West of England Combined Authority

West of England Combined Authority
West of England Combined Authority within South West England
Type
Type
Houses Unicameral
Term limits
 None
History
Founded 9 February 2017
Leadership
Interim chair
Matthew Riddle, Conservative
Structure
Elections
Indirect election, directly elected mayor from 2017
Last election
 4 May 2017
Next election
 2021
Meeting place
Engine Shed, Station Approach,
Bristol Temple Meads station
Website
https://www.westofengland-ca.org.uk/

The West of England Combined Authority is a combined authority within the West of England area, consisting of the local authorities of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset.[1][2] The combined authority is led by the Mayor of the West of England. The first election for this post took place in May 2017,[3] when the Conservative candidate Tim Bowles was chosen on a turnout of 29.7%.

Background

Devolution of certain powers to the West of England was announced in the 2016 budget.[4] The government's vision was to create a "Western Powerhouse" analogous to the Northern Powerhouse concept. The proposal could bring nearly £1 billion of investment to the region over thirty years.[1][2]

The original proposal was to cover the same area as the County of Avon which came into formal existence on 1 April 1974 and was abolished in 1996.[5] However, in June 2016 North Somerset council rejected the proposal.[6] Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire councils agreed to progress with the proposal.[3][7]

The West of England Combined Authority Order 2017 came into force on 9 February 2017. The first public meeting of the combined authority took place on 1 March 2017 with an interim chair.[8][9]

The region covered by the authority had a population in 2015 estimated at 1,119,000.[10]

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the mayor and combined authority are:[11]

  • Responsibility for a consolidated, devolved local transport budget, with a multi-year settlement.
  • The ability to franchise bus services, subject to necessary legislation and local consultation, which will support the Combined Authority's delivery of smart and integrated ticketing.
  • Responsibility for a new Key Route Network of local authority roads that will be managed and maintained by the Combined Authority on behalf of the Mayor.
  • Powers over strategic planning, including to adopt a statutory spatial development strategy which will act as the framework for managing planning across the West of England region.
  • Control of a new additional £30 million a year funding allocation over 30 years, to be invested in the West of England Single Investment Fund, to boost growth.
  • Responsibility for the 19+ Adult Education budget, which will be devolved from academic year 2018/19.

Cabinet

The membership of the combined authority cabinet is as follows.[12]

Name Position Assumed office
Tim Bowles Mayor of the West of England (West of England Combined Authority) 2017
Cllr Tim Warren Leader of Bath & North East Somerset Council
Mayor Marvin Rees Mayor of Bristol (Bristol City Council) 2016
Cllr Matthew Riddle[note] Leader of South Gloucestershire Council

^ Matthew Riddle was chosen to be interim chair of the combined authority until the first elected mayor took office on 8 May 2017, and Marvin Rees was chosen to be vice-chair.[13]

Local government

The combined authority consists of the following unitary authorities:

Unitary Authority Population Area (sq mi) Population Density (per km²)
Bath & North East Somerset 182,021 135.57 518
Bristol 449,300 40 3,892
South Gloucestershire 271,556 191.87 550

References

  1. 1 2 "West of England £1bn devolution deal announced in Budget". BBC News. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 Gavin Thompson (16 March 2016). "Metro mayor and £1 billion investment for Greater Bristol announced in Budget 2016". Bristol Post. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 "The West of England devolution deal". Bristol City Council. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  4. ↑ "Budget 2016" (PDF). GOV.UK. HM Treasury. March 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  5. ↑ "The return of Avon: Osborne announces devolution plans". ITV news. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  6. ↑ Crawley, James (8 June 2016). "West of England devolution: North Somerset rejects metro mayor plan". Bath Chronicle.
  7. ↑ Crawley, James (29 June 2016). "BANES backs £1billion west of England devolution deal and metro mayor but will residents support it?". Bath Chronicale. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  8. ↑ "First meeting set for newly established West of England Combined Authority". Bath Echo. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  9. ↑ UK Parliament. West of England Combined Authority Order as made, from legislation.gov.uk.
  10. ↑ "Population dynamics of UK city regions since mid-2011". Office for National Statistics. 12 October 2016.
  11. ↑ "West of England Devolution Agreement" (PDF). Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  12. ↑ "'Metro mayor' to run new West of England authority". ITV News. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  13. ↑ "First WECA Committee Meeting". West of England Combined Authority. 1 March 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
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