… “Whilst the benefits of devolution are extremely favourable for our residents, the Government’s insistence on an elected mayor has made it difficult for all politicians to come to an agreement.
“The majority of councillors in Cheshire West and Chester were likely to support a consultation to seek the views of residents.
Housing concerns
Michael Jones, the former leader of Cheshire East Council, has said he is in favour of devolution – but not a deal which could involve more than 100,000 new homes in mid and south Cheshire.
A report on the LEP website talks of an aim to build a “constellation new city through the expansion and linkage of the cluster of towns and villages in mid-Cheshire with an expanded Crewe at its heart.”
But Cllr Jones says this was not the deal on the table when he was discussing devolution.
“The Northern Gateway which I put forward in 2014 – the aim was to work with our neighbours, Stoke, Newcastle, Staffordshire Moorlands and Shropshire, to get them to have houses,” he said.
“But they’re no longer talking about [them]… it’s all about what is going in Cheshire East and Crewe city, which was never agreed.”
East Devon Watch 