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New county economy chief ‘looking forward’ to working with East Midlands mayor but has ‘no idea’ about their existing relationship

By Lauren Monaghan, Junior Local Democracy Reporter, Andrew Topping and Lucy Marshall

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The councillor responsible for driving economic growth in Nottinghamshire says he has “no idea, genuinely”, about existing relationships between the county council and regional leaders.

Councillor James Walker-Gurley (Ref), Nottinghamshire County Council’s new cabinet member for economic development and asset management, says he’s yet to meet with officials from the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) eight weeks after getting elected.

The new Reform politician was selected to drive growth and deliver regeneration projects in the county following the party’s local election victory in May.

And he says he’s “looking forward to working with EMCCA on a range of issues such as transport, skills and economic development, to bring investment into the county”.

However, in an interview with Notts TV and the Local Democracy Reporting Service last Friday (June 20), he stated he has “no idea” what the existing relationship is like between the two authorities.

EMCCA is the devolved authority led by Labour mayor Claire Ward, made up of representatives from Derby and Nottingham city councils, and Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire county councils.

It has been established for more than a year following Ms Ward’s mayoral election victory in May 2024.

When asked what the relationship between a Reform-led county council and EMCCA could look like moving forward, Cllr Walker-Gurley paused, before responding: “I don’t know what to say to that.

“We’re just working closely with them.”

He was then pressed on whether he thinks the relationship already developed between the two authorities is a good one.

In response, he said: “I have no idea, genuinely. I have no idea.

“I’ve not met with anyone from EMCCA yet, genuinely, so I have no idea.”

Cllr Walker-Gurley, who’s paid about £42,000 per year for his roles as a councillor and cabinet member, is responsible for working with other authorities across EMCCA to drive economic growth across the region.

This includes representing Nottinghamshire County Council on EMCCA committee meetings and pushing for regeneration funding to support major projects in the county.

Nottinghamshire County Council overall is responsible for roads, schools and social care across the county, and has a budget of about £640 million a year.

Explaining the party’s regional priorities while reading from a piece of paper, Cllr Walker-Gurley said: “We’re going to be ensuring that our current major highways schemes are funded and delivered in order to provide effective travel along our major road corridors.

“We’ve got a major road network scheme which will see a number of junctions along the route being upgraded, with the aim of reducing congestion at key intersections.

“That is the A614, A6097 major road network scheme.

“We’ll be providing more traffic capacity for the future, it will support economic growth and housing delivery in the local area, and enhance the strategic road network and support other road users by improving facilities for pedestrians and cyclists.”

He was then asked which local regeneration project was a top priority for residents.

“Ollerton roundabout, for sure,” he said.

When asked why this was a priority, he replied: “I don’t know, it just needs fixing.”

Oak House – the council’s new headquarters near Hucknall and Linby – also falls under Cllr Walker-Gurley’s remit, being an asset.

The previous Conservative authority had its first Full Council meeting in the new HQ in March 2025.

At the time, the decision to host the meeting was criticised by opposition councillors, due the building not being finished.

The previous Labour group also proposed an amendment earlier this year to the Tories to sell Oak House and keep the authority’s democratic functions at the historic County Hall in West Bridgford, citing reasons such as it being less remote and the part-leasing County Hall to developers.

When asked about this on Friday, Cllr Walker-Gurley said: “You know, we’ve got a lot of choice. We’ve got some great buildings.

“Oak house is a fantastic building that could be put to use in a number of different ways. I don’t know what I’m allowed to say…. but I don’t think we’ll be getting rid of it.

“I think there are some great opportunities with both [buildings]… to split them. We have to keep a big eye on the local government reorganisation, because that’s going to have a huge effect on decisions we make.”

When asked about retaining democratic services at County Hall, he replied the council are “not quite there” with that decision.

“There is a lot to consider. There’s different people working from home – that needs to be looked at as well – and all of these decisions are not far away so you’ll get some updates soon,” he added.