Bondholders briefed on devolution deal

Marketing Derby Bondholders have been sharing their views on plans for a proposed devolution deal for the region at a session staged in partnership with East Midlands Chamber.

Last Friday, an online business briefing and consultation took place, which was attended by more than 100 business representatives.

The East Midlands has been offered a devolution deal by the Government, covering the D2N2 area – Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

Devolution would provide the region with a guaranteed income stream of £38 million per year over a 30-year period, and would cover around 2.2 million people, making it one of the biggest in the country.

It would mean a new regional elected mayor for D2N2, creating a combined authority for the two counties and cities, which would receive devolved funding and powers in housing, skills, transport and net zero.

Since November, the local authorities involved in the deal have been conducting a public consultation, which came to a close yesterday.

Last week’s online session aimed to give businesses the opportunity to better understand and comment on the devolution plans.

Attendees heard from John Forkin, managing director of Marketing Derby, Will Morlidge, chief executive of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (BH) and Chris Hobson, director of policy and external affairs at East Midlands Chamber.

Mr Morlidge told the session that for the region, devolution was an “opportunity to join the Premier League”, giving it “more funding and more powers” and the chance to make “better locally informed decisions”.

During the session, Mr Hobson conducted a poll, which found that business support, skills and transport, were the top priorities of attendees.

Speaking after the session, Mr Forkin said: “The level of business interest surprised us, and we will work with the chamber, D2N2 and colleagues at the local authorities to ensure greater engagement moving forward.

“There is clear support for the devolution proposals, albeit laced with some concern around the creation of another tier of government, allocation of resources and the absence of Leicestershire.”

The find out more about the devolution plans for the East Midlands visit here.