Sheffield's metro mayor deadline in jeopardy as neighbouring council brings legal action

Derbyshire County Council is taking Sheffield City Region’s combined authority to court over Chesterfield wanting to break its county ties and join the £1bn South Yorkshire devolution deal.

Leader of Derbyshire County Council Councillor Anne Western says the authority has been left with no choice as £1m in business rates would vanish from county coffers and put a Sheffield City Region Mayor in charge of transport and other council services.

Sir Steve Houghton CBE, leader of Barnsley Council and chair of the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority, said plans to elect a metro mayor by 2017 could be put on hold.

He said: “Hopefully that will be sorted by the end of September but a lot depends on the courts. If the courts find in favour of Derby then the timetable will slip. If the courts do find in favour of [us] then we are on for next year.”

Councillor Western said the recent public consultation on the proposal for Chesterfield to join Sheffield was “misleading and flawed” and the High Court will sit in September to decide whether the public need to be asked their opinion again.

While North Yorkshire’s civic leaders have already come to terms with the fact getting a mayor in place by 2017 now seems unlikely, the legal action will come as a major blow to Sheffield, which has been at the forefront of getting more control from Whitehall.

Those that miss the 2017 deadline for metro mayor elections will have to wait until 2020.

Sir Steve said: “Derbyshire County Council is asking for the public consultation to be squashed because they don’t think Chesterfield reaches the full criteria to be a full member.

“If they manage to do that, we wouldn’t have a mayor in that year (2017).”

Despite the impending court case, the Labour politician believes devolution is still worth pursuing.

He said: “It’s more complex than I anticipated because the city region in our case goes from Yorkshire to the Midlands and goes across the counties and across the districts. So it’s complex but we shouldn’t let complexity get in the way of doing the right thing. So we have to get away from traditional boundaries and to recognise that to grow the economy, you need to make decisions about the economic footprint. If you’re not doing that, you’re not maximising the growth potential.”

Sheffield City Region is due to get £30m in spending power over the next £30m years after ex-Chancellor George Osborne announced the plan in October 2015.

The consultation that went out to people asking them if they agreed to the plan and for Chesterfield to be part of it closed on Friday - costing tax-payers £350,000. Derbyshire County Council launched its own online poll asking whether people wanted Chesterfield to become a full member of Sheffield City Region with a Sheffield City Region Mayor. Around 4,000 people voted and 92 per cent said no.