A new £3bn devolution deal for the North East would be “in the regional, wider North and national interest”.
Henri Murison, director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, has urged local council and Government officials to finally seal a deal that could see a new regional mayor elected in 2024. New details of the proposed devolution package were revealed by the Local Democracy Reporting Service on Monday, with hopes that it would lead to more than 17,000 new jobs.
If agreed by council leaders, the deal would create a new combined authority with an elected mayor covering Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Gateshead and Sunderland – with County Durham currently opting to stay out of the arrangement. After past plans for a major devolution deal for the North East collapsed in 2016 amid a dispute between the region’s Labour-dominated political establishment, there are now renewed hopes of delivering a huge raft of new funding and decision-making powers over crucial issues such as transport and housing.
