The region’s four council leaders have been told to rethink their bid to partially break away from the West of England Combined Authority (Weca). Scrutiny councillors voted 12-0 at an urgent call-in meeting to ask the elected heads of Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset unitary authorities to reconsider their decision amid warnings it could cost the region £600million funding.
Metro mayor Dan Norris said the proposed changes, which would see the leaders effectively seize control of the region’s joint committee and give it an identity distinct from Weca, would be a “huge mistake” and a backwards step that went against recent government announcements. South Gloucestershire Council leader Cllr Toby Savage denied any funding was at risk and said the plans aimed to increase collaboration following a series of high-profile bust-ups over the last 12 months between Mr Norris, who is in charge of Weca, and the council leaders.
The ongoing arguments have created “frustration” among the unitary authority heads that they are not being involved in developing policies. This led to the decision last month for a governance review that will rip up and rewrite the rules of the West of England joint committee, which oversees about £600million of funding, most of which is administered by the local enterprise partnership (LEP) including pots of money that preceded the combined authority’s creation in 2017.
