The proposals, set out in an English Devolution White Paper published by the ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) yesterday (16 December), will give mayors a more direct role in plans for their areas than ever before.The proposals for future legislation would be delivered via an English Devolution Bill expected next year, which will equip mayors to heavily influence planning, housing, transport and skills provision.The policy document outlines how mayors across the regions will be given new development management powers similar to those those exercised by the Mayor of London, including the ability to call in planning applications of strategic importance.AdvertisementThey will also be able to charge developers a Mayoral Levy to ensure that new developments come with the necessary associated infrastructure similar to the levy used to help fund Londons Elizabeth line in 2012.Major cash boosts will help to drive the changes. According to the policy document, mayors in Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region and the North East will be the first to receive the new integrated funding settlements, covering housing, regeneration, local growth, transport, skills, retrofit and employment support.MHCLG said its ambitious new devolution framework had aims of hardwiring mayors into the fabric of government. It also sets out a strong preference to see mayors in place across the whole of England making it the default status for regions across England.A government Devolution Priority Programme aims to deliver inaugural mayoral elections in May 2026, with authorities including Cheshire and Warrington, Norfolk and Suffolk, and others already earmarked for the programme. MHCLG says it has had productive discussions with these authorities and will confirm places on the programme in January.The White Paper also laid out the governments plans to rebuild local government after 14 years of mismanagement and decline, including multi-year financial settlements for authorities according to local need and the reorganisation of local government to create simpler and more stable structures which improve accountability and outcomes.AdvertisementDeputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner said the devolution plans were about giving local leaders the tools and the trust they need to forge their areas futures.Rayner said the plans would raise living standards, improve public services, and enable the homes we so desperately need.She insisted: We have an economy that hoards potential and a politics that hoards power. So our devolution revolution will deliver the greatest transfer of power from Whitehall to our communities in a generation, empowering those communities to realise their potential. And nobody is more excited about it than I am.Housing and planningNew housing and planning powers outlined for Mayors and Authorities in the White Paper, which the government insists are integral to delivering the 1.5m homes promised in this parliament:All areas - with or without a Strategic Authority - will have to produce a Spatial Development Strategy, to be adopted with support from a majority of constituents.Mayors to be given new development management powers 'similar to those those exercised by the Mayor of London' including the ability to call in planning applications.Mayors will be able to charge developers a 'Mayoral Levy' to ensure that new developments come with the necessary associated infrastructure. Such a levy was used to help fund Londons Elizabeth Line in 2012.Homes England will have a stronger partnership with established Mayoral Strategic Authorities and increased accountability to mayors to help them deliver on their plans. As part of this, the government says it will move Homes England to a more regionalised model over time, so that the agency is even more responsive to the economic plan of an area.Mayors will be given the funding they need to deliver on their housing ambitions, with control of grant funding for regeneration and housing delivery.Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities will be given the power to set out the strategic direction of any future affordable housing programme.2024-12-17Anna Highfieldcomment and share