Minutes:
The Leader of the Council informed Council that last week she was proud to sign another landmark devolution deal alongside the leaders of the six other North East councils.
The trailblazer deal would give the region more control over transport, housing and skills, and would provide more than £100 million of additional funding. The funding together with the investment from the original deal, could be invested in priorities identified in the North East.
The Leader was especially proud that this historic document was signed in County Durham, at St Chad’s College in Durham University and remarked that she could not think of a more fitting setting for such an occasion than in the grounds of an institution that had broadened the minds of so many young people.
The historic transfer of power and money from Westminster to the North East would bring immediate benefits to the region but ultimately it would help to build a better future for our children, grandchildren and their children’s children.
Securing this deeper devolution deal would empower the Council to go even further to deliver on its ambitions and to work with communities on the things that mattered most to them.
It was also fitting that the trailblazer deal was signed at the beginning of spring which was the season of renewal.
Spring also marked the start of the Council’s festival and events programme which was a key part of the Council’s efforts to revitalise communities and boost the local economy.
The Leader hoped that Members would join her at Bishop Auckland Food Festival on the 20 and 21 of April in what looked once again to be a great event.