North East Combined Authority
North East Combined Authority within England
Type
Type
HousesUnicameral
Term limits
None
History
Founded15 April 2014 (2014-04-15)
Leadership
Chair
Tracey Dixon
Structure
Joint committees
North East Joint Transport Committee
Elections
Indirect election
Last election
15 April 2014
Meeting place
South Tyneside Town Hall, South Shields
Website
northeastca.gov.uk Edit this at Wikidata

The North East Combined Authority, abbreviated to NECA, is one of three combined authorities in North East England. It was created in 2014, and currently consists of the City of Sunderland; Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, South Tyneside; and Durham County local authorities.[1]

The local authorities for Newcastle upon Tyne; North Tyneside; and Northumberland were included in the combined authority until 2018, when they left to form their own combined authority, the North of Tyne Combined Authority. For transport policy, both combined authorities have a joint transport committee.[2] Other authorities in the North East England region that are not in the North of Tyne or the North East areas are part of the Tees Valley Combined Authority.

The North East Combined Authority was established in 2014 by statutory instrument under the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009.[3] It has some powers over economic development and regeneration.

It was announced in October 2015 that the authority would receive an enhanced devolution settlement and elect a mayor in 2017.[4] These plans were later cancelled by the Communities and Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid on 8 September 2016 after Durham, Gateshead, South Tyneside, and Sunderland Councils withdrew their support.[5] NECA remains a non-mayoral combined authority.

The authority is expected to be absorbed into a larger North East Mayoral Combined Authority in May 2024.

History

In order to create a combined authority, the local authorities in the proposed area must undertake a governance review and produce a scheme of their proposals.

At the first meeting of NECA on 15 April 2014, Simon Henig, the Leader of Durham County Council, was elected as chair.[6]

Upon formation, the functions, property, rights and liabilities of the former Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Authority were inherited by the North East Combined Authority, forming an executive body within the new authority as the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive.

Naming

The order which established the combined authority referred to it as the Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland Combined Authority, simply listing the names of the constituent councils in alphabetical order. The initial consultation used the name Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear Combined Authority.[7] The body uses the name North East Combined Authority or NECA.[8] The board is known as the North East Leadership Board. The legal name of the authority was changed to Durham, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland Combined Authority in November 2018.

Membership

The membership of the combined authority is as follows:[9]

Name Membership Position within nominating authority Nominating authority Position within combined authority
Graeme Miller Constituent Leader of the Council Sunderland City Council
Martin Gannon Constituent Leader of the Council Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council
Tracey Dixon Constituent Leader of the Council South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council Chair
TBC Constituent Leader of the Council Durham County Council Vice Chair
Andrew Hodgson Non-constituent Chair of the NELEP North East Local Enterprise Partnership

Local government

Map of the local government authorities of North East England, highlighting the amended area covered by the North East Combined Authority since 2 November 2018.

The combined authority consists of the following authorities (mid-2019 est. population estimates):

Authority Type Population Area (km2) Pop. density (per km2)
Gateshead Metropolitan borough 196,154 142.3 1,378
South Tyneside Metropolitan borough 147,915 64.42 2,296
Sunderland Metropolitan borough 274,211 137.4 1,995
Durham Unitary authority 521,346 2,226 234

References

  1. ^ "North East Combined Authority". North East Combined Authority. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  2. ^ "The Newcastle Upon Tyne, North Tyneside and Northumberland Combined Authority (Establishment and Functions) Order 2018". www.legislation.gov.uk.
  3. ^ "The Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland Combined Authority Order 2014". The National Archives. 3 July 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  4. ^ "Elected mayors for north-east of England as devolution deal announced". BBC News. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Sajid Javid ends North East devolution deal". BBC News. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Community News in Brief Tuesday April 15". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle upon Tyne: Trinity Mirror. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  7. ^ "Proposal to establish a combined authority for Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear - Consultations". GOV.UK. 7 November 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  8. ^ "NECA website: Who are we?". Northeastca.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  9. ^ "North East Leadership Board Members | North East Combined Authority". North East Combined Authority. Retrieved 12 December 2015.

External links

Combined authorities in England
Categories