North East Combined Authority Durham, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland Combined Authority | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
Houses | Unicameral |
Term limits | None |
History | |
Founded | 15 April 2014 |
Disbanded | 7 May 2024 |
Structure | |
Joint committees | North East Joint Transport Committee |
Elections | |
Indirect election | |
Last election | 15 April 2014 |
Meeting place | |
South Tyneside Town Hall, South Shields | |
Website | |
northeastca |
The North East Combined Authority (NECA), officially the Durham, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland Combined Authority, was one of the combined authorities in North East England. It was created in 2014, and consisted of the City of Sunderland; Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, South Tyneside; and Durham County local authorities. [1]
The local authorities for Newcastle upon Tyne; North Tyneside; and Northumberland were also included in the combined authority until 2018, when they left to form their own combined authority, the North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA). For transport policy, both combined authorities had a joint transport committee. [2] Other combined authorities in the North East England region that are not in the North of Tyne or the North East areas are part of the Tees Valley Combined Authority.
The North East Combined Authority was established in 2014 by statutory instrument under the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. [3] It had some powers over economic development and regeneration.
It was announced in October 2015 that NECA would receive an enhanced devolution settlement and elect a mayor in 2017. [4] These plans were later cancelled by the Communities and Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid on 8 September 2016 after Durham, Gateshead, South Tyneside, and Sunderland Councils withdrew their support, [5] which led to the other councils withdrawing from NECA and forming the NTCA. NECA was a non-mayoral combined authority unlike NTCA which had a mayor.
NECA was abolished and absorbed into the larger North East Mayoral Combined Authority in May 2024.
In order to create a combined authority, the local authorities in the proposed area must undertake a governance review and produce a scheme of their proposals.
At the first meeting of NECA on 15 April 2014, Simon Henig, the Leader of Durham County Council, was elected as chair. [6]
Upon formation, the functions, property, rights and liabilities of the former Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Authority were inherited by the North East Combined Authority, forming an executive body within the new authority as the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive.
The order which established the combined authority referred to it as the Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland Combined Authority, simply listing the names of the constituent councils in alphabetical order. The initial consultation used the name Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear Combined Authority. [7] The body uses the name North East Combined Authority or NECA. [8] The legal name of the authority was changed to Durham, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland Combined Authority in November 2018.
The combined authority consisted of the following authorities (2022 population estimates):
Authority | Type | Population | Area (km2) | Pop. density (per km2) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gateshead | Metropolitan borough | 197,722 | 142 | 1,389 |
South Tyneside | Metropolitan borough | 148,667 | 64 | 2,308 |
Sunderland | Metropolitan borough | 277,354 | 137 | 2,018 |
Durham | Unitary authority | 528,127 | 2,226 | 237 |
North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It has three administrative levels below regional level: combined authorities, unitary authorities or metropolitan boroughs, and civil parishes. There are also multiple divisions without administrative functions; ceremonial counties, emergency services, built-up areas and historic counties. The largest settlements in the region are Newcastle upon Tyne, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Gateshead, Darlington, Hartlepool and Durham.
Tyne and Wear is a ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne.
North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It forms part of the greater Tyneside conurbation. North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Park, Wallsend.
The Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It includes Gateshead, Rowlands Gill, Whickham, Blaydon, Ryton, Felling, Birtley, Pelaw, Dunston and Low Fell. The borough forms part of the Tyneside conurbation, centred on Newcastle upon Tyne. At the 2021 census, the borough had a population of 196,154.
Newcastle City Council is the local authority for the city of Newcastle upon Tyne the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. Newcastle has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 the council has been a metropolitan borough council. It has been under Labour majority control since 2011. In 2024 the council became a member of the North East Combined Authority. The council is based at Newcastle Civic Centre.
Sunderland City Council is the local authority of Sunderland, a metropolitan borough with city status in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. It is one of five such councils in Tyne and Wear and one of 36 in England. It provides the majority of local government services in Sunderland.
Northumberland County Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Northumberland in North East England. Since 2009 it has been a unitary authority, having also taken over district-level functions when the county's districts were abolished.
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, formerly known as the Tyne and Wear Metropolitan Fire Brigade, is the fire and rescue service (FRS) for the metropolitan boroughs of Newcastle Upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland, serving a population of 1.14 million people across an area of 208 square miles (540 km2). Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority is responsible for the running of the service, as well as the publication of performance indicators in accordance with its legal obligations. In May 2023,Peter Heath was appointed chief fire officer.
Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan area covering the cities of Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland, as well as North and South Tyneside, Gateshead and Washington.
The Tyneside Passenger Transport Executive was the operations arm of the Tyneside Passenger Transport Authority, created by the Transport Act 1968. and came into operation on 1 January 1970.
North Tyneside Council, or North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council, is the local authority for the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a metropolitan borough council and provides the majority of local government services in the borough. The council has been a member of the North East Combined Authority since 2024.
South Tyneside Council is the local authority of for the metropolitan borough of South Tyneside in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. It is one of five metropolitan boroughs in Tyne and Wear and one of 36 in England. It provides the majority of local government services in South Tyneside. The council has been under Labour majority control since 1979. It is based at South Shields Town Hall. The council is a constituent member of the North East Mayoral Combined Authority.
The North East Green Belt, also known as the Tyne & Wear Green Belt, is a non-statutory green belt environmental and planning policy that regulates the rural space in part of the North East region of England. It is centred on the county of Tyne and Wear, with areas of green belt extending into Northumberland and County Durham. It functions to protect surrounding towns and villages outside the Tyneside/Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Wearside/Sunderland conurbations from further convergence. This is managed by local planning authorities on guidance from central government.
The North of Tyne Combined Authority was a mayoral combined authority which consisted of the local authorities of Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, and Northumberland, all in North East England. The authority came into being on 2 November 2018 under the statutory name Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside and Northumberland Combined Authority. The three local authorities previously formed part of the North East Combined Authority, which continued to exist covering a smaller area. The two combined authorities cooperated on the North East Joint Transport Committee.
The inaugural North of Tyne mayoral election was held on 2 May 2019 to elect the first Mayor of the North of Tyne. The area is made up of Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside and Northumberland. Subsequent elections will be held every five years.
The North East Joint Transport Committee was a special joint committee of the North East Combined Authority and the North of Tyne Combined Authority. It is responsible for public transport policy in Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Northumberland in England. It is the governing body of Nexus, the trading name of the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive. The inaugural meeting was held on 20 November 2018.
Jamie Driscoll is a British independent politician who served as the metro mayor of the North of Tyne Combined Authority from 2019 to 2024. He was previously a councillor on Newcastle City Council for the Monument ward.
The ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear was created under the Local Government Act 1972, which came into effect on 1 April 1974, comprising the urban areas around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear, previously parts of the historic counties of Northumberland and Durham. It returned 12 MPs to the UK Parliament from 2010 to 2024. Under the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, coming into effect for the 2024 general election, the boundary commission proposed two cross-county boundary seats with Northumberland and one with Durham, in addition to 10 constituencies wholly within the county boundaries,.
The North East Combined Authority (NECA) is a combined authority in North East England. It has a directly-elected Mayor and seven member councils: two are unitary authorities and five are metropolitan borough councils. The combined authority's area and the separate Tees Valley devolved region occupy the wider statistical region of North East England.