£500 million investment in Suffolk scrapped by Government
Suffolk’s proposed in principle devolution deal, which would bring more than £500 million to the county over 30 years, has been scrapped by the Government.
The additional funding – which would come with new local decision-making powers over areas including housing, transport, adult education and regeneration – is no longer being offered to Suffolk. The deal would mean local people who know and love Suffolk would be empowered to make more decisions about the county’s future, rather than people in Whitehall.
Key aspects of the deal included:
Control of a new investment fund worth £480m over the next thirty years
Local control of the Adult Education Budget each year (worth £9.4m in 2025/26)
£5.8m one-off funding to prepare brownfield sites for development
Multi-year transport funding plus an additional £500,000 over two years to finalise Suffolk’s Local Transport Plan
The leader of Suffolk County Council would be directly elected by the people of Suffolk – rather than by county councillors.
Most people who responded to an independent survey, run by Ipsos, were in favour of the proposed deal. 63% of people supported or strongly supported it while 7% disagreed. 21% of people were unsure. In a separate but linked poll run by Suffolk County Council, 49% of people who responded supported or strongly supported the deal, whilst 40% did not and 11% were unsure.
Suffolk County Councillors were expected to vote on the deal after the General Election in July.