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27
Aug 2022
Eight-week consultation to be held on creating North Yorkshire mayor
An eight-week public consultation looks set to start in October asking people in North Yorkshire if they support devolution and the election of a mayor.
North Yorkshire County Council's executive will be asked to agree to the consultation when it meets on September 6.
It will also be asked to pay an initial £600,000 to cover the costs of the consultation exercise and other early implementation costs.
If devolution goes ahead, it will lead to the creation of a combined authority for North Yorkshire and York and the election of a mayor for the region.
A draft deal was signed on August 1, which is Yorkshire Day, in York. The 32-page document promised £540 million over 30 years and more devolved powers over skills, transport and energy.
Now councillors are being asked to move to the next stage of the process.
Councillor Carl Les, the Conservative leader of the county council, hailed the deal as "life-changing for the region's economy", adding:
Earlier this month, the Liberal Democrats in Harrogate and Knaresborough called for a public vote on the deal saying it gave too much power to one person.
Read more:
- North Yorkshire devolution concentrates power into 'hands of few'
- Strayside Sunday: Is the £540m Devolution Deal good enough?
- Explained: What is North Yorkshire's combined authority?
If the consultation is agreed, it will run through the autumn and close before Christmas.
York and North Yorkshire councillors will then consider the results and make a decision on a submission back to the UK government in the spring.
The current timeline then outlines the formation of a combined authority for the region in winter 2023, with the public electing a mayor in May 2024.
The deal can be found on the Government’s website, here.
The executive paper can be read here.
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