Greater Lincolnshire devolution deal passed by council

A Lincolnshire County Council meeting was held on 13 March to vote for the devolution deal

A devolution deal which would introduce a mayor for Lincolnshire has been passed by the county council.

It received majority support with some opposition by Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) at a meeting on Wednesday.

The deal would see increased local decision-making and funding transferred from the government with an extra £24m per year for the next 30 years.

A directly-elected mayor would oversee the budget.

Leader of Lincolnshire County Council, Martin Hill, said there have been "a lot of ups and downs" in the journey to get a devolution deal

An eight-week public consultation received around 4,000 responses out of the 1.1 million residents of Greater Lincolnshire.

North East Lincolnshire Council and North Lincolnshire Council are also set to vote on the proposed deal this week.

If both councils endorse the deal, it will then advance to central government to establish the Greater Lincolnshire Mayoral Combined County Authority (GLMCCA).

Elections for the Mayor of Lincolnshire could be held around May 2025, if all goes to plan, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Councillor Martin Hill, leader of LCC, said he expects a response from the government within two months, with further details announced in the summer.

'Long old journey'

The deal received some opposition at the meeting, with councillor Marianne Overton, for Bassingham and Welbourn, referencing the 49% of participants who were against electing a mayor.

Prior to the mayoral election, £28.4m had also been pledged by the government, to be allocated to the GLMCCA for 2024/25.

£8.4m will go towards cleaning up brownfield sites in North and North East Lincolnshire, and the remaining £20m for projects across the county.

Following the meeting, Mr Hill said: "It's been a long old journey, we have been talking about this for about eight years nearly, and there have been lots of ups and downs.

"I think it's the right thing to do and I think everybody wants devolution, everybody wants the extra pounds and control we get locally."

Mr Hill said the "hitch" of the deal is having a mayor, but it is "quite clear" the government requires a mayor for Lincolnshire as one of the conditions.