Newark included in 1 billion pound devolution deal for the East Midlands
It will mean a directly elected Mayor
A major one billion pound devolution deal has been agreed for the East Midlands and will include Newark.
The deal announced by the Government today will see an investment of 38 million pounds a year for the next 30 years for the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire areas.
It will mean a directly elected Mayor.
They'll also be new powers including the ability to drive regeneration, more control over transport, boost skills training and build more attractive and affordable homes.
Lincolnshire has been trying for a similar devolution deal but has so far been unsuccessful.
The deal is said to deliver on a commitment made in the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper published early this year to shift in powers and resources away from Whitehall to local communities.
Levelling up Secretary Greg Clark said:
“The East Midlands is renowned for its economic dynamism and it has the potential to lead the Britain’s economy of the future. For a long time I have believed that the East Midlands should have the powers and devolved budgets that other areas in Britain have been benefitting from and I am thrilled to be able to bring that about in Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
“I am impressed by the way councils in the region have come together to agree the first deal of this kind in the country, which will benefit residents in all of the great cities, towns and villages across the area of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.”
“Taking decisions out of Whitehall and putting them back in the hands of local people is foundational to levelling up and this deal does that.”
The new East Midlands Combined County Authority will also be granted control of over £17 million of additional funding for the building of new homes on brownfield land in 2024/25, subject to sufficient eligible projects for funding being identified, and a further £18 million has been agreed to support housing priorities and drive Net Zero Ambitions into the area.