County 'left in the cold' over devolution plan

Northamptonshire has been left out of newly released plans as councils attempt to secure a devolution deal.

It comes more than a year after initial plans were revealed that could have seen a South Midlands combined authority led by an elected mayor covering the whole of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes.

Mark Arnull, Reform UK leader of West Northamptonshire Council, said he was "deeply disappointed" by the government's proposed arrangements, "which leaves Northamptonshire very much in the cold".

The government has been approached for comment.

A recent paper published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) shows Northamptonshire has been greyed out, with only the four authorities of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes (BLMK) linked together.

Devolution is the government's way of simplifying local areas, with councils joining forces to be led by one elected mayor. The process brings with it extra funding and greater powers.

The councils in Northamptonshire hoped to "buddy up" with others nearby. However, the leaders of both Luton and Milton Keynes councils have shut down proposals involving the county, and have instead favoured a Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes (BLMK) deal.

Arnull said he and Martin Griffiths, Reform UK leader of North Northamptonshire Council, had met devolution minister Miatta Fahnbulleh to put the case for a strategic authority covering Northamptonshire and the wider South Midlands region.

"We have estimated that our region has already lost out on around £300m of investment by not having a devolution deal in place and this latest government consultation still does nothing to address this," he said.

Griffiths said: "It is increasingly difficult to understand why government continues to overlook this, particularly when the collective strength of our region is so clearly recognised by those who invest, operate, and create jobs here including the South Midlands Business Board."

Concerns have been raised by the chair of the South Midlands Business Board, Jason Longhurst, who said that decisions on geographies were being based more on political and administrative boundaries, rather than the economic benefits that having a united South Midlands region could bring.

He believed the Northamptonshire-Bedfordshire zone, which he said was the "heartland" of a number of leading sectors in the UK such as space, aviation, and motorsport, would be chopped in half.

The plans relate to a spatial development strategy (SDS) which creates a wider area for strategic planning over the next 20 years.

The government believes strategic planning should align with devolution areas, leaving Northamptonshire on the back foot for any future agreement.

An extraordinary full meeting of Central Bedfordshire Council, which says pressing ahead with a BLMK-only footprint for SDS would be "premature", is due to take place later this week.

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