Plans to go to the public over a devolution deal across Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire East and Warrington councils appear to have stalled because politicians can’t agree on the Government’s insistence that an elected mayor must be part of the package.

According to a document seen by our sister title the Crewe Chronicle, the plan was to elect a mayor for a combined Cheshire and Warrington authority next May.

The new mayor would chair the new combined authority which, under plans which were being considered, would have two representatives from each council and the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

According to the leaked document, the elected mayor ‘will be responsible for new powers devolved from Government but not Local Authority or LEP powers unless there is full local consent’.

Right way forward

A statement released by Cheshire West and Chester (CWaC) leader Samantha Dixon (Lab) states the majority of CWaC councillors believe devolution is the right way forward.

It appears the stumbling block is the plan for an elected mayor.

It is not clear which of the three authorities objected to the mayoral deal.

CWaC leader Samantha Dixon said: “We believe that the proposed devolution deal would benefit every resident in Cheshire and Warrington.

“It would double the size of our economy to £50bn a year by 2040, secure over 100,000 new jobs, unlock development sites to build much-needed new homes, improve transport links and deliver super-fast internet speeds for residents and businesses.

“Decisions on education and skills would also be devolved, which would secure a skilled workforce that meets the needs of local businesses and gives all residents the opportunity to achieve their potential.

“Whilst the benefits of devolution are extremely favourable for our residents, the Government’s insistence on an elected mayor has made it difficult for all politicians to come to an agreement.

'Support a consultation'

“The majority of councillors in Cheshire West and Chester were likely to support a consultation to seek the views of residents.

“If Government is serious about delivering its Northern Powerhouse, now is the time to give up powers to sub-regions and local areas to make their own decisions and I would urge all of our parliamentarians to support this.

“I will continue to work tirelessly on behalf of our residents and communities to secure the best possible deal over the coming months.

“We remain committed to working collaboratively with our neighbours in Cheshire and Warrington on a number of important initiatives to improve the lives of local people.

“We will continue to work closely with neighbours in North Wales to deliver ambitious growth plans and to improve connectivity between our linked economies and geography.”

Housing concerns

Michael Jones, the former leader of Cheshire East Council, has said he is in favour of devolution – but not a deal which could involve more than 100,000 new homes in mid and south Cheshire.

A report on the LEP website talks of an aim to build a “constellation new city through the expansion and linkage of the cluster of towns and villages in mid-Cheshire with an expanded Crewe at its heart.”

But Cllr Jones says this was not the deal on the table when he was discussing devolution.

“The Northern Gateway which I put forward in 2014 – the aim was to work with our neighbours, Stoke, Newcastle, Staffordshire Moorlands and Shropshire, to get them to have houses,” he said.

“But they’re no longer talking about [them]... it’s all about what is going in Cheshire East and Crewe city, which was never agreed.”