Portsmouth City Council leader 'blindsided' over controversial Solent devolution deal announcement

An interesting view of the Guildhall reflected in the windows of the Civic Offices by Adele Mallows

The leader of Portsmouth City Council said he was 'blindsided' by an announcement from Hampshire County Council that it had been given a 'clear steer' from the government that it supported a controversial devolution deal.

In a statement released on Thursday, the county council said it would now work with Portsmouth, Southampton and Isle of Wight councils on the creation of a single ‘southern powerhouse’.

But Councillor Steve Pitt, who together with the leaders of the other two unitary authorities in the county, has continued to oppose the pan-Hampshire arrangement and said he was ‘not impressed’ by the announcement.

‘Hampshire County Council really jumped the gun on this and it’s safe to say we’re not impressed by that,’ he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.’

A Solent deal need not exclude a county deal and we wrote to the government about that. But instead of replying to our letter, they apparently had briefings with the county council behind our backs.

‘Devolution is meant to be about taking power out of the government’s hands and being able to use it locally. That wouldn’t happen with a county deal and that’s been made clear by the last three leaders of the city council.

‘The three unitaries cover areas that have very different priorities to those in the rural north of the county.’

The long-running devolution debate in Hampshire has sewn deep divisions between the two sides and prompted a series of delays by the government and in 2018 it scrapped plans for the Solent Combined Authority.

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Cllr Pitt is due to meet with the leaders of Southampton and Isle of Wight councils in the next two weeks to discuss the government’s decision.

But the leader of the county council, Rob Humby, said a single devolution deal covering the whole of Hampshire was the best approach.

He said: ‘Pan-Hampshire is a genuine southern powerhouse, combining towns, cities, people, and businesses that are part of a nationally and internationally important economic area.

‘A pan-Hampshire county deal would make a significant contribution to Hampshire’s economic prosperity. It would stimulate economic recovery, regeneration, and business growth across the area, as well as the wider region, now and for the future.’