Public vote to determine leader of £4bn East Midlands boost

A £4bn investment in the future of the East Midlands is set to be steered by a public vote – which will decide who will be the first directly-elected mayor of the region.

Derbyshire, Derby, Nottinghamshire, and Nottingham have paved the way for the investment in transportation, skills, housing, and environmental initiatives by establishing a combined county authority to oversee the region’s development.

However, the direction of the Combined County Authority will be determined by an elected mayor, with the public having the opportunity to choose who fills this role.

The first election for the Mayor of the East Midlands is scheduled for Thursday, May 2, with a campaign now underway to encourage voter turnout on election day.

The £4bn investment became viable following the government’s decision to decentralize some of its powers, transferring them to the mayor and the combined county authority through a devolution agreement reached in 2022.

An elected mayor will provide the East Midlands with representation at the national level and encourage investment from both governmental and private sectors.

Aiming to also invest in ways that suit the East Midlands, making it easier to travel across different East Midlands transport networks, matching skills to what the region’s businesses do, enabling house building and land regeneration where it’s needed and exploiting the region’s strengths in net zero technologies to create a robust, renewable energy system.

Mark Rogers, interim chief executive of the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) said: “This is a big deal in every sense. It’s on a scale that the East Midlands hasn’t seen before and gives it the powers and resources it needs to turn around under-investment, tackle challenges and open up massive new opportunities for people and places.

“This is all about bringing power back to the East Midlands, and the most significant part of that process is the vote – the people will decide who’ll lead this transformation.”

The combined county authority comprises Derbyshire County Council, Derby City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, and Nottingham City Council and is also in collaboration with district and borough councils throughout Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

Leaders and deputy leaders from each of these authorities will hold seats on the combined county authority and will receive guidance from specialists representing various segments of the community.

This includes a business advisory board that will be developed by the interim representative for business, David Williams, who chairs the law firm Geldards, which has an office presence in both Derby and Nottingham.

He said: “This is going to make a huge difference to the East Midlands and there’s a clear emphasis on investing in projects and places that are going to support a long-term improvement to people’s lives.

“This is why it’s so important that everyone out there has their say. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest billions of pounds in people’s futures – so our people need to decide who they want to make the key decisions.”