The
Tyne and Wear County Council was abolished in 1986 alongside other metropolitan county governments. In 2004, a referendum (the
2004 North East England devolution referendum) was held in the North East region to establish a devolved assembly, which was rejected by voters. The North East Combined Authority (NECA) was established in April 2014, including seven councils: Durham, Sunderland, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Newcastle and Northumberland. A
devolution deal was agreed, including the creation of a mayor to be elected in 2017. In September 2016, that deal broke down, as the leaders south of the Tyne were worried about the loss of EU funding, and in 2017 no mayor was elected. From 2 November 2018, the boundaries of NECA were reduced to Durham, Sunderland, Gateshead and South Tyneside. Martin Gannon, leader of
Gateshead Council, said local councils were being forced into the deal and that it did not represent
levelling up; he said he agreed with its introduction nevertheless. The seven local councils approved the final plans for the NECA on 9 November 2023, subject to approval by the chief executives of the councils, to allow for the Secretary of State to make the order for the NECA to be established. The North East Mayoral Combined Authority (Establishment and Functions) Order 2024 was laid before Parliament on 8 February 2024 and was made as a statutory instrument on 20 March 2024. The Order dissolved two combined authorities to create NECA, prescribed the regeneration powers which the new Combined Authority holds and set out the functions which the elected Mayor will control. On 6 March 2024, the Government announced the North East deeper devolution deal, which supersedes the previous devolution deal gave NECA increased devolved powers. == Geography ==