There was no appetite for North Lincolnshire Council to be part of a Yorkshire devolution bid, according to the authority’s leader.
Councillor Rob Waltham said that the move to exit talks with leaders involved in the bid allowed for the council to join discussions for a potential revisit of a Greater Lincolnshire deal.
Councillor Waltham said that authority leaders in Yorkshire did not want North Lincolnshire to be part of the bid.
“I’ve been to Yorkshire devolution conversations and they were pretty clear, not all of them but some of them, that they didn’t want us to be part of those,” he said.
“I will happily go on record and say that Humber being part of a Yorkshire devolution does not have any appetite from myself as leader of North Lincolnshire Council.”
He added that the move gave him a mandate to try and “reignite the passion” for a devolution bid in Lincolnshire.
The Yorkshire devolution bid would see a mayor elected to the county and powers given to the region from central government.
Some 18 of the 20 authorities in the county support the plan, with Sheffield and Rotherham opting against.
Meanwhile, Councillor Martin Hill, leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said that there is an appetite for devolution in Greater Lincolnshire without an elected mayor.
In 2016, the Greater Lincolnshire devolution deal was rejected over fears that an elected mayor would have created more bureaucracy.
The deal on offer would have created a new combined authority, with a directly elected mayor.
The new authority would also have received £15 million a year for the next 30 years for infrastructure projects.
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A grieving Grantham family have hit out at the local parish council, claiming it removed items from the grave “without any prior notice or consultation”.
Matthew Jack was only 11-years-old when he sadly died on November 19, 1995 from a rare form of cancer called Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumors (DSRCT) and the family, including his mum Val have been visiting his grave at Barrowby Burial Ground ever since. Val’s mum was already buried at the same cemetery and her son wanted to be next to his nan.
Amended plans for Sleaford’s Market Place will be recommended for approval next week, despite continued concerns from residents and businesses.
North Kesteven District Council was forced back to the drawing board on its £1 million proposal to transform the area and “reshape the town’s heart” at last month’s planning committee. Now, the plans are back up for approval on Tuesday.
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