Devolution update
In the beginning, the government's plans for devolution in East Anglia included Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Then the city of Cambridge wanted out. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough followed. So the proposal as it stands now is to create a combined authority just for Suffolk and Norfolk. The financial incentives include £25m per year for the next 30 years to spend on roads and transport links, £100m spread over the next five years for house-building, with an additional £30m for Norwich and Ipswich over the next five years.
The government has said that county and district councils both need to approve the deal if it is to go ahead. Norfolk and Suffolk county councils have agreed to move forward, as have the district councils in Suffolk, but Norwich, Breckland, North Norfolk and Great Yarmouth councils have said no. It is unclear what this means for the future of the plan, but if the government decides to press ahead, then the next stage should be a public consultation, for which the East Anglian Daily Times reports that Suffolk County Council is already drawing up plans.
The proposed devolution would introduce a third tier of council under a directly-elected Mayor, which seems to be a burdensome managerial overload. Asking a county councillor about which tier of local government would be rendered redundant by the new structure, the view was that the district councils would (in time) be unnecessary. Interestingly, asking a district councillor the same question yielded the opposite opinion.