Cheshire East joins AGMA
Cheshire East Council will now have a closer working relationship with the Manchester city region after becoming an associate member of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA).
This now means more scope for joint planning with AGMA and a shared strategic approach to policy issues such as housing and spatial planning. It also means the leader of Cheshire East Council will be able to attend AGMA Executive Board meetings, although they will not be able to vote on issues before the board.
Among the areas which AGMA and Cheshire East Council hope to work more closely on are transport, housing, planning, the economy and digital super-connectivity. Last year’s comprehensive Manchester Independent Economic Review report recognised the extent to which the success of the economies in Manchester City Region, Cheshire East and Cheshire North are bound together.
Lord Peter Smith, chair of AGMA, said: “The future of Cheshire East and its economy is inextricably linked with that of the Manchester city region. There are already considerable economic and cultural links between Greater Manchester and Cheshire and a closer working relationship will allow us to explore these further for everyone’s benefit.
“Cheshire East will benefit from the expertise gained through AGMA’s long-established joint working in many areas while AGMA will benefit from a shared strategic approach to important cross-boundary issues.”
Leader of Cheshire East Council, Councillor Wesley Fitzgerald, commented: “This is indeed a great step forward for Cheshire East Council to be working alongside Manchester City Council as part of the AGMA local authority block.
“Cheshire East Council will now have more of a presence within AGMA which means we will be more involved in the economic drive of this region in the future.”
Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool and Warrington councils are existing associate members of AGMA.
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority, the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority, Greater Manchester Police Authority and Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority are also represented.
