The prospect of an elected mayor for Norfolk has been re-ignited after the county was picked as one of nine areas invited to seek a devolution deal to give local leaders more powers through the government’s flagship levelling up policy.
The announcement that Norfolk, plus Suffolk, can seek county deals as part of a “devolution revolution” will reopen a debate which caused deep rifts among the region’s councils.
The announcement was made today as secretary of state Michael Gove publishes the government’s white paper on levelling up.
What does it mean?
The government says the “devolution revolution” will mean the largest transfer of power from Whitehall to local leaders across England in modern times.
Ministers point to the strong local leadership that mayors such as Andy Street, Ben Houchen and Andy Burnham have shown in other areas of the country, and “wishes to replicate this success across England”.
The government says: “Fundamental to this ‘devolution revolution’ will be a new model for England with more mayors for those areas that want one.
“We will invite the first nine areas to agree new county deals and seek to agree further mayoral combined authority deals, extending devolution across England.
“The first nine areas invited to begin negotiations will be Cornwall, Derbyshire and Derby, Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, Durham, Hull and East Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire and Nottingham, and Suffolk.
“By 2030, every part of England that wishes to have a ‘London-style’ devolution deal will have one.”
The white paper sets out 12 “missions” which the government wants to achieved by 2030.
They include bringing the rest of the country’s public transport systems nearer to London standards, improving 5G broadband access and improving pay, employment and productivity.
The idea is to boost the economy by narrowing disparities between areas.
Norfolk has also been specifically named as one of 55 “cold spots” of the country where school outcomes are the weakest.
It has been made an Education Investment Area, where the government says it will “target investment, support and action that help children from all backgrounds and areas to succeed at the very highest levels.”
Will this be welcomed?
The 'county deal' debate - and whether Norfolk needs a mayor - is sure to spark controversy.
In 2016, the government offered Norfolk and Suffolk a deal which would have seen powers devolved to local councils, bringing in £750m of new funding for infrastructure and £130m for new homes.
Other councils voted against it and the deal was taken off the table.
That followed a previous, bitter dispute over a switch away from the current two tiers of local government to a single tier unitary authority.
In 2009, the Boundary Committee recommended a single unitary authority covering all of Norfolk - which would have seen district and borough councils disappear.
Supporters said it would save money but critics questioned that and said it would take decision making away from communities.
Norfolk County Council made a play to become a unitary authority, as did Norwich City Council.
And it was announced that Norwich would become a unitary authority.
This time around, the government has ruled out the abolition of any local councils, while a mayor would cover just Norfolk, not Norfolk and Suffolk.
That could make it more palatable to more of the county's councils, although it is understood there are tensions about whether a mayor needs to be part of any deal.
What are people saying?
Andrew Proctor, leader of Conservative-controlled Norfolk County Council, said: "First of all you have to say what is meant by levelling up and our definition is to create the conditions for people to live good and healthy lives.
"This is a real opportunity for Norfolk to negotiate a deal for the whole of Norfolk.
"We are delighted to be one of the nine areas invited to go for a county deal and it's up to all of us to take advantage of that.
"We need to go into it with eyes wide open. We know what we want to achieve and it's up to us all to ensure the government knows that as well."
Mr Proctor, who has long bemoaned the slow pace of work on the dualling of the A47, said getting powers to enable Norfolk to have more control over infrastructure projects could be among the 'asks' for the county deal.
But Mr Proctor was keen to stress the county deal was not contingent on an elected mayor.
He said: "If we can agree a way between all of the councils which does not require a mayor, that would be my preference.
"If we went to a situation where powers were devolved and invested in the county council leader, then I would hope others could coalesce around that."
He said that would not require the creation of extra government structures.
John Fuller, Conservative leader of South Norfolk Council - which was one of the authorities which backed the previous devolution deal - described himself as "mayor positive".
He said: "This is an invitation to consider a deal. And a deal is not a deal until it is done.
"But we should certainly welcome the opportunity to have a robust discussion with the government about this.
"Levelling up is not just about the north of England. As a net contributor to the Treasury, here in the East we can help make UK PLC go faster.
"Before anything is ready to sign, we must ensure we articulate the offer that Norfolk can make, such as helping with energy and food security for the country and the global leadership we show with health and life sciences.
"We need to ensure the government sees those benefits - and our proximity to the global IT sector in Cambridge - so we are in the best position to dig out investment and powers for our county.
"We are delighted this is a deal which we could secure for Norfolk and everybody now needs to pull together to grind out the best possible terms for things like public transport."
Steve Morphew, leader of the opposition Labour group at Norfolk County Council, was less convinced.
He said: "We await the full details, but this doesn't seem to offer us much for Norfolk other than the opportunity for Conservative politicians to argue among themselves over money that doesn't seem to exist."
On the issue of a mayor, he said: "Norfolk is not Manchester. It is made up of a lot of smaller communities with different characters.
"What we should be doing is strengthening the local voice, not taking it further away from the people who are going to be impacted by decisions."
Tim Adams, who is likely to replace Sarah Butikofer as Liberal Democrat leader of North Norfolk Council next week, said: "I think for most people, levelling up is just sloganism.
"I don't think most people really know what it means and for it to be understandable we need a lot more detail.
"We've never said we would not back a deal for Norfolk, but we need to see just what the detail in it would be.
"My concern about an elected mayor is whether it will just add another layer of bureaucracy.
"We will have to wait to see the detail, but I am concerned that we are already starting with a system of unequal funding and I cannot see, yet, how North Norfolk would benefit."
The white paper was welcomed by the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership.
Chris Starkie, chief executive, said: "We welcome the new missions outlined in the Levelling Up White Paper and we’re pleased to see government’s reinforced commitment to LEPs.
"Ensuring our region benefits from these transformative plans will continue to be our focus and we will work with local partners to fulfil our role supporting our local economy.
"We have always supported the principle of devolution, provided it brings real benefits and powers for our local area.
"We will work with our partners over the coming months to look at options for Norfolk and Suffolk."
He said people would benefit from Norfolk and Suffolk being named as Education and Investment areas.
And he said: "Further commitments to 4G and 5G rollout will be welcomed by businesses, as will the commitment to improve pay, employment and productivity for all areas by 2030.
"Improving local public transport connectivity will be welcomed, as will pledges which will improve town centres.”
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