Authority must do more to connect with public, says departing leader
Departing head says rivalries have gone
WAKEFIELD COUNCIL leader Peter Box has called for the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to do more to connect with the public as he announced his decision to stand down as chairman of the body.
Coun Box, who has led the organisation since it was formed three years ago, will formally step down next week as he takes up the leadership of the Key Cities group of councils.
Bradford Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe is widely expected to take over at the top of the combined authority which brings together local authorities to work on major cross-boundary issues including transport, skills and supporting business.
Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, Coun Box said he was proud of the major projects the authority had funded that would help grow the region’s economy and the way council leaders had set aside longstanding rivalries between the area’s towns and cities. He admitted he was “disappointed” that a devolution deal for the area had not been agreed but insisted “it’s not for want of trying”.
Coun Box said the intention had always been for the leadership of the combined authority to rotate between council leaders and that after three years in charge now was the right moment to hand over the reins.
PETER BOX has brought down the curtain on his three-year tenure at the head of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority with a call for the organisation to do more to connect with the public.
Coun Box, the leader of Wakefield Council, pointed to major investment in areas including transport and skills across the area as evidence of the authority’s achievements since it was formed in 2014.
But he acknowledged that the public is still getting to know the organisation and the role it has in growing the area’s economy.
“Sometimes I think one of the things about, I guess Yorkshire in a way, is that we can be self-deprecating, we don’t shout about how good we are. I know that from experience in my own city,” he told The Yorkshire Post.
“If you look at Wakefield we have just had some money from the combined authority to build the eastern relief road. That’s going to be a huge economic benefit to the people of Wakefield, it’s going to create some 3,000 jobs and it’s going to create 2,500 new homes so there’s huge potential and already it’s taken some pressure of the highway network.
“I tell everybody that that has been provided not by the council but by the combined authority. I think perhaps we need to do more of that so that those schemes that have been funded by the combined authority should be badged as such.
“If I was to be self-critical of us, perhaps it would be that we’ve not connected in the way a local authority can with the people we represent and I think that’s something that needs to be done better in the future.”
The combined authority grew out of the former West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority as council leaders moved to co-operate more in areas such as skills and attracting investment.
It has an annual budget of more than £300m, is investing a £1bn transport fund and is the lead body for a ‘growth deal’ agreed with the Government to boost the local economy worth £1bn.
Coun Box said: “The fact we were created at all is an achievement, we’ve come together, we’ve put aside a lot of those rivalries that did exist between Bradford and Leeds and Leeds and Wakefield and worked for the greater good.”
Coun Box admitted he was “disappointed” to be stepping down before the area had been able to secure a ‘devolution deal’ from the Government similar to that enjoyed by areas such as Manchester and Tees Valley, giving them more control over their own affairs.
Yorkshire’s devolution drive has been hampered by disagreements over which districts should join together to strike deals.
Coun Box said: “Where do we go from here? My view is that there is nobody that has been more critical of this government and its relationship with local government than me but I think when the Northern Powerhouse Minister (Jake Berry) made the point that devolution is based on cities he was quite right.
“That’s what it was set up to do, to increase economic growth based on cities and their immediate regions and for me that is where we will get the most growth in the shortest time. So I believe that a Leeds City Region deal is one that offers the best opportunity to do that and one my authority wholeheartedly supports. I think once you start to move on to a bigger geography you lose focus and you create a much larger bureaucracy. I am not sure the public are thrilled at the idea of even more politicians and even more bureaucracy being created.
“In my experience what the public want are their existing political representatives to work together smarter rather than creating something else. I think eventually you might see a larger geography but to begin with I think you start with what we’ve got where we’ve shown we can make a difference, shown that we can be successful.”
READERS OF The Yorkshire Post are well-versed in this region’s long struggle to secure a devolution deal similar to the ones enjoyed by Manchester and the Tees Valley.
But a pertinent new point has been made by the chairman of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Peter Box ahead of his departure from the role after a three-year tenure; too many people are simply unaware of the important partnership working that is already taking place in the county.
The Wakefield Council leader states the combined authority, which as its name suggests, includes public-sector partners from Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield, as well as York, needs to do more to inform the public about its important work, which has included major investment in transport infrastructure.
He cites a planned relief road for Wakefield which will support the creation of thousands of new jobs and homes as a perfect example of a scheme that has been funded with the authority’s help but where most residents have no idea of its involvement.
The authority has an annual budget of more than £300m and is investing in a £1bn transport fund, but as Councillor Box puts it, “one of the things about Yorkshire is that we can be self-deprecating, we don’t shout about how good we are”.
This is precisely what needs to change; not only to showcase the work of the authority but also to help make the case for a devolution deal even more compelling. If politicians can clearly demonstrate to the public and the Government how those in the county already work together to achieve positive results, it should also help to focus minds locally on ending the impasse over which districts should join together to strike deals.
Achieve that and the case for a devolution deal to be delivered as soon as possible will become even more inarguable.