of Tyne area.

The statement adds: “We have been working with Government since the beginning of the year to agree a deal that builds on our strong track record of creating jobs and nurturing world-leading businesses. We have also negotiated for powers that will allow us to help our people develop new skills, improve their job prospects, access more and better homes, and live in an area that is well-connected, vibrant and thriving.

“This deal will streamline decision making on important issues that affect our growth and prosperity, and give us the power locally to decide how we drive economic growth and create confident and skilled communities. It comes with a new, directly elected Mayor who will provide a strong voice for the area and ensure that we play an active role on a national and international level.”

Support for the deal is widespread with Developing Consensus, the region’s business-led property partnership, being one of the first to praise the deal with its chair, Adam Serfontein, saying the formal collaboration “will promote economic regeneration and prosperity for a significant part of the North East Combined Authority area”.

Mr Serfontein adds: “We hope that in time the remaining four authorities will wish to be part of this. I know that part of the North of Tyne strategy is to welcome them and this is to be applauded”.

There is a pre-requisite for the North East to attract a share of central Government funding that is clearly needed to achieve the region’s objectives. “This was made perfectly clear through the recent City Deal funding where those regions which had collaborated in this way were rewarded and we, as a region, effectively lost out”, says Mr Serfontein.

“The key to the North East region’s success is to welcome this as significant progress and work closely with the public sector to support them with the interim arrangements and champion a Mayor and the leaders of the new vehicle. Together we can implement imaginative strategies to improve our infrastructure and transport, access to finance, our planning process, inward investment and the outputs of increased employment and improvement in our region’s GDP.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chris Dobson .