Harrogate may come under 'super mayor' in Yorkshire devolution

The situation in North Yorkshire appears to be moving quickly since the Government rejected a ‘One Yorkshire’ option barely a fortnight ago.

Keen to win access to the funds released to other areas with a devolved authority such as Tees Valley, the leader of North Yorkshire County Council says new proposals could be put to the Government in a matter of weeks.

In fact, officers from the county council, the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and relevent district councils are already working on the submission for a new devolved York and North Yorkshire authority.

Coun Carl Les said: “The process is relatively straightforward and the advantage of being later than others is that we can learn from their experiences.

“North Yorkshire County Council is keen to get on with devolution, partly to get access to the sort of funding that Tees Valley has been securing under its elected mayor.

“It may be a matter of a short number of weeks. But leaders of the councils that will make up the Combined Authority need to agree first.”

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Harrogate Borough Council’s leader has welcomed the general idea of devolution, though with reservations.

Coun Richard Cooper said: “You only have to look at the example of Manchester to see how effective devolution can be. But I am concerned that devolution could introduce another tier of government

“There is a strong argument that we should look at how local councils are organised alongside developing a devolution deal.”

Despite existing examples, North Yorkshire is entering unchartered waters, to an extent. Most of the powers being sought for the new York and North Yorkshire authority such as transport, roads and skills, social care and flooding lie in the remit of ‘Tier One councils’ such as York and North Yorkshire County Council, who are already committed to the process.

If a consensus does prove easy to achieve among existing local authorities, negotiations could be completed before the end of 2020. But legislation will be required before the project can get as far as the election of a Manchester-style mayor which may push it into 2021 or 2022, even.

But, whatever happens, the county council is keen to leave the door open for any revival of the ‘One Yorkshire’ option.

How it works at Tees Valley

The Tees Valley Combined Authority was created in 2016 and includes the five borough councils of Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees.

Since Ben Houchen (Conservative) was elected Mayor of the Tees Valley in May 2017, he has focused on providing greater power and resources for the Tees Valley area, winning additional funds from Whitehall.

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