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East Midlands (strategic authority area)

East Midlands
BERJAYA
BERJAYA
BERJAYA
East Midlands shown within England
East Midlands shown within England
Coordinates: 53°08′24″N 1°20′28″W / 53.140°N 1.341°W / 53.140; -1.341
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryEngland
Established27 February 2024
Administrative HQCouncil House, Corporation Street, Derby[1]
Local authorities
Government
  TypeStrategic authority
  BodyEast Midlands Combined County Authority
  MayorClaire Ward (Labour)
Area
  Land1,847 sq mi (4,784 km2)
Population
 (2024)[3]
  Total
2,284,616
  Rank5th
  Density1,240/sq mi (478/km2)
Time zoneUTC+0 (GMT)
  Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
Postcode areas
Dialling codes
  • 0114
  • 01246
  • 01283
  • 01298
  • 01332
  • 01335
  • 01433
  • 01457
  • 01632
  • 01636
  • 01663
  • 01773
  • 01777
  • 01909
GSS codeE47000013
Websitewww.eastmidlands-cca.gov.uk

East Midlands is a strategic authority area in England.[4] It has four council areas: the non-metropolitan counties of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire and the unitary authorities of Nottingham and Derby. It had a population of 2,284,616 in 2024.[3] Its largest settlement is Nottingham and administrative HQ is Derby.

The Mayor of the East Midlands and East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) have a devolution deal which was established on 27 February 2024.[5]

History

[edit]

The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 provided the basis of the creation of combined county authorities, a form of strategic authority.

A North Midlands combined authority was proposed by Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire in 2016. South Derbyshire District Council, High Peak Borough Council, Amber Valley Borough Council and Erewash Borough Council all voted to reject the proposal, and Chesterfield Borough Council decided to join the South Yorkshire Combined Authority instead.[6] In July 2016, it was reported that the North Midlands devolution deal had collapsed.[7] There has been support from several council leaders for an East Midlands combined authority (in response to the West Midlands) with discussions to follow on whether a directly elected mayor would be implemented, and on the future of the existing boroughs.[8] The scope of the devolution deal has involved the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, as well as their cities.[9] The leaders of seven Leicestershire councils wrote in 2020 to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, who gave support.[10][11]

In 2022, leaders of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire county councils, and Nottingham and Derby city councils, stated that discussions had taken place for a deal, and that they were open to a mayoral deal.[12] A proposal was made by Government and signed by the four councils on 30 August 2022, to form the first Mayoral Combined County Authority.[13]

The deal was criticised for side-lining neighbouring Leicestershire and some politicians in Leicestershire expressed regret at being left out of the devolution deal, which had been opposed by Leicester City Council. The Centre for Cities said that even combining Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire was "a mistake" as "they are two different counties with distinct local economic needs" and "There is very little commuting between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire".[14] Despite the same organisation including the Derbyshire district of Erewash in their definition of Nottingham. [15]

The combined authority was formally established by the East Midlands Combined County Authority Regulations 2024 which were made on 27 February 2024.[16][17]

The Mayor of East Midlands became a member of the Mayoral Council for England and the Council of the Nations and Regions when those bodies were established in October 2024.

Governance

[edit]

Combined county authority

[edit]

As of June 2025, the board of the East Midlands Combined County Authority comprises:[18]

Name Membership Position within nominating authority Nominating authority
Claire Ward Constituent Mayor of the East Midlands Direct election
Alan Graves Constituent Leader of the Council Derbyshire County Council
Nadine Peatfield Constituent Leader of the Council Derby City Council
Mick Barton Constituent Leader of the Council Nottinghamshire County Council
Neghat Khan Constituent Leader of the Council Nottingham City Council
Rob Reaney Constituent Deputy Leader of the Council Derbyshire County Council
Paul Hezelgrave Constituent Deputy Leader of the Council Derby City Council
John Doddy Constituent Deputy Leader of the Council Nottinghamshire County Council
Ethan Radford Constituent Deputy Leader of the Council Nottingham City Council
Tricia Gilby Non-constituent D2 Strategic Leadership Board
Anthony McKeown Non-constituent D2 Strategic Leadership Board
Julie Leigh Non-constituent N2 Economic Prosperity Committee
Paul Peacock Non-constituent N2 Economic Prosperity Committee

Mayor of the East Midlands

[edit]
BERJAYA
Mayor of the East Midlands Claire Ward (Labour)

in 2016 the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016 provided the provisions for combined authorities to establish directly elected mayors to lead their respective regions.

