The Sussex And The City Podcast

– Episode 19:

The Lessons From North Yorkshire

Host: Richard Freeman
Guest: James Farrar - Chief Executive, York & North Yorkshire Combined Mayoral Authority

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🔍 Episode summary

Sussex is heading for devolution—new unitaries, a directly elected mayor, and big expectations. So what does it really take to go from theory to action?

Richard talks to James Farah, Chief Executive of the York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority, about how his region navigated local government reorganisation and launched a mayoral combined authority - then moved quickly from promises to projects. York & North Yorkshire (like Sussex) spans rural, coastal and urban communities, a national park, diverse economies and different political colours. James shares how they built trust, agreed an economic framework before the election, created “quick win” pipelines for year one, and put in place the relationships and rigour to sustain momentum.

It’s a candid, highly practical conversation about power, place and delivery — packed with lessons Sussex can use now.

 

This episode is brought to you in partnership with:

Galloways Accounting – Sussex’s largest independent accountancy practice, with six offices from Worthing to Brighton to Eastbourne to Uckfield. They combine deep local knowledge with cutting-edge cloud tools to help family businesses, charities, tech start-ups and professional practices manage cash flow, R&D tax credits, payroll, succession planning and more.
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🎯 Why this matters

“Where combined authorities work best, they don’t do to each other. The mayor doesn’t do to the councils, and the councils don’t do to the mayor. They work in partnership - on shared priorities, with shared resources.”

“The big prize is certainty. Longer-term settlements let you plan 10 years out, build a pipeline, and be more ambitious. Then an integrated settlement lets you blend transport, skills, housing and net zero around outcomes for people and places.”

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🧠 Topics covered include:

• The road to devolution: why York & North Yorkshire did local government reorganisation first, then launched the combined authority.

• “Day One readiness”: creating an economic framework (not a strategy) pre-election so any incoming mayor inherits agreed priorities - and can then add their flavour.

• Quick wins vs. long game: town-centre footfall projects, EV infrastructure and cultural boosts in year one, while planning bigger structural investments.

• How the machine works: the non-political executive team, statutory responsibilities, and why robust governance and assurance matter.

• Partnership, not push: the constitutional principle that local leaders must support local investment, and the human work of trust at political, CEO and director levels.

• Accountability & engagement: publishing plans and decisions, formal evaluation (including government gateway reviews), and the evolving challenge of two-way public engagement across rural areas.

• Competitive advantage & enablers: focusing on sectors with exponential potential while underpinning tourism, micro-businesses and town centres, enabled by skills, housing and connectivity.

• Housing & demographics: the cost/availability crunch pushing young people out - and why affordable housing is a central economic policy.

• What devolution unlocks: senior reach into Whitehall, multi-year funding certainty, and the path to integrated settlements that blend budgets around outcomes - and crowd in private finance

“We’re not just a big city—we’re a region of 30+ towns. Invest in town centres and footfall to build momentum.”

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📚 Further reading and references

• York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority – Devolution & Mayor
  https://yorknorthyorks-ca.gov.uk

• York & North Yorkshire Devolution Deal (Gov.uk)
  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/york-and-north-yorkshire-devolution-deal

• Levelling Up White Paper (executive overview)
  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/levelling-up-the-united-kingdom

• Centre for Cities – Metro Mayors explained
  https://www.centreforcities.org/metro-mayors/

• Transport for the South East – Strategic Investment Plan (Sussex context)
  https://transportforthesoutheast.org.uk/our-vision/strategic-investment-plan/

• Local Government Reorganisation: lessons learned (LGA)
  https://www.local.gov.uk/topics/devolution/devolution-and-lg-reorganisation-hub

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🎧 Production credits

Host: Richard Freeman
Guest: James Farrar
Sound design / editing / original music: Chris Thorpe-Tracey
Production management: Letitia McConalogue
Recorded: Remote (Normandy ↔ Sussex) with thanks to the calm after the storm

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📣 Get involved

Want better public communication in Sussex? Want to help shape devolution so it actually works for people and places?
👉 https://sussexandthecity.info — episodes, resources and events.