I won't impose local government shake-up on Yorkshire like in 1974 says Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick insisted that the handover of powers and resources to elected metro mayors to Yorkshire, which in some areas comes with a local government shake-up, was "entirely voluntary".

Asked for his views on how metro mayors could work together, he said: "I have to be careful because I think the first Yorkshire Day of modern times was celebrated in 1975 by protestors against local government reorganisation."

The celebration was initiated by the Yorkshire Ridings Society in protest at the changes introduced by the Edward Heath government, which saw the creation of most of the local authorities which exist today.

After signing devolution deals in West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire, Mr Jenrick's department is now in talks with North Yorkshire and York and Hull and the East Riding over the creation of mayoral combined authorities.

But he told The Yorkshire Post: "Unlike 25 years ago, in 1975, we're not interested in imposing solutions on local communities. The devolution that we're offering to Yorkshire is entirely voluntary.

"And those parts of the county that want to take it forward will be able to and we will do everything we can, we'll move mountains to get that devolution settlement agreed quickly.

"But if there are areas that would prefer to stick to the current arrangements then we're not going to impose anything upon them. And making sure these arrangements work for local identity is extremely important to us.

"There are a few counties with a strong sense of identity as Yorkshire and its constituent parts. So we want to work with the grain of history and local identity not against it."

In North Yorkshire local leaders are at odds over how best to reorganise local government after being told this was a condition of getting devolved powers and funding from Whitehall.

North Yorkshire County Council is pulling together plans for a single unitary authority serving its 600,000 population, with district councils like Harrogate and Scarborough axed and City of York Council, representing 200,000 people, remaining untouched.

Meanwhile district leaders are considering an alternative plan involving two unitary authorities on an east-west split, each serving around 400,000 people.

Mr Jenrick, whose department has asked for proposals to be put forward by September, said he would "judge whether there is a good degree of support to consult on one or more of those different proposals".

He said: "There is then a public consultation and the Secretary of State has to listen very carefully to the responses that come back from members of the public, the local business community, and important stakeholders, like the NHS, the emergency services, universities and of course the local councils.

"And then the test the Secretary of State has to apply is, is there broad support for one of those proposals and if I judge that to be the case, then we take forward that proposal and work with local people to make it a reality.

"And the process, which is carried out, obviously in many parts of the country over the years. And we want to make that as smooth as possible and ensure that local people's voices are heard as much as we can."

Case study - Scarborough construction skills village

By his own admission Elliott O'Doherty didn't do well at school and was working part-time as a pot washer at a cafe when his career took a different turn.

Joining the Scarborough Construction Skills Village last October, the 18-year-old has since learned brick-working, plastering and joining, leading to an apprenticeship at local firm JA Small General Builder.

"I like building something and I'm proud of what I have done - going back, checking and seeing if the work is right," he said.

"I now look at buildings all the time - seeing something different every day. I don't know what I would be doing otherwise, probably nothing - you don't want to be washing up the rest of your life do you?"

His experience is one of more than 170 jobs or apprenticeships created by the skills village, with 62 learners going into employment or apprenticeships in the construction industry last year.

The skills village has created 171 jobs or apprenticeships and 102 learners were directly recruited for their post-16 education, with 62 learners at the site in Middle Deepdale going into employment or apprenticeships in the construction industry last year.

But the company which runs the site, which is moving to bigger premises at High Eastfield Farm with the help of its own apprentices and staff, is expanding its work on the green agenda.

It has launched SoHoCo, a social housing company with a focus on green construction, and wants to build carbon-zero homes with super-high-insulation and electric car-charging points as standard.

Such is the company's green focus that it appears in the devolution submission to government by North Yorkshire leaders, who want the powers and funding to make England's largest county the first 'carbon-negative economy' by 2050.

Managing director Graham Ratcliffe said: "Our new social housing company includes a green model to support future eco-friendly house-building in the area.

"In doing so we are actively supporting the idea of a stronger and viable future for the north, helping the government to meet its carbon-reduction aims and working in partnership with the organisations which will form the basis of the devolution planning."

As well as aiming to produce higher-quality, environmentally-friendly housing, North Yorkshire leaders want the funding to invest in local sustainable energy sources "to support the decarbonisation of our economy and our ambition to be carbon negative".

These included financial incentives for businesses to encourage investment in zero carbon or zero waste employment sites, using methods such as capture and use of rainwater and waste water.