A landmark £4bn devolution deal for the North East has the backing of the public, the results of an eight-week consultation have revealed.
Almost two-thirds of the people who shared their views of the historic deal, which will see a regional mayor elected next May, are in favour of the huge proposal going ahead. The results will come as a relief to leaders who have spent years trying to agree a devolution package to unite the North East, especially having seen Cornwall recently abandon its mayoral deal following local opposition.
A proposed North East Mayoral Combined Authority will cover County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland, bringing with it billions of pounds worth of investment and new decision-making powers. The results of the public consultation, which was not binding and had 3,235 responses, on the plans were published on Friday and showed majority backing for the broad principle of the mayor being created – 61.2% of people agreed, with 29.6% opposed, and 9.2% neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
