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23
Dec
New powers proposed for mayors to help end development 'doom loop'
The mayor of North Yorkshire, David Skaith, could receive broad new powers, if measures outlined in a new government White Paper come into law.
One of them would be the ability to 'call in' planning applications of strategic importance. Such powers would give elected mayors the right to review major applications and make a decision on them that overrides any decision previously taken by council planning committees.
In our district, developments of strategic importance might include the Harrogate Station Gateway scheme and the proposed new village development of Maltkiln.
In conjunction with these powers, mayors would be given the ability to charge developers a mayoral levy to ensure that new developments come with the necessary infrastructure.
The English Devolution White Paper, which was published on Monday, is a 34,000-word-long document setting out the government’s plans to spread power out, away from Westminster, to enable growth in the regions of England.
In a foreword, the Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, writes:
Micromanaging from the centre combined with short-term, sticking-plaster politics has left England’s regions in a doom loop, unable to achieve their potential.
She continues:
To truly get growth in every corner of the country and put more money into people’s pockets, we must rewire England and end the hoarding in Whitehall by devolving power and money from central government to those with skin in the game.
Asked by the Stray Ferret what it would mean for our region, Mr Skaith said it would help the Yorkshire and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to be more agile in providing essential services. He said:
The English Devolution White Paper is the biggest shift of power away from Westminster to regions like York and North Yorkshire in a generation. It shows the commitment the government has to putting power and decisions closer to those they impact.
It will allow us to move faster on delivering key programmes such as housing and transport to make our region a better place to live and get around.
We are a unique region, the first combined authority to bring rural, coastal and urban areas together. As such, there is no blueprint to follow; we need to use the devolved powers we have in the right way for our region.
But Cllr John Mann, the Conservative representative for the Oatlands and Pannal division of Harrogate on North Yorkshire Council, told the Stray Ferret the new proposal constituted the opposite of devolution of power. He said:
It would be the centralising of too much power in one office. It is important that political power is devolved down to the lowest possible level, and I think it would be a retrograde step to centralise decision-making on planning applications in the hands of an elected mayor.
Cllr John Mann
He pointed out that under the current system, local residents are allowed to address the planning committee for up to three minutes before it debates the merits of an application, and said that planning committees perform an important democratic function. He said:
It is therefore a very democratic and transparent process which enables local residents to see that each application has been given a fair, open and public hearing.
The White Paper also envisages universal coverage in England of Strategic Authorities, and notes that “many places already have Combined Authorities that serve this role”.
It also promises an integrated settlement for mayoral authorities, to avoid the inefficiencies of “departmental silos”. It says:
Mayors across England in receipt of government funding already have plans to deliver for their place. But that government funding comes with conditions, reporting requirements, forms to fill in and boxes to tick. Mayors have to slalom between pots of money to deliver the answer they already know is right.
The White Paper says the integrated settlement would change that by providing a consolidated budget across housing, regeneration, local growth, local transport, skills, green retrofit, and employment support.
It also states that England is “one of the most centralised countries in the developed world”, and says that the economic benefits of restructuring regional governance are “potentially huge”. It adds:
If English cities outside of the capital met their productivity potential compared to similar cities in other countries, national economic output could be £34bn-£55bn larger per year.
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