A bid by Hertfordshire to be at the heart of the government’s 'levelling-up' agenda by striking a 'county deal' with Whitehall has failed.
All 11 councils in the county had hoped to be among the first to agree such a deal with the government which would have given Hertfordshire greater powers and independence.
This includes piloting new ideas, creating more jobs, driving growth, improving public service, and it could have allowed the county to retain and increase locally generated income to invest in infrastructure.
But Hertfordshire was not among nine local authorities selected for a county deal when the Government's levelling up white paper was released on Wednesday (February 2).
County council leader Cllr Richard Roberts told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he was "disappointed" that Hertfordshire missed out.
While welcoming the government’s drive to support the areas selected, he says the county was "ideally placed" to be selected, pointing towards investment in film studios such as Warner Bros in Leavesden, Sky in Borehamwood, and Sunset in Broxbourne.
He also highlighted pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline's plans to create a £400 million campus in Stevenage with Airbus also earmarking the town for a £35 million UK space and defence headquarters.
When putting the bid in, Cllr Roberts also suggested powers to plan and deliver large scale growth and housing delivery and that the creation of a unified transport body that would lead to the delivery of the ‘Hertfordshire and Essex Rapid Transit’ system.
The Conservative politician, who is also chairman of the Hertfordshire Growth Board, says he is willing to work with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to work out how to secure the best support for Hertfordshire.
Watford mayor Peter Taylor also expressed his "disappointment" at failing to secure a county deal.
The Liberal Democrat politician added: "We know how important it is to improve local services and infrastructure, supporting more jobs and making sure we have good quality and affordable homes. This work will continue.
"The government must recognise how important it is to support every part of the country. In each region there are areas of relative poverty and particular economic difficulties. These should not be ignored."
The nine areas of the country that will be invited to agree county deals are Cornwall, Derbyshire & Derby, Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, Durham, Hull & East Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire & Nottingham, and Suffolk.
After the white paper was published, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said: "From day one, the defining mission of this government has been to level up this country, to break the link between geography and destiny so that no matter where you live you have access to the same opportunities.
"The challenges we face have been embedded over generations and cannot be dug out overnight, but this white paper is the next crucial step."
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