Chair of Radstock Town Council, Cllr Mike Boulton, has launched two petitions to gauge public feeling towards B&NES Council joining the Combined Mayoral Authority as part of Devolution deals set out by Central Government.

Bath and North East Somerset Council says it has completed a number of consultation events, and found that the majority of people who took part were in favour of having an Elected Mayor oversee the devolving of powers to a combined authority of Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire Councils. However, Cllr Boulton says he does not feel that the consultation reached enough of the region’s electorate – with only 2,011 people out of 132,000 responding to the initial consultation.

This week, he has launched two separate petitions running alongside each other, one in favour of the deal, and one for those that are against. Speaking on the petition site, Cllr Boulton said: “The so-called consultation consisted of events held at a few locations at restricted times, that did not permit a majority of residents access to adequate information, or to express an informed opinion.

“We believe that the exercise did not allow the majority of residents’ opinions to be heard. We are therefore putting out these petitions, for and against, so that a truer picture can be shown.”

Devolution has been causing a stir nationally, as well as locally, after new PM, Theresa May, cast doubt on the future of the Elected Mayor requirement of the deal. Devolving powers to regions was a scheme implemented by former chancellor, George Osborne, which promised regions access to greater funding on the understanding that an Elected Mayor was in place to run the combined authority. It was this stipulation that caused North Somerset Council to reject the scheme and it has been reported that the current cabinet is now rethinking the need for an Elected Mayor as Theresa May is uncertain about their suitability.

A spokesperson for B&NES Council said this week: “The number of people responding across the region was much higher than in similar surveys in other parts of the country. In Liverpool, Sheffield and Greater Manchester they had respectively 41, 245 and 237 responses.

“We held a number of engagement sessions with communities across the area, publicised it in local media, newspapers, social media, our website, and distributed leaflets. In the six weeks it ran, from July 4th, people could take part online, by telephone and in writing.

“Everybody had the opportunity to comment. Indeed some even commented directly to the Secretary of State.

“The results of all the representations, along with any other evidence he has requested, will be considered by Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. If he decides the Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) should go ahead, then it will be up to each of the three authorities to agree individually whether to endorse the plan in October.”

To access the petition in favour of the Devolution deal copy these shortened links into the web address bar: goo.gl/6uVup3 and for the petition against, goo.gl/54a3gf