Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged to press ahead with local government overhaul in Yorkshire

Two rival bids have been submitted to Westminster for the biggest overhaul of North Yorkshire’s local government structure in a generation, and Ministers are expected to make an announcement on the way forward at the end of this month.

North Yorkshire County Council is behind plans for a single unitary authority, while the county’s seven district councils are proposing two east/west authorities either side of the A1.

However, there has been growing concerns that the Government’s pledge during the General Election campaign of 2019 to pursue an agenda to level up the nation’s economy is fading away.

The county council’s leader, Coun Carl Les, has claimed that a landmark decision to reshape the local government structure was vital to drive forward North Yorkshire’s economy.

He said: “The Government has committed itself to devolution in rebuilding the economy, and making sure that the levelling up agenda is pursued.

“This is not about a political decision, it is about making sure that we get the best deal possible for the residents who we represent. We believe our proposal will achieve the greatest benefit, but whatever the Government decides, we will work with our political colleagues in North Yorkshire. We will be ready to play our part, but we need the building blocks in place to drive forward the economy.”

The county council is spearheading a campaign to create a “super authority” spanning the whole of England’s largest county to allow a wide-ranging devolution deal to be agreed with the Government. A bid document sets out requests to the Government totalling £2.4bn which would be spent over a 30-year period on issues including infrastructure, rural transport, skills and education.

But Ryedale District Council’s leader Keane Duncan, who is supporting the rival bid, urged caution if the Government presses ahead with a public consultation next month.

He said: “The decision is so important to the future of North Yorkshire and its residents that a full and comprehensive consultation needs to be carried out.

“I am not sure if now is the right time to be conducting this consultation given the challenges that local authorities are facing.”

Concerns have been expressed across the political divide about the Government’s commitment to its levelling up agenda.

The Yorkshire Post revealed last weekend that Robert Halfon, the respected Conservative chairman of Parliament’s cross-party Education Select Committee, had urged Ministers to define the concept more clearly and ensure that policies for the revival of deprived communities have “real purpose”.

The Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis, who is the Labour MP for Barnsley Central, this week called on the Government to ensure regional development funding is not slashed due to financial constraints caused by coronavirus.

Ministers announced plans for a devolution deal for North Yorkshire in July last year, with the caveat that the current structure of the county council and seven district councils is replaced with a unitary structure. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the proposals are being considered and it will “respond in due course”.