Districts in Sheffield City Region get independent vote on joining

Clive Betts, Labour MP for South East Sheffield, proposed an amendment which gave all nine districts a say on whether to join – independent from county councils.

The amendment, which had cross-party backing, was passed in parliament yesterday (Mon).

Mr Betts said he believed it was important that the districts were able to make an independent choice.

He said: “I hope the county councils support this as it’s important that each district is free to make it’s own choice.”

The districts of the Sheffield City Region are: Barnsley, Bassetlaw, Bolsover, Chesterfield, Derbyshire Dales, Doncaster, North East Derbyshire, Rotherham and Sheffield.

Under the deal a directly elected mayor would take responsibility for transport budgets and strategic planning and have access to £900m of government money over the next 30 years.

A six-week consultation on the proposed devolution deal for the Sheffield City Region began on December 2 and will run for six weeks.

The mayoral elections are due to take place in 2017.

Mr Betts said: “I would welcome all the separate regions and I hope they decide to join us.

“The more districts we have in the Sheffield City Region, the stronger we will be. It will be a bigger boost to the economy.”

To find out more, or to take part in the consultation visit: http://sheffieldcityregiondevolution.org.uk/