A multi-billion pound deal to create a new North East mayor is “not ideal” but is an opportunity the region cannot afford to pass up, city leaders in Newcastle say.
The historic £4.2bn devolution deal is edging ever closer to becoming a reality, with councils across Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, and County Durham deciding this week to move to the next stage of a journey towards a mayoral election next May. On Thursday evening, Newcastle and North Tyneside became the latest areas to give another thumbs-up to the agreement – after the results of a public consultation published last month showed 61% public support.
The deal will bring new funding and decision-making powers to the North East, with hopes of generating 24,000 new jobs, and establish a mayoral combined authority stretching across the seven council areas of Northumberland, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Gateshead, Sunderland, and Durham. While concerns were expressed by Newcastle City Council’s cabinet on Thursday that the deal will not replace the Government funding the region has lost through austerity or bolster the budgets of cash-strapped local authorities, there were hopes that its power could be strengthened further over its 30-year lifespan.