The local authorities in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire voted to proceed with devolution plans, including the establishment of a directly elected mayor of the East Midlands, in March 2023.[19] The first mayor, Claire Ward, was elected on 2 May 2024 in the 2024 East Midlands mayoral election.

Members of Parliament

[edit]
Constituency Local authority Member of Parliament Political party
Amber Valley Derbyshire Linsey Farnsworth Labour Party
Ashfield Nottinghamshire Lee Anderson Reform UK
Bassetlaw Nottinghamshire Jo White Labour Party
Broxtowe Nottinghamshire Juliet Campbell
Bolsover Derbyshire Natalie Fleet
Chesterfield Derbyshire Toby Perkins
Derby North Derby Catherine Atkinson
Derby South Derby Baggy Shanker
Derbyshire Dales Derbyshire John Whitby
Erewash Derbyshire Adam Thompson
Gedling Nottinghamshire Michael Payne
High Peak Derbyshire Jon Pearce
Mansfield Nottinghamshire Steve Yemm
Mid Derbyshire Derby, Derbyshire Jonathan Davies
Newark Nottinghamshire Robert Jenrick Reform UK
North East Derbyshire Derbyshire Louise Sandher-Jones Labour Party
Nottingham East Nottingham Nadia Whittome
Nottingham North and Kimberley Nottingham, Nottinghamshire Alex Norris
Nottingham South Nottingham Lilian Greenwood
Rushcliffe Nottinghamshire James Naish
Sherwood Forest Nottinghamshire Michelle Welsh
South Derbyshire Derbyshire Samantha Niblett

Demography

[edit]

Population

[edit]

The area had a population of 2,284,616 in 2024.[3]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. "Contact Us". East Midlands CCA. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
  2. "Standard Area Measurements for Administrative Areas (December 2023) in the UK". Open Geography Portal. Office for National Statistics. 31 May 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 "Mid-Year Population Estimates, United Kingdom, June 2024". Office for National Statistics. 26 September 2025. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  4. "Everything you need to know about metro mayors". www.centreforcities.org. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
  5. "The East Midlands Combined County Authority Regulations 2024". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  6. "Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire combined authority a step nearer despite setbacks".[permanent dead link]
  7. Scott, Jennifer. "Devolution is dead - so what is the plan for Nottingham's future?".[permanent dead link]
  8. Orton, Amy (5 May 2018). "What you need to know as plans revealed for 'super council'". leicestermercury. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  9. Martin, Dan (27 September 2020). "Photos show damage to M1 in Leicestershire which remains shut". LeicestershireLive. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  10. "First steps taken towards East Midlands Combined Authority | TheBusinessDesk.com". East Midlands. 29 February 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  11. Pritchard, Jon (11 December 2018). "Plan to create 'super council' in Nottinghamshire shelved". nottinghampost. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  12. "EXCLUSIVE: Devo map finds new deals in sight as negotiations begin". Local Government Chronicle (LGC). 7 March 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  13. "East Midlands local economy to be levelled up with historic billion pound devolution deal". Gov.uk. 30 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  14. Murray, Jessica (5 September 2022). "Joint east Midlands mayor plan would 'consign Leicestershire to division two'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  15. "Nottingham - Centre for Cities". Centre for Cities. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  16. "The East Midlands Combined County Authority Regulations 2024". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  17. "The East Midlands Combined County Authority goes live today". D2N2 LEP (Press release). 28 February 2024.
  18. "Membership of the Combined County Authority" (PDF). p. 5. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  19. Boakye, Kwame (31 March 2023). "East Midlands to proceed with devolution deal". Local Government Chronicle (LGC). Retrieved 9 June 2023.
[edit]

Statistics from the Office for National Statistics