County council elections will go ahead in May it’s been confirmed when a Greater Lincolnshire mayor will be elected for the first time.
The Greater Lincolnshire Combined Authority has officially been created as of today (Wednesday, February 2) after minister of state for local government and English devolution, Jim McMahon wrote to confirm he’d signed the move off.
The board of the authority will include four leaders of district council, including South Holland District Council leader Nick Worth, and the newly elected mayor.
Elections will take place on Thursday May 1, the same day as elections to Lincolnshire County Council.
There was some talk the county council vote wouldn’t take place as the government is proposing to get rid of the authority and district councils to create new ‘unitary’ authorities that would take on the work of both.
Lincolnshire County Council leader Martin Hill had stated he was ‘open’ to it being cancelled
But the county is not one of those whose votes won’t take place as listed by deputy leader Angela Raynor in the House of Parliament today.
On the creation of the Greater Lincolnshire Combined Authority, Coun Hill said: “There has been a lot of hard work to get to this point, and much more still to do. I firmly believe that decisions that affect local people should be taken locally, and the benefits of devolution mean that we will be in charge of our own future in Greater Lincolnshire.
“These issues are really important to residents’ everyday lives, when it comes to the housing available, how we all get about the county and the jobs and training that are available.
“We’ll also be able to deal more directly with government in representing the needs of our area, and have a clearer voice to attract more investment.”
It’s not entirely clear what the combined authority will be responsible for, but it’s first set to meet on March 6 at Lincoln Cathedral.
A spokesman for Lincolnshire County Council said: “The deal brings with it an investment package of £720 million over 30 years with a one-off capital investment of £28.4 million to invest in priority schemes across the Greater Lincolnshire footprint.
“With it also comes an elected Mayor to chair the new authority and give our region a greater voice in Westminster.”
