The devolution revolution sweeping the south

The publication of the Government’s English Devolution White Paper in December has lit the touch paper on what is arguably the biggest shake-up of local government in a generation.??

The Government’s devolution revolution includes a couple of key strands, most notably: a major distribution of power from central government in the form of new Mayoral Strategic Authorities; and a shake-up of local government via the creation of new Unitary Authorities.??

Historically devolution has been a North-dominated affair, with regions like Greater Manchester, Liverpool and the North East all having mature devolution agreements in place. Around 90% of those living in the North of England are covered by some form of devolution arrangement, compared with just 46% in the South of England.??

However, against the Labour Government’s mantra of “devolution by default” the agenda is now set to permeate all parts of the country, and many local authorities in the South are now racing to catch up via the Government’s Devolution Priority Programme (DPP).??

Here’s a round-up from across the South.?

“Devolution by default”?

The White Paper provided a roadmap to distribute power away from central government via ‘universal coverage’ of ‘strategic authorities’ – chiefly involving proposals for new arrangements for directly elected mayors, known as Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MSA).??

New regional MSAs will need to have a minimum population of around 1.5 million people and must be formed of a partnership of multiple local Councils. Councils cannot access a devolution deal and new MSA on their own; a partnership is required.?

The Government has made it clear, that it wants to see all of England benefit from devolution. Therefore, it set a deadline of 10 January 2025 for local authorities to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) in joining the Government’s Devolution Priority Programme (DPP) – and ten local authorities in the South of England so far have submitted an EOI.??

The DPP is designed to allow local areas to ‘fast-track’ the structural changes necessary to accelerate new devolution deals, that includes being able to move quickly on local Government restructuring and the creation of simpler, Unitary Councils. In some cases, an authority’s inclusion onto this programme will result in local elections scheduled in May 2025 being postponed.??

The death knell for district and county councils?

Alongside this, in a surprise move for many in local government, the White Paper also set out proposals for a major wave of local government reorganisation – with the Government proposing a sweeping programme to accelerate structural changes from ‘two-tier’ County and District Councils, which will be dissolved, to new Unitary Councils with a minimum 500,000 population.??

Given that many parts of the South are covered by a range of complex, multi-tiered Council structures that have been in place since 1974, this is set to have a major impact. The reorganisation of local government could see the abolition of hundreds of current local planning authorities, which will represent a major shake-up in how planning decisions are made.??

Movers and shakers in the South?

With the majority of previous Mayoral devolution deals having been agreed in the Midlands and North of England, inevitably there are a high volume of applications for this latest round of devolution from Councils in the South, as remaining non-Mayoral areas are compelled to catch up with their Northern counterparts.?

Of those areas that have expressed an interest in joining the DPP, Cavendish understands that this currently includes: Hampshire; Essex; Gloucestershire; Kent; Norfolk; Suffolk; East and West Sussex; Oxfordshire and Surrey. The finer details of their respective organisation plans remain unclear. However, many have all asked for their respective County elections to be postponed in May 2025.??

Many others are believed to be having similar conversations, such as Devon County Council who have meetings scheduled to discuss local government reorganisation, but it is not yet clear what recommendations have been made.?

It’s understood that Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Dorset, Wiltshire and Somerset Councils have launched a ‘heart of Wessex’ MSA bid – further details are expected shortly, but these authorities benefit from being one step ahead of other areas because they are already Unitary Authorities.?

Strong opposition to reorganisation has been voiced in Hertfordshire, where ten of the county's District and Borough Councils issued a statement to oppose a single Unitary Authority. The lack of local consensus seems to have hindered this ambition and so it appears that Hertfordshire will not be in the fast-track DPP.?

Next steps??

It is expected that local authorities will receive confirmation whether they have been accepted onto the DPP by 31 January 2025. They will then have until March 2025 to submit interim plans for new structures. This first step is essential (and now required by central Government) before any further devolution deal can advance.?

The Government will then undertake a consultation on the proposals over the summer and it is expected that local authorities will make final decisions in the Autumn. Elections to both newly formed Councils and for new regional Mayors are set to take place between 2026 and 2028.?

Analysis??

We can therefore expect months of debate and discourse as each area looks to knit together a plan for how their new-look governance structure will operate. We should have an initial flavour of what these new unitary authorities will look like by the Spring, but in many local authority areas it will likely be difficult to bring together diverse communities with competing priorities in such a short period of time.??

It is certainly the most drastic shake-up of local government for authorities in the south for a generation. It appears that they are on the verge of grasping opportunities previously afforded to Northern authorities, as they look to benefit from new powers to define their own priorities.??

Across the local authorities in the South, just as in the rest of the country, there is a general theme (though not universal) that upper-tier (County) Councils typically are vocally pro-restructuring and unitarisation, whilst lower-tier (Districts and Boroughs) are more likely to have expressed concern or opposition.??

This will almost certainly be the case in terms of planning – many district-led authorities have expressed reluctance to give up their powers to a new unitary authority, that they feel could override local interests in favour of meeting mandatory house-building targets.??

This has been one of the most controversial issues that has stalled devolution talks for many southern authorities over the last two decades, as tensions have remained between semi-rural and urban areas in southern shires, with fears over development on the Green Belt. It remains to be seen how these competing priorities can be resolved.??

Learn more??

As the details emerge in the Spring, at Cavendish we’ll keep you updated as these negotiations and discussions take place. In the meantime, Cavendish in partnership with the Land, Planning & Development Federation (LPDF) is holding a Devolution and Spatial Planning Webinar on Monday 10th February between 4.00pm – 5.00pm. The upcoming webinar will seek to unpack these topics in greater detail, with a panel of key industry and political speakers. You can register for the event here.?

Written by,

Ben Farnes | Senior Account Manager