York and North Yorkshire devolution deal signed
August 1, 2022
On Yorkshire Day, a new historic devolution deal for York and North Yorkshire was signed by Greg Clark MP, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, and the leaders of City of York Council and North Yorkshire County Council.
The devolution deal creates a new combined authority encompassing City of York Council and North Yorkshire County Council local authority areas and paves the way for the election of a regional mayor in May 2024.
The newly elected mayor and mayoral combined authority will have control over significant new funding streams as well as key powers on transport, housing and education.
Key features of the deal include:
• Control of a £540 million investment fund in total over 30 years to drive growth and take forward local priorities over the longer term, giving the mayor and local constituent councils more flexibility to decide how best to spend money on key local priorities.
• New powers to improve and better integrate local transport, including the ability to introduce bus franchising, and an integrated transport settlement starting in 2024/25.
• Powers to better improve local skills to ensure these meet the needs of the local economy. This will include devolution of Adult Education functions and the core Adult Education Budget and contribute to the Local Skills Improvement Plan.
• Over £22.6 million to support the building of new homes on brownfield land, deliver affordable homes, and drive green economic growth across York and North Yorkshire.
• Powers to drive the regeneration of the area and to build more affordable, more beautiful homes, including compulsory purchase powers and the ability to establish Mayoral Development Corporations.
• The mayor will take on role and functions of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.
Speaking after the signing ceremony, Julian said:
“This is a historic day for York and North Yorkshire! The creation of a York and North Yorkshire combined authority with its own directly elected mayor will not only increase accountability but also allow us to access over £750 million of Government funding to invest in the region’s priorities.
The devolution deal is also crucial for the delivery of the York Central brownfield site, promising up to £50 million of investment to turbocharge this project which is crucial for York’s commercial prosperity and delivering our long-term housing needs.
York can look forward to taking its place as the economic and administrative centre of the region and I look forward to working with the new mayor once they are elected in 2024.”
The York and North Yorkshire devolution deal concludes the first of 13 planned negotiations announced in the Levelling Up White Paper. It represents the first step towards achieving the Government’s local leadership mission to “extend, deepen and simplify devolution across England” so that by 2030, every part of England that wants a devolution deal will have one with powers at or approaching the highest level of devolution with a simplified, long-term funding settlement.
