Yorkshire councils to consider devolution deal

Seventeen councils in Yorkshire have said that they want to unite behind a devolution deal.

A ‘coalition of the willing’ is being called for by several leaders as part of a Yorkshire Day declaration.

Despite a range of proposals, councils have so far failed to agree a pan-Yorkshire deal.

Sheffield and other councils in South Yorkshire and the north Midlands agreed a government deal for the Sheffield City Region. However, the election of a mayor for the region was postponed following a court ruling about a flawed consultation process.

Following the deal, Doncaster and Barnsley councils have also said they were looking at a whole Yorkshire devolution proposal.

The councils that have made the declaration include: Barnsley, Bradford, Calderdale, Craven, Doncaster, East Riding of Yorkshire, Hambleton, Harrogate, Hull, Kirklees, Leeds, North Yorkshire, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough, Selby and York. It does not include Sheffield and Rotherham.

There are plans for the councils to meet again in September to decide how to take the negotiations forward.

A declaration said: “Today is Yorkshire Day and therefore it seems right to talk today about our county, its ambitions and our identity.

"The county is big enough and bold enough to want to carve out its own destiny.

"The leaders agreed unanimously to form a 'coalition of the willing', working towards securing a single ambitious devolution deal for the Yorkshire authorities and areas wanting to work together on this basis.”