Coventry City Council backs West Midlands combined authority plan

Coventry City Council voted to support the move for a combined authority at a meeting on Monday

Coventry has moved a step closer to joining the proposal for a West Midlands combined authority.

The city council voted to support the move in principle on Monday.

The councils controlling Birmingham, Walsall, Sandwell, Wolverhampton and Dudley have already backed the plan. Solihull could also follow suit.

Coventry City Council leader Ann Lucas said it was about moving power "from Whitehall to the West Midlands - not from Coventry to Birmingham".

Birmingham has one of the largest local authorities in Europe

"I think that councils across the West Midlands working together to make decisions about major investment in things like transport can make much better decisions for Coventry than government officials in London can," she said.

Council leaders have previously said the combined authority, which could serve four million people, would help attract hundreds of millions of pounds worth of investment.

The regional agreement follows the similar formation of Greater Manchester, where leaders of 10 councils work together as part of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

But council leaders have ruled out calling the proposed West Midlands partnership "Greater Birmingham Council".

A Solihull Council statement said: "The council's position is to continue thinking about the potential for a combined authority intelligently, carefully and based on sound evidence."