This week the Government announced that Derbyshire and Derby is one of nine areas being put forward for a ‘County Deal’ as part of their plans to ‘level up’ investment across the country.
We have been working closely with Derbyshire County Council and other local authority partners over recent years, to look at how we can work collaboratively under this regional agenda – and the announcement is testament to our hard work through our ‘Vision Derbyshire’ approach.
The deal will mean extra investment for our county as well as the transfer of specific powers in areas like transport, bus services, housing and skills from central Government to a local level, giving greater autonomy to local leaders over decision making and funding.
Responding to the announcement on Wednesday (2 February) Cllr Tricia Gilby, leader of the council, said: “This is welcome news which builds on Chesterfield’s recent success in securing £20m of Levelling Up Fund funding to restore and remodel the Stephenson Memorial Hall and transform and connect our town centre public squares and market grounds.
“We look forward to working with Derbyshire and Derby to make the case for a North Derbyshire Growth Zone as part of the County Deal that builds on our ambitious regeneration plans for the Staveley Works Corridor, opens up opportunities for new rail sector businesses and complements the vision and aims of our ground-breaking £25.2m Staveley Town Deal.”
We will continue to work with our partners to understand the detail of the Government’s announcement, and the next steps in the process.
