Chesterfield Borough Council has decided to relinquish its membership of the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) following the government's insistence that all councils only belong to one such body.
The Derbyshire council said it will remain a member of the Derby Derbyshire Nottingham Nottinghamshire (D2N2) LEP and a non-constituent member of the Sheffield City Region (SCR) Mayoral Combined Authority.
The council said it had been forced to make the decision despite the benefits of belonging to both LEPs such as securing £60m of external funding since 2013.
Whitehall has warned councils they will face financial consequences for failing to comply with the demand, such as reducing the value of post-Brexit funding allocations.
Cllr Tricia Gilby, leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, said: 'This is a decision that I neither take lightly nor is it a decision that I believe is necessary.
‘But there is no option if we are to comply with the Government’s requirement for Chesterfield’s businesses and communities to in future be represented by a single LEP.'
Cllr Gilby added: 'Whilst our LEP membership will remain with D2N2, Chesterfield Borough Council will continue to maintain an active interest in SCR through its non-constituent membership of the Mayoral Combined Authority.
‘This is viewed as essential to ensure the future alignment of D2N2’s and SCR’s key strategies on critical cross-boundary matters such as HS2 and strategic road networks.'
This article first appeared on localgov.co.uk.
Register now for full access
Register just once to get unrestricted, real-time coverage of the issues and challenges facing UK transport and highways engineers.
Full website content includes the latest news, exclusive commentary from leading industry figures and detailed topical analysis of the highways, transportation, environment and place-shaping sectors.
Use the link below to register your details for full, free access.
Already a registered? Login
