Council leaders have been told that the North East has “fallen behind” since the collapse of a devolution deal in 2016, as progress continues towards a new £4.2bn agreement.
Local authority cabinets across the region are meeting this week to formally endorse a deal to finally bring new funding and key decision-making powers to the North East. It is hoped that the move, which would see a new North East mayor elected in 2024, will create 24,000 new jobs and hand local leaders control over crucial issues like transport.
As of Tuesday lunchtime, four of the seven councils involved in the deal have endorsed it – Newcastle, North Tyneside, Gateshead, and Northumberland – with South Tyneside, Sunderland, and County Durham meeting later in the week to give their backing and allow the package to proceed to an eight-week public consultation. But the acrimonious breakdown of the last devolution deal put to the region seven years ago, which fell apart when the councils south of the Tyne pulled out, remains a sore subject.
