'Rural affairs' responsibilities added to mayors in Devolution Act
The English Devolution Act received Royal Assent yesterday and gives greater powers to mayors around planning, housing and health.
Rural affairs will be added to the responsibilities of mayors and councils under the English Devolution Act, the Government has confirmed.
The legislation received Royal Assent yesterday and gives greater powers to mayors around planning, housing and health.
A new community right to buy will be given to local people when valued buildings such as shops, pubs and community centres are put up for sale.
The act also saw “rural affairs” added to the responsibility of mayors, following a lobbying campaign from the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and the National Farmers’ Union.
The CLA said this is an important step that puts rural interests clearly into the devolution framework.
Without this change, it claimed that new mayors and councils would have had no clear duty to consider rural needs at all.
President Gavin Lane said: “Too often decisions made in Whitehall hold the rural economy back.
“So we asked government to devolve authority for rural affairs to local communities – and they have listened.
“This means that mayors and local authorities will have real powers to help businesses to grow the economy, create jobs, sustain our communities and protect our way of life.
“But we must not be naive. While devolution brings real opportunities, it also risks town halls making the same mistakes that national governments have for years.
“On this basis, local authorities must work constructively with business owners on transport, planning, housing, skills, land use and growth to maximise the impact of these new powers.”
The CLA is running a cross-party parliamentary inquiry to see how devolution will affect rural areas on the ground, with a full report out this summer.