BCP Council vote to join with Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire councils in new Heart of Wessex authority

BCP Council has decided to join with Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire councils in a new Heart of Wessex combined authority.

Councillors voted in favour of the move after a two hour extraordinary meeting of the full council last night.

An amendment to join Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight was rejected.

Under government plans for devolution across England, the new strategic authority will eventually be presided over by an elected mayor with powers in areas such as transport, employment, skills and health, education and housing.

BCP Council, covering around 500,000 people, had hoped to go it alone but the government’s devolution white paper insisted that the proposed new authorities would need a population of 1.5 million.

If the council had not reached a decision then the government would have decided where BCP Council was best placed.

In a joint statement earlier this month the leaders of Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire councils confirmed they had submitted a letter to government showing collective support for devolution.

They insisted the proposal was not a merger and each council would remain independent.

If Wessex is chosen to join the Devolution Priority Programme, the government will undertake public consultation as part of meeting the statutory tests.

If approved, mayoral elections would take place in May 2026.

 

 


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