The High Court has blocked the Sheffield city region’s devolution bid over the inclusion of Chesterfield in the deal.
In a judgement today by Mr Justice Ouseley, the court upheld Derbyshire CC’s challenge to the combined authority’s consultation on its plans for a new mayoral combined authority.
The court ruled that the statutory consultation, required before ministers can approve the bid, was unlawful because it did not ask whether Chesterfield BC should be part of the new organisation.
Chesterfield is within Derbyshire and does not share a border with any of the authorities that would form the combined authority.
Chesterfield leader, Cllr John Burrows, said: 'We firmly believe that being part of the Sheffield city region devolution deal offers the best way to grow Chesterfield’s economy and create jobs for our residents.’
Derbyshire has strongly opposed Chesterfield’s decision to join the devolution bid on the grounds that it would hand some of its powers to the new authority.
Its legal challenge was based on a claim that the combined authority’s consultation over the summer did not ‘tell the full story or ask the right questions’.
Derbyshire leader Anne Western described the outcome of the judicial review as a 'victory for fairness and common sense'.
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