by Angus Young
Funding for vital sea defences at Withernsea and Mappleton will continue under the new-look mayor-led combined authority for Hull and East Yorkshire.
Ahead of the first mayoral election in May, councillors at both existing councils have backed a £24.6 million package of capital schemes, with the costs being met from a government award that formed part of the devolution deal for the region.
The funding has been allocated to a number of projects in Hull and East Yorkshire to ensure continuity when the combined authority takes over responsibility for key strategic issues from May.
These will include flooding and coastal erosion, coastal regeneration, transport and the development of brownfield land for both business and new housing.
The timetable for devolution required spending approval for the various schemes to be signed off in the current financial year, although actual work on the ground will happen later.
Ongoing sea defence work in Withernsea, Mappleton and Bridlington, which includes monitoring and maintenance, has been awarded £1.6 million and forms part of a longer-term programme worth £8.3 million.
It will include the relocation of the car park and public toilet facilities at Mappleton after East Riding Council was forced to close them last year on safety grounds because of accelerating erosion rates.
Another £1.5 million has been allocated from the devolution deal to coastal resilience projects.
Under the new system, East Riding Council and Hull City Council will continue as they are, but with the new Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority taking charge of strategic issues across both areas.
Under new governance arrangements, the mayor will be required to appoint a deputy from four councillors who will be elected from the two existing councils to also serve on the combined authority.
They will be joined by three members of the existing Hull and East Yorkshire Business and Skills Board, which is drawn from the local business and education sector.
Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner Jonathan Evison will also be a member of the combined authority.
Initially, both he and the three business and skills board members will have non-voting roles, although it will be up to the politicians on the combined authority to decide whether to change this once everyone is in place.
The governance rules also allow the mayor to appoint a full-time political adviser.
An independent panel is being set up to recommend what the new mayor’s salary should be.
So far, five candidates for the role have announced their intention to stand.
They include Anne Handley (Conservative), Mike Ross (Liberal Democrat), Margaret Pinder (Labour), Kerry Harrison (Green) and Rowan Halstead (Yorkshire Party).
The Reform UK candidate is expected to be announced at an event being held in Hull tonight – Thursday, February 27.