Cities Deal needs a mayor, say Tories

MSP says key post would take control of cash

A mayor of Courier Country would take control of the Tay Cities Deal under a vision put forward by the Scottish Conservatives.

Tory MSP Adam Tomkins has called for Scottish regions to have their own directly-elected lord provosts.

The law professor said the role is needed so someone has their feet held to the fire over city deals, which are investment packages financed by huge sums of public money.

The Tay Cities Deal, which is expected to be signed off this week in Perth, is backed by £350 million from both governments.

Mr Tomkins, a Glasgow MSP who covers communities in his shadow cabinet brief, told The Herald on Sunday: “My view is that city deals need appropriate structures of accountability and delivery.

“Everybody knows that one of the things Andy Burnham is responsible for in Greater Manchester is delivering on the Greater Manchester City Deal.

He added: “The model we need is city regions and we need directly-elected provosts for city regions.

“There is nothing like the transparency and accountability around it, (which) there would be if there was single point person whose principal function would be to be the senior executive in charge of the successful delivery of a £1 billion investment.”

If mayoral patches follow city deal boundaries there would be one lord provost for Dundee, Angus, Perthshire and North East Fife and another for the Edinburgh area and the rest of Fife.

Mr Tomkins has backed having pilots in four areas: Tayside, Greater Glasgow, Edinburgh and Lothians and Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.

The English model of mayors has seen the likes of Boris Johnson and Andy Burnham take on substantial powers over law and order, transport and economic regeneration.

Fife MSP Alex Rowley, who is Scottish Labour’s communities spokesman, is not keen on the idea.

“We don’t need a new expensive tier of bureaucracy,” he said.

“We need an end to austerity and the unacceptable levels of cuts to vital local services.”

The successful projects to be funded through the Tay Cities Deal will finally be revealed this week after the wishlist was submitted in February 2017.

Among the desired schemes are transport links, research facilities, industry hubs and cultural centres.

The Cross Tay link road, Perth City Hall and International Aviation Academy in Dundee are expected to receive TCD funding.

Picture: Gareth Jennings. The Tay Cities Deal is expected to be signed off this week in Perth.