Plans for a directly elected mayor covering Dorset, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Somerset and Wiltshire have moved a step closer after the Government invited the four councils to express an interest in creating a Wessex Mayoral Strategic Authority.
Dorset Council, BCP Council, Somerset Council and Wiltshire Council have jointly welcomed the invitation, arguing that devolution could bring greater local decision-making and increased government investment into the region.
The Government is encouraging areas currently without elected mayors to form larger strategic authorities as part of its wider programme of English devolution. A Mayoral Strategic Authority would not replace the existing councils. Instead, it would sit above them, making decisions on issues that cross council boundaries and be led by a directly elected regional mayor.
Under the Government’s new devolution framework, mayoral authorities can receive significant powers over transport, housing, skills, strategic planning, economic development, the environment and aspects of health and public safety. Mayors may also be able to intervene in some major planning applications.
For rural Dorset, the potential prize is greater influence over investment currently controlled from Westminster – particularly transport, skills, housing and infrastructure. A Wessex authority would represent an area stretching from the south coast deep into rural Somerset and Wiltshire, potentially giving it considerably more weight when seeking national funding.
But scale brings its own questions. Dorset Council’s dispersed population, limited public transport and rural economy have very different needs from the urban centres of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, and any future agreement would need to show how funding, priorities and political influence would be balanced across such a large and varied region.
The four council leaders said: ‘A Mayoral Strategic Authority has always been our aim as it would give Wessex the powers and funding that local leaders need to improve transport, housing, skills, infrastructure and lasting economic growth, while strengthening our contribution to the national economy.’
The Government’s invitation is not itself a devolution deal, nor does it mean a Wessex mayor has yet been agreed. The next stage is for the councils to express formal interest and work with Government on the potential arrangements.
If established, however, it would create a significant new tier of regional government, with an elected mayor responsible for strategic decisions across Dorset, BCP, Somerset and Wiltshire alongside the existing councils.
