Initial rebrand and name change of Sheffield City Region agreed by South Yorkshire leaders

The change will likely come into effect later this spring and the new name is likely to be the South Yorkshire Combined Authority (SYCA).

The Sheffield City Region was created to reflect councils in Derbyshire and North Nottinghamshire which were part of the authority and were closely linked economically.

The name was agreeable but privately, critics said it alienated other parts of South Yorkshire that weren’t Sheffield.

But a shift in Government policy meant places like Chesterfield and Worksop had to join Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in their respective counties away from the rest of South Yorkshire to which they were former members.

Any name change and new branding is not expected to come into force until after this year’s local elections in May. Costs associated with the changes are expected later in the year.

Sir Stephen Houghton, leader of Barnsley Council said it was important that close ties should be maintained with non-constituent members in north Derbyshire and north Nottinghamshire should continue alongside that of West Yorkshire.

“The Government changed its position regarding city regions and drawing new lines on map which obviously our colleagues in North Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire are aware of,” he said.

“We have a South Yorkshire devolution deal so I think the changes that’ve been moved here is inevitable.

“We do need to maintain the collaboration with our neighbours because these are lines on maps drawn by civil servants that don’t always reflect economic reality. So I think it’s important that collaboration is continued.”

SCR chief executive Dave Smith added: “This brings to your attention the proposal to develop renaming and rebranding the combined authority to represent the fact that it is serving South Yorkshire.

“We’re asking members to agree in principle to that process, against which we will bring back a report in May, setting out detailed proposals on how to take this forward.”

The motion was passed and more details on the rebrand will be available sometime in May.

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