County Durham’s Tory-led Coalition decision to throw in with the Tyne and Wear/Northumberland devolution deal has been labelled a missed opportunity.
Labour Leader, Cllr Carl Marshall, said the deal, announced this week, means County Durham misses out on millions and the opportunity to set its own investment priorities.
“The Coalition’s deal represents a massive missed opportunity for County Durham,”
said Cllr Marshall.
“We had the chance to become masters of our own destiny, make investment decisions that impact on County Durham in County Durham and set our own agenda away from Whitehall politicians, but all they’ve done is swap governance in London for governance in Tyneside.
“A county deal, which Labour fought for, would have meant all investment could have been directly targeted at helping our communities, without having to make our case to a mayor overseeing everything from the Borders to Barnard Castle.
“Cllrs Hopgood and Bell are obsessed with a regional deal to secure their own short-term political futures, rather than put County Durham first. There was no consultation with residents before pushing this through – they don’t care about those who voted for them! They could have held a referendum, but no, our communities are ignored again.
“The Coalition’s deal must be put to Full Council for members to decide, because it looks a shambles – no transport money secured for County Durham and they’ve given up a £20m pot of money the Government set aside for Durham-only projects.
“Neither does it go anywhere near addressing 12 years of Tory cuts – over £260m a year stripped from County Durham’s Budget. It’s about time Cllrs Hopgood and Bell came clean – they were incapable of securing a deal for Durham and have sold our communities down the river, having failed to secure commitment for a single penny to be spent in our county.”