Chesterfield council has given the go-ahead for the local authority to have a greater influence in the new East Midlands Combined County Authority by agreeing to join a new Derbyshire Strategic Leadership Board with other councils.
Leader Tricia Gilby, of Chesterfield Borough Council, outlined the advantages for the labour-led authority at a meeting on February 20 after the cabinet agreed for the authority to join the D2 Strategic Leadership Board with Derby and Derbyshire’s councils under plans to introduce the EMCCA in March with a Mayoral election in May.
Cllr Gilby said: “I believe it is the right thing for Chesterfield and Derbyshire to build our existing, strong partnership and to ensure a strong voice and influence in the EMCCA going forward.”
The cabinet’s approval to join the new partnership means the council’s Vision Derbyshire project, which had overseen future developments, and its D2 Joint Committee for Economic Prosperity are to be dissolved with much of their work to come under the new strategic partnership.
Derbyshire Strategic Leadership Board’s remit will include regeneration, economic development, business and skills, transport, climate, the environment, health, well-being and improving the delivery of functions.
Cllr Gilby told the cabinet meeting the board will allow for a collaboration between councils, schools, transport, planning, housing and health and well-being with hopes of achieving more for the borough and the county’s residents.
She added that in order to achieve prosperity and well-being for the borough’s communities the council needs to build a collaborative and working arrangement at all levels and the council has already been successful in doing this in the last decade.
Cllr Gilby stressed there will be no changes to the borough council’s statutory responsibilities or to the delivery of its services locally but the authority needs to optimise its influence within the EMCCA.
She said: “In terms of what we might delegate up to the combined authority and to the strategic board and what they need, there are no changes to this council’s statutory responsibilities, those decisions and the delivery of those services will take place locally.”
Chesterfield Borough Council stated that the case for a new single leadership board to tackle the county’s challenges has been further strengthened by the challenging financial circumstances that many local authorities are facing with the need to be more cost effective.
The borough council cabinet also agreed that Derbyshire County Council will act as the host authority for the new D2 Strategic Leadership Board’s Joint Committee.
Derbyshire councils have already backed what is hoped to be a multi-billion pound money-spinning devolution deal with the launch of the new East Midlands Combined County Authority.
Councils across the East Midlands, including those in Derbyshire, will not be scrapped or merged under the devolution deal and they will still oversee many public services, but the new East Midlands Combined County Authority would deal with broader issues like transport, regeneration and employment.
