A LEADING businessman has called on political leaders to stop rowing over the future shape of local government and immediately submit devolution proposals which aim to bring £2.4 billion of funding to York and North Yorkshire.

Outgoing York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise chairman David Kerfoot issued the appeal after tensions over proposals to create unitary authorities spilled over into arguments last week.

While the leaders of City of York Council, North Yorkshire County Council and the county's district and borough councils have agreed upon devolution asks to put to Government, Ryedale and Hambleton councils have yet to decide on whether to submit them.

Mr Kerfoot said: "If ever we needed devolution in place it is now. The recovery will take time and the ability to land a huge prize which devolution would bring is too much to miss."

He added: "I want to see politicians working together to create consensus rather than conflict across the region.

"We need our politicians to think of the bigger strategy, the region as a whole and that prize of deciding much of our own destiny locally and the substantial funding we would receive."