Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire launch 'North Midlands' devolution deal

Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire's joint bid to secure extra powers is now called the North Midlands, rather than the East Midlands, devolution deal.

The 19 local authorities involved believe the name change will help in their proposals for government funding, external.

A new, elected mayor for the area would also take on the role of police and crime commissioner as part of the plan.

Jon Collins, Nottingham City Council leader, said the name was "irrelevant" and just described the area affected.

The name has been around for about 130 years when the North Midland Division was defined in the 1881 census, external as Leicestershire, Rutland, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire.

In 1939, even Peterborough was included in the North Midland region and the High Peak area of Derbyshire was dropped, later reinstated and then dropped again.

Sheffield was even described as being part of the North Midlands in a book about the north of England from the 1960s.

Leicestershire, a large area of the East Midlands region, is not part of the devolution application.

Mr Collins said: "From the point of view of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, it's not an issue at all.

"Ultimately Leicester and Leicestershire are looking to do a deal on their own.

"At some point they might be interested in doing a deal, or co-operating or being some part of a wider arrangement, but so far it's not particularly relevant."

He added what mattered was the creation "tens of thousands of extra jobs" and the building of thousands of new homes.

The forging of closer links between each county may sit uneasily with some, perhaps due to sporting rivalries.

The two cities of Derby and Nottingham are joined by the Brian Clough Way (A52) in recognition of the great football manager who brought success to both Derby County and Nottingham Forest.

However, the association is far from harmonious and there is no love lost between the two teams.

The politicians will be hoping people can get through their resentment for the sake of £900m in investment.

Derbyshire County Council said the details were still to be worked out.

In a statement, it said: "The majority of the deal has broad agreement, with only a small number of issues now requiring final discussion and sign off."

However, John Mann, the Labour MP for Bassetlaw (North Nottinghamshire) tweeted the deal was a "mismatch of total junk, which will inevitably mean the end of local districts in a couple of years", external.

It is hoped a deal could be in place in the next few months.