Bath and North East Somerset Council has chosen to move forward with the £1 billion West of England devolution deal by putting the proposed scheme out to public consultation, following special meetings of the full Council and Cabinet. The deal, which is the largest in the country, is worth over £1,000 per head of population.

On 29th June, members of the Council considered all of the aspects of the offer before agreeing that the proposal presented the best available deal for the people of Bath and North East Somerset and agreed to put forward the deal’s governance scheme for wider public consultation. After the consultation, the results will go back to back to the Secretary of State.

Finally, it comes back to the Council’s Cabinet, who have the final decision on whether to put the devolution deal in place.

This means that the public will have the opportunity to have their say on the scheme, including the Government’s proposal for a West of England Combined Authority Mayor to oversee the devolved arrangements. The principle behind the devolution deal is to hand more funding and powers from Westminster to the West of England – with greater local control over how that money is spent and the ability to deliver key infrastructure projects quicker. It also provides greater opportunities to improve transport, deliver more affordable housing and encourage new investment, economic growth and jobs.

At the meeting, Councillors heard from public speakers in support of the deal, including representatives of the Bath Business Improvement District, Bath Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Bath Residents’ Associations and the South West Transport Network.

Councillor Tim Warren (Conservative, Mendip), Leader of Bath and North East Somerset Council, said: “This has been a very complex decision for all concerned. After many months of negotiations with Government, we have secured the best possible deal for our area – one that far outweighs any other devolution deal done elsewhere in the country, both in terms of the funding secured and safeguards in place to protect the absolute autonomy of B&NES Council. It’s important to make clear that this deal does not mean the merger of any Councils – it does not impact upon any of our Council assets or services. It is purely about handing funding and powers down from Government, not up from the Council.

“Not only does this deal unlock a billion pounds of funding for our area, it also brings decision-making powers, on issues that were previously held in Westminster, closer to local communities and ensures that we continue to be at the top table when there are new opportunities to receive funding and investment from central Government. I am also pleased that, as part of the deal, we have also secured an additional commitment from the Government to consider further investment in our enterprise zones and a commitment to study the options to link the A36 and A46. Councillors considered all aspects of this deal very carefully and decided that, on balance, it is the right thing to put the scheme to residents for consultation. It’s now over to the public to have their say.”

The Council understands that both Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council have also agreed to put forward the scheme for public consultation, which will be undertaken jointly by the three authorities.

However, Liberal Democrat Councillors have raised concerns over governance and consultation issues with the deal. Lib Dem Group Leader, Councillor Dine Romero (Lib Dem, Southdown), commented: “I do not believe you should sign deals in times of uncertainty. This decision feels rushed through against a backdrop of chaos in national Government. We have no idea whether the next ministers will honour this agreement or indeed whether they will insist on a Metro Mayor. Do we really want to accept another layer of bureaucracy, when this could be avoided?”

Councillor Paul Myers, Chair of the B&NES Conservative Group, said: “By attempting to block these proposals, the Lib Dems nearly managed to cost our area £1 billion in much-needed investment and deprive residents of the chance to have their say on the plans.

“There will be aspects to these proposals that people like and aspects they don’t. It’s no secret that we aren’t big fans of the idea of a Regional Mayor, but we have secured a number of important safeguards to protect the autonomy of each council area and ensure that this does not see a return to Avon. With so much investment on offer to our area, it would be wrong not to at least let the public have their say.”

The consultation will run from Monday, 4th July until 15th August and is being run jointly by Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire councils – meaning residents from all three geographic areas will be invited to take part.

If it is agreed that the MCA (Mayoral Combined Authority) should go ahead, it would be established in the first part of 2017, with elections for the position of West of England Mayor to take place across all three local government areas – Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire – in May 2017.

Residents across the three areas are being asked to provide feedback on four key areas of the proposed devolution deal: Decision making, Place (transport and housing), People (adult education and skills), and Business.

How to have your say: Online at: www.westofenglanddevolution.co.uk

Paper copies of the survey will be available from local libraries, Customer Service Points and One Stop Shops from 14 July – or by calling 0117 922 2848. Other formats such as braille are also available by calling 0117 922 2848. An audio version is also available on the website.

There will also be a number of road shows for the public to find out more information. These will be held on: Monday, 25th July, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m., The Community Space, Keynsham, Monday, 8th

August, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m., The Library, Chew Valley School, Chew Magna and Tuesday, 9th August, 6 p.m. –8 p.m., The Somer Centre, Gullock Tyning, Midsomer Norton, as well as a number of venues in Bath.