8:37am Monday 26th October 2009
By Gavin Aitchison
THE leader of City of York Council is to meet with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to seek more money for eco-friendly homes and economic development.
Coun Andrew Waller will head to London next week, along with other Yorkshire council leaders, to hold talks with Alistair Darling.
Kersten England, the council’s new chief executive, will also head to the capital for the meeting.
In April, the Chancellor said Leeds City Region was one of two “forerunner city regions” and local civic leaders now want to press for action.
Coun Waller said: “For York to have a successful future we need to have more control of our own destiny, and to have investment in transport, skills and housing. By working with the ten other councils in the Leeds City Region, I hope that the Government will spell out the changes that it promised by selecting us as one of the two leading areas of the country for this form of devolution.”
He said Yorkshire had as much right as Wales and Scotland to take control of itself and said such a move was crucial for unlocking York Central, providing eco-homes on the British Sugar site and building on the success of Science City.
Coun Waller said: “I will take this battle to the heart of Government on behalf of York and the rest of the city region.”
The meeting will be held in the House of Commons a week next Tuesday. The Chancellor is likely to be joined by MPs John Denham, Yvette Cooper, Hilary Benn, Rosie Winterton and Sadiq Khan.
There will be discussions on housing and regeneration, skills and unemployment, innovation and transport.
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