East Midlands Combined County Authority

Combined county authority in England
East Midlands Combined County Authority
Area covered by the East Midlands Combined County Authority
Type
Type
Combined county authority
HousesUnicameral
Term limits
None
History
Founded27 February 2024
Leadership
TBD
Elections
Voting system
Directly elected mayor
Next election
2 May 2024
Website
https://www.eastmidlandsdevolution.co.uk/
Constitution
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/232/contents/made

The East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) is a combined county authority in England. Despite its name, the authority does not cover the six counties of the East Midlands region, but only Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

History

A North Midlands combined authority was proposed by Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire in 2016. South Derbyshire District Council, High Peak Borough Council, Amber Valley Borough Council and Erewash Borough Council all voted to reject the proposal, and Chesterfield Borough Council decided to join the South Yorkshire Combined Authority instead.[1] In July 2016, it was reported that the North Midlands devolution deal had collapsed.[2] There has been support from several council leaders for an East Midlands combined authority (in response to the West Midlands) with discussions to follow on whether a directly elected mayor would be implemented, and on the future of the existing boroughs.[3] The scope of the devolution deal has involved the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Nottinghamshire, as well as their cities.[4] The leaders of seven Leicestershire councils wrote in 2020 to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, who gave support.[5][6]

In 2022, leaders of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire county councils, and Nottingham and Derby city councils, stated that discussions had taken place for a deal, and that they were open to a mayoral deal.[7] A proposal was made by Government and signed by the four councils on 30 August 2022, to form the first Mayoral Combined County Authority.[8]

The deal was criticised for side-lining neighbouring Leicestershire[9] and some politicians in Leicestershire expressed regret at being left out of the devolution deal, which had been opposed by Leicester City Council. The Centre for Cities said that even combining Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire was "a mistake" as "they are two different counties with distinct local economic needs".[10]

The combined authority was formally established by the East Midlands Combined County Authority Regulations 2024 which were made on 27 February 2024.[11][12]

Territorial extent

The area covered by the combined authority corresponds with the territory that makes up the constituent councils i.e. Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire and covers 4790 square kilometers with over 2 millions residents. It includes the districts of Amber Valley, Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Bolsover, Broxtowe, Chesterfield, Derbyshire Dales, Erewash, Gedling, High Peak, Mansfield, Newark and Sherwood, North East Derbyshire, Rushcliffe and South Derbyshire.

Ceremonial county Authorities
Constituent members Non-constituent members
Derbyshire Derby City Council
Derbyshire County Council Amber Valley
Bolsover
Chesterfield
Derbyshire Dales
Erewash
High Peak
North East Derbyshire
South Derbyshire
Nottinghamshire Nottingham City Council
Nottinghamshire County Council Ashfield
Bassetlaw
Broxtowe
Gedling
Mansfield
Newark and Sherwood
Rushcliffe

Members

The first meeting of the combined authority took place on 20 March 2023 at Chesterfield Town Hall.[13] The EMCCA Board is made up of the leaders and deputy leaders Derbyshire County Council, Derby City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council and Nottingham City Council. The first meeting was chaired by Barry Lewis, the Leader of Derbyshire County Council.[14][15]

Board

Name Membership Position within nominating authority Nominating authority
TBD Constituent Mayor of the East Midlands Direct election
Barry Lewis Constituent Leader of the Council Derbyshire County Council
Baggy Shanker Constituent Leader of the Council Derby City Council
Ben Bradley Constituent Leader of the Council Nottinghamshire County Council
David Mellen Constituent Leader of the Council Nottingham City Council
Simon Spencer Constituent Deputy Leader of the Council Derbyshire County Council
Nadine Peatfield Constituent Deputy Leader of the Council Derby City Council
Bruce Laughton Constituent Deputy Leader of the Council Nottinghamshire County Council
Audra Wynter Constituent Deputy Leader of the Council Nottingham City Council

List of mayors

The first Mayor of the East Midlands will be elected in the 2024 East Midlands mayoral election.[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire combined authority a step nearer despite setbacks".[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ Scott, Jennifer. "Devolution is dead - so what is the plan for Nottingham's future?".[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Orton, Amy (2018-05-05). "What you need to know as plans revealed for 'super council'". leicestermercury. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  4. ^ Martin, Dan (27 September 2020). "Photos show damage to M1 in Leicestershire which remains shut". LeicestershireLive. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  5. ^ "First steps taken towards East Midlands Combined Authority | TheBusinessDesk.com". East Midlands. 2020-02-29. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  6. ^ Pritchard, Jon (2018-12-11). "Plan to create 'super council' in Nottinghamshire shelved". nottinghampost. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  7. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Devo map finds new deals in sight as negotiations begin". Local Government Chronicle (LGC). 2022-03-07. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  8. ^ "East Midlands local economy to be levelled up with historic billion pound devolution deal". Gov.uk. 2022-08-30. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  9. ^ Murray, Jessica (2022-09-05). "Joint east Midlands mayor plan would 'consign Leicestershire to division two'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  10. ^ Murray, Jessica (2022-09-05). "Joint east Midlands mayor plan would 'consign Leicestershire to division two'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  11. ^ "The East Midlands Combined County Authority Regulations 2024". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  12. ^ https://d2n2lep.org/the-east-midlands-combined-county-authority-goes-live-today/
  13. ^ https://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/news/call-for-unity-and-rural-representation-in-new-combined-auth-9358097/
  14. ^ https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/2024/03/historic-first-meeting-for-new-east-midlands-combined-county-authority/
  15. ^ https://emcca.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/870363
  16. ^ Pridmore, Oliver (2023-05-22). "Potential candidates emerge for first ever East Midlands Mayor". Nottinghamshire Live. Retrieved 2024-01-16.

External links

  • East Midlands Devolution
  • East Midlands Combined County Authority meetings
  • East Midlands Combined County Authority Regulations 2024
  • The Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership (D2N2) Local Enterprise Partnership