COUNTY Durham residents will be given the chance to vote on whether they want an elected mayor for the North-East, it was announced today (Wednesday, October 28).

Councillor Simon Henig, leader of Durham County Council and chair of the North East Combined Authority (Neca), said a countywide poll on the North East devolution agreement announced by the Treasury on Friday (October 23) would be held early in 2016.

It will be the first time any English devolution deal has been subject to a public vote.

The outcome will not be binding, but Cllr Henig said the council would be “guided” by it when it votes on whether to back the agreement.

The Government has refused to call a referendum, meaning the council will have to pay for the poll. Cllr Henig was unable to state the precise cost but said he hoped it would be substantially less than an election and no public services would be affected.

“This is exactly the reason we have reserves,” he said, aware opposition councillors have criticised the size of council reserves.

“It’s a very important choice. It’s a price worth paying to ask the public whether they support this major change.”

Under the devolution offer, the Neca area, which stretches from the River Tees to the Scottish border and covers two million people, would from May 2017 get a directly elected mayor with powers over economic development and skills, transport and planning, plus £30m a year for an investment fund.

For the changes to go ahead, all seven councils involved must vote in favour. If Durham backs out, it is possible the other six could go ahead without it.

Independent councillor John Shuttleworth urged the public to vote against the proposals.

In addition to the poll, a series of public meetings is to be held, including at County Hall, Durham, on Monday, November 9, from 6pm to 8pm.

Further details of the public vote will be announced in December.

Meanwhile, the Tees Valley devolution agreement will go before that area’s five councils in the coming weeks and Councillor Sue Jeffrey, leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council and chair of the Tees Valley Shadow Combined Authority, said it would be “talking to residents and businesses about what the proposals mean for them”.

The Government will also be consulting the public on the proposal to establish a Tees Valley Combined Authority, which an elected mayor would chair.