Ben Houchen 'shows what North Yorkshire mayor could achieve', says council leader

As talks with Government about potentially signing a new devolution deal covering North Yorkshire and York step up with the hope of completing them within the next two months, North Yorkshire County Council leader Carl Les said the example of Conservative Ben Houchen in Tees Valley shows how regions can benefit from having a mayor.

Mr Houchen is overseeing a decade-long £588m investment plan for his region, successfully campaigned for Treasury jobs to be based in Darlington and is overseeing the Teesworks development which has a 25-year vision to create 20,000 jobs and an additional £1 billion a year into the local economy.

Coun Les highlighted the recent Levelling Up White Paper’s devolution framework shows the Government intends to provide the greatest powers and money to regions which choose a directly-elected mayor. The White Paper specified that only areas with directly-elected mayors could hold devolved powers such as receiving a long-term investment fund; establishing development corporations to lead local regeneration projects and being given priority for improvements to rail services and stations.

Coun Les said: “Our hope and our aspiration is to be a Mayoral Combined Authority. If you at the tiers and the structures of the devolution deals, the highest rewards come with the elected mayors. The classic example of that for us is Ben Houchen and the deals he has been able to do.

“Ben's area is smaller-scale in population to West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester but it is very good working example of how you can achieve things.

“It is the aspiration we should be working to but we have got to be convinced and that is part of the negotiations. We have got to be convinced the Mayoral Combined Authority is the best deal in town and that’s up to Government to actually prove that.”

One of the barriers to agreeing to the mayoral deal is that North Yorkshire County Council is controlled by the Conservatives while City of York Council is Liberal Democrat-led. Any mayor of the two areas is likely to be a Tory based on current voting patterns in the region.

Coun Les said he believed his support in principle for the idea of a mayor was shared by York. “I believe that is the position but they want to be convinced equally that is the correct thing. Once we get through this first stage of negotiations, then the bid comes back to the councils and then they can take a view as to whether it is the right thing to do.”

York leader Coun Keith Aspden acknowledged today the Government sees a mayoral deal as the best form of devolution for the region and said that his party is “committed to securing the best deal for York”.

“Discussions with the Government continue to take place to explore a devolution deal which works for York, benefiting our communities and addressing the challenges and opportunities facing us here in the city. As outlined by ministers themselves, the Government see a mayoral deal as the best form of devolution for York and North Yorkshire.

“Since the publication of the Levelling-Up White Paper, work has taken place with colleagues in North Yorkshire and civil servants to better understand the process, including what opportunities and implications there would be for York. As part of these discussions, we remain committed to securing the best deal for York.

“Devolution undoubtedly presents a huge opportunity for our city and could unlock significant investment to drive clean and inclusive economic growth across the region. However, any deal has to be right for York, and that is why the council will soon be engaging with residents and businesses to raise awareness and gather views across the city on this important issue.”

Deal could be worth hundreds of millions

The devolution deal for the region could be worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

A 2020 paper setting out the region’s devolutions ‘asks’ said it is hoped a deal would include £750m of gainshare investment funding, working out a £25m a year for 30 years.

Coun Les said: “We aren’t expecting a better gainshare that is better than anyone else in the country who have already done deals.

“But what we are hopeful of is a gainshare that is as good as anybody else is getting.”

He said it is hoped the devolution deal will help pave the way for North Yorkshire to become the first ‘carbon negative” region in the country.

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