Derbyshire council agrees to new East Midlands authority with hopes for a £4bn boost for the region

Residents across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Derby and Nottingham will subsequently get the chance to vote for their first-ever East Midlands Mayor, in May, after the region’s councils gave the go-ahead to devolution for the region.

Councils across the East Midlands, including those in Derbyshire, will not be scrapped or merged under the devolution deal and they will still oversee many public services, but the new East Midlands Combined County Authority would deal with broader issues like transport, regeneration and employment.

The new authority is hoped to bring in around £4bn of funding for the East Midlands which Derbyshire County Council and others feel is necessary to address decades of under-funding compared to other areas, and it is also hoped the EMCCA will help improve living standards and deliver better opportunities for residents, businesses and communities.

Derbyshire County Council Leader, Cllr Barry Lewis, said: “Our shared vision is for the 2.2 million people who live and work in the heart of the country to be better connected and more prosperous – addressing years of historically low investment in our region.

“Devolution brings much more control over our own area. Rather than many major decisions being made for us in London, local people would have a say in the region’s priorities. This is just the start and more benefits and funding are already starting to flow – such as the Government’s recent announcement of £1.5bn local transport funding for the new East Midlands Mayor.

“The creation of a new mayoral combined county authority will unlock the benefits of the East Midlands devolution deal and bring improved public services and a brighter future for our residents.”

Derbyshire County Council approved plans for the EMCCA during a council meeting on Thursday, December 7, and similarly Derby City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council and Nottingham City Council also approved the plans to create the authority which will be launched in spring.

The councils will still oversee many public services but the new EMCCA would deal with broader issues like transport, regeneration and employment, and is set to bring in around £4bn of funding for the region, alongside devolved powers for transport, skills and adult education, housing, the environment and economic development with greater powers and less Government control.

Derbyshire County Council hopes that the devolution deal will bring greater prosperity with a boost for productivity, pay, jobs and living standards, wider opportunities and improved public services all leading to a restored sense of community, and local pride by empowering local leaders and communities.

The investment package for the deal is worth more than £4bn including the £1.14bn investment fund and a new City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement of £1.5bn.

Any newly-appointed EMCCA Mayor will will be focused on transport, net-zero and housing, improving lives, and championing major infrastructure projects, and lobbying the Government to ensure promises are kept.

It is also hoped that longer term aspirations will include seeking further powers from Westminster, placing more decisions at local level, as devolution has done with other areas like the West Midlands and Greater Manchester.

Millions of pounds of funding has already been agreed for projects to improve housing, transport and skills including £1.2m for new gigabit broadband across the region, £750,000 for a new cycling and walking route between Markham Vale and Staveley, and £1.5m for a new roundabout on the A6, at Fairfield, Buxton.

Other projects include £2m to address homelessness in Derby and Nottingham, £9.92m for better domestic energy and low carbon activities, £1.22m for affordable housing in Derby, and £1.5m for new growth through green skills for Nottinghamshire.

Derby City Council Leader, Cllr Baggy Shanker said: “I welcome this milestone moment for the city of Derby and the wider region. The East Midlands Combined County Authority is set to bring much-needed investment into our area and is the only way to get any additional funding, after years of austerity.

“The ambition is for our region to – rightfully – be on an equal footing with the likes of Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, so I am encouraging the residents of Derby to have their say on how the devolved powers and funding should be used next May.”

Nottinghamshire County Council Leader, Cllr Ben Bradley MP, also said:“I am proud we have taken this final and definitive step to bring the necessary powers and funds needed to improve the lives of the people of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

Devolved powers will result in better life outcomes for everyone, more investment in skills and jobs, and more control to deliver improved public transport.

“It will give the East Midlands a platform and powers to bring lasting benefits and change lives for generations.”

And Nottingham City Council Leader, Cllr David Mellen, said: “Nottingham has today taken a significant step towards an East Midlands Combined Authority.

The extra funding this deal will bring will make a huge difference to the region. People in Nottingham will see real benefits with more investment in jobs, training and housing. It is vital that we continue to work closely with our neighbouring councils on this.

“For too long, Nottingham has not had the investment it needs and deserves, and this deal will start to address this. It also brings significant powers from the Government into the region, giving us more control and allowing us to make better, more local decisions.”

Representatives from district and borough councils, alongside wider partners from business and other sectors, will further support the organisation’s development and governance.

The devolution deal, which was previously agreed with Government ministers, hopes to see Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Derby and Nottingham benefit from a £1.14 billion investment fund.

Other areas with devolution deals have also been able to make their funding go even further and have had greater impact by leveraging significant private sector investment.

A public consultation on East Midlands devolution was carried out between November, 2022, and January, 2023, with strong support for the plans among residents, businesses and community groups, according to Derbyshire County Council.

Although, Derbyshire County Council opposition Labour Group Leader, Cllr Joan Dixon, has previously stated she is not ‘persuaded by the virtues of the devolution deal and particularly the need for a Mayor’ and she believes many Derbyshire people share that view.

The Government has already announced around £1.5bn in transport funding for the prospective East Midlands Mayor and under the devolution deal the region has also been invited to establish an Investment Zone which will hopefully attract £160m of support over ten years, with tax incentives for businesses to boost economic growth, unlocking hundreds of millions of pounds in private investment and creating thousands of jobs.

Government will also work with the proposed EMCCA and partners to develop the Investment Zone with priority development sites and interventions to drive growth before any plans are confirmed.

Derbyshire County Council also confirmed that £18m has already been awarded to the East Midlands during devolution negotiations which is being spent on improving local housing, transport and skills provision.

Further investment for the region is also to be provided through annual Whitehall budgets and spending reviews.

Derbyshire County Council, Derby City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council and Nottingham City Council have agreed to the creation of East Midlands Combined County Authority and to its necessary legal regulations.

The Government is expected to take the deal before Parliament in the coming weeks to consider, rubber stamp and pass new legislation for this combined authority so the EMCCA can come into force by March 2024.

Three candidates have already been selected by their respective political parties to become the first East Midlands Mayor with an inaugural, mayoral election due to take place on May 2, 2024.

They include Conservative Mansfield MP and Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, Ben Bradley, Labour’s former Watford MP Claire Ward, who now lives in Nottinghamshire, and Ashfield Independent and Ashfeld District Cllr Matthew Relf.