Cllr Cliff Waterman, leader of West Suffolk Council, welcomes Government’s scrapping of Suffolk’s ‘controversial’ devolution deal

A district council leader has said the ‘so-called’ county devolution deal showed ‘lack of ambition’ following the news the Government has scrapped it.

Cllr Cliff Waterman, leader of West Suffolk Council, said the proposed in-principle devolution deal was ‘a very weak’ form of devolution – saying if it was a cup of tea it would be a weak brew. “The point is, it wasn’t a good offer,” he said.

Earlier today, Suffolk County Council (SCC) leader Cllr Matthew Hicks said it felt like ‘a real slap in the face for Suffolk’ that their proposed devolution deal – which had widespread public support – was ‘in the bin’.

The deal would have brought more than £500 million to the county over 30 years and would have meant the leader of SCC would be directly elected by the people of Suffolk – rather than by county councillors.

Welcoming the Government’s decision not to go ahead with the ‘controversial’ Suffolk County deal, Cllr Waterman said: “The deal was between the county council and the previous Government and would have stopped the new government going ahead with its ambitious plans for greater and meaningful devolution to local areas.

“The so-called ‘County Deal’ would have added extra complexity to Suffolk County Council’s management, meaning that a directly-elected leader would not necessarily have had the support of the normally-elected councillors, potentially setting up a toxic situation leading to deadlock.

“Instead, the local authorities in Suffolk now have the opportunity to work together to achieve a much better outcome for our residents.

“This could include much greater local powers to decide on major infrastructure projects, such as much-needed road and rail investment.

“The Government has recognised the lack of ambition in the so-called County Deal, and the way is now open for a much more ambitious deal which will allow Suffolk to gain its full share of benefits from economic growth.”

He said the proposed £500 million investment would have been spread over 30 years, and was ‘nowhere near enough’ to tackle the problems in the county, from potholes to its poorly-performing bus services.

“Local councils will now be working with the new Government to achieve a better devolution deal which will set us on the road to economic and social renewal,” he said.

He said with the old deal, the £500 million was ‘hanging off the magic money tree’.

“The new Government has got to find the money to offer a new deal, but they are very determined to go ahead with ambitious deals for devolution across the country,” he added.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “Devolution is central to the Government’s mission to economic growth, which we’ve set out plans to take power away from Westminster and into the hands of local leaders – who know their area best.

“This Government strongly believes that mayors should have a unique role, while council leaders must continue to focus on the delivery of the essential services.

“We want to see those two functions kept separate as this benefits the community and its people, which is why we will not be proceeding with the Single Local Authority mayoral deals proposed in Norfolk and Suffolk.

“We intend to continue discussions with both areas on alternative models for ambitious devolution.”