Council leaders must deliver an ambitious devolution deal that puts the County Durham first.
Labour councillors have called on Tory and LibDem leaders running the Coalition now leading the Durham County Council to reject a supersized devolution deal, that merges some powers of the seven councils stretching from the Scottish Borders to Barnard Castle.
The enormous patch would be covered by one directly elected mayor – a position County Durham Labour councillors fear would concentrate power in Tyneside.
Opposition councillors insist County Hall bosses instead work to secure the unique “Durham-only” deal, offered by ministers last year, but which has so far stalled.
County Durham Labour Leader Carl Marshall said:
“It’s time to put County Durham first. While we fully support and endorse councils in Tyne and Wear and Northumberland working on their own deal, I don’t think County Durham should be governed by a mayor sat in Newcastle. Durham County Council leadership faces a simple choice – put our county first or back a deal made for Tyneside.”
He called on Coalition leaders – Lib Dem Cllr Amanda Hopgood and Conservative Cllr Richard Bell – to end secrecy around devolution talks and let the public know what deals are being done in their name.
Government committed to devolution across England by setting itself a mission that, by 2030, every part of England that wants one will have a devolution deal. County Durham covers 872sqmls and became a unitary authority in 2009 with the abolition of seven district and borough councils. The council is made up of an elected assembly accountable to over 500,000 people.
County Durham Labour believes residents should be consulted. It also believes decisions that directly impact on Durham should be made locally and by locally elected representatives.
Cllr Marshall said County Durham’s half a million population and growing economy meant it was well placed to take advantage of its own unique deal, and that people in the county deserved a say in the structure and organisation of their local government.
Over the last decade, County Durham has secured hundreds of millions of pounds of private investment at the likes of Bishop Auckland town centre, the largest logistics centre in the region at Integra 61, and Hitachi at Newton Aycliffe.
The county is home to two UNESCO world heritage sites and a cultural offer that attracts 20 million visitors a year spending £1bn annually.
It is the largest part of the North East economy, and the last Labour administration had a plan to grow this with 30,000 new jobs over the next decade – a plan now shelved by the council.
Councillor Marshall said:
“For me, there is no doubt that County Durham has huge potential to be a powerhouse of the North. I think it’s great that Tyne and Wear are in talks to get a proper mayor. But I think a patch that would cover Berwick to Barnard Castle is too big, and a mayor for all of that would inevitably overlook some of us.
“I’m a big advocate of devolution. We need to take power out of the hands of officials in London and bring it back to the North. But a one-size fits all approach will never work.
“It’s time to put County Durham first.”