By Richard Johnstone | 17 December 2014
The county councils of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire have proposed the creation of a combined authority to lead on economic development across existing local authority boundaries.
The plan, which was published yesterday, would build upon the joint working between LEPs in the counties to create a new authority that can take on spatial planning as well as responsibilities for transport and skills development.
Launching the bid for a combined authority, the three county leaders called on the government to back the plans. So far, combined authorities have only been created in city regions, with both Manchester and Sheffield being given additional powers over economic development.
According to the counties’ bid document, A shared approach to driving prosperity, legislation would be needed to put in place a more flexible governance structure tailored to suit such a bold arrangement.
Oxfordshire County Council leader Ian Hudspeth said that over 80,000 new jobs should be created in Oxfordshire by 2031, and the economic benefits of these will not confined to local authority borders.
‘By joining up with Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire I believe we can maximise the benefits to the regional economy by improving transport links and strategic planning so we can connect people, jobs and homes,’ he said.
Buckinghamshire leader Martin Tett added that it was vital that rural non-city locations had the power to work together so they could compete with cities across the UK.
‘To do this we need proper and effective devolution of powers, responsibilities and resources from government.’
Northamptonshire leader Jim Harker stated the planned alliance was a golden opportunity to drive economic growth.
‘This cross-county alliance presents a unique opportunity for us to get more decision making powers to unlock the potential of this infrastructure for the wider area and vastly improve our connectivity to the north, south and west,’ he added.
The authorities said they were now seeking a meeting with government officials to discuss the plan.
