Cabinet members of the North East Combined Authority agreed to create a new mayoral development zone it is hoped will speed up projects in Gateshead and Newcastle.
It is hoped the move will help bring in millions into the local community, create thousands of jobs and build large-scale new housing developments. Significant projects include the stalled plan to bring a new conference centre and arena to Gateshead Quayside and plans for 2,500 new homes at Newcastle’s Forth Yards.
Mayoral development corporations (MDCs) are statutory bodies which can be set up by metro mayors in England to drive regeneration. The exact scope of Newcastle and Gateshead’s MDC remains unknown, but elsewhere in the country – such as in the Tees Valley and in Stockport – they provide funding alongside other powers.
These powers can include making compulsory purchases of land, taking over planning decisions from local councils and granting relief from business rates.
Mayor comment
Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting of the combined authority’s cabinet, North East Mayor Kim McGuinness hailed the development zone as one of the “boldest” projects undertaken by any mayoral authority in the country.
Ms McGuinness said: “We want to start transform the North East physically. What we’re announcing here is what I think will be one of the boldest mayoral developments in the country in partnership with local authorities.
“We know people want to see progress in this region. They are proud of their home town and they rightly have very high expectations of how our town and city centres should look.
“What we’re announcing today is the structure that will help to steer us to a new era, starting with the centre of Newcastle and Gateshead. The public don’t want to see partnership structures and collaboration boards – they want to see jobs, high streets and new places to visit.
“That is what we will create with the groundwork that we’re laying out today. This is about delivery people can touch and see that will give them jobs and build them homes.
“We know this region is brilliant, but we know that we can make it even better.”
While MDCs elsewhere have been hailed as a means of speeding up development, critics have raised questions surrounding their transparency and accountability.
But the decision was welcomed by leaders from across the North East.
Gateshead council leader comment
Gateshead Council leader and deputy mayor Coun Martin Gannon said: “This is absolutely brilliant and I’m absolutely delighted. We are one place with a river running through it – it is absolutely right we work in partnership.
“What happens in Gateshead affects Newcastle and vice-versa.
“If anything brought us together as a combined authority, it is the fact that nobody should be left behind in the North East of England. I’m certain this partnership will be enormously successful.
“We are right on the cusp of real, transformational change. Forming this partnership will bring in additional resources, particularly from the private sector, which will bring that process forward.”
Business cabinet comment
Business cabinet member John McCabe added: “Business leaders and investors don’t see lines on a map – they see opportunity. Business leaders will really welcome the collaboration.
“We as a business community are ready to work shoulder to shoulder with the combined authority to make this happen.”
Speaking after the meeting, Ms McGuinness added: “Like many local people, I get frustrated about developments taking far too long to deliver which means we don’t fully feel the benefit of schemes as quickly as we should.
“This needs to change. The creation of our new Mayoral Development Zone will help to bring in major new investment and quicken development of local schemes so that we can get on with delivering our vision and bold plans to transform the North East.
“We want to boost jobs, attract new business and bring in major private sector investment to support the work we’re already doing to grow our high streets, business parks and our rural and coastal areas. We want to create better places for people to live and thrive, and this initiative will accelerate our ability to do this.
“I am confident the creation of the new Mayoral Development Zone will radically speed up the pace of development and can assure people that there will be real visible change in the coming years.”
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