Warwickshire County Council rejects combined authority

The proposal to join the combined authority was rejected by 30 votes to 20

Warwickshire county councillors have voted against joining the West Midlands Combined Authority.

They have decided to continue to explore a closer working relationship between the council and Coventry.

Seven authorities - Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton - want more devolved powers from the government.

The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce had backed those plans, hoping transport links would benefit.

'Not walk away'

The proposal to join the combined authority was rejected by 30 votes to 20 at the Shire Hall in Warwick.

The Conservative leader of Warwickshire County Council, Izzi Seccombe, said: "We want to build on the success of the last few years, we will not walk away from Coventry."

Coventry City Council voted to support the move to the West Midlands Combined Authority in principle in May.

There was concern among Warwickshire councillors that Birmingham's issues would be prioritised over the other authorities.

The Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise, Anna Soubry MP, said: "This way of working is a new way of working, and the idea that one place will dominate is absolutely not the way it will be."

Warwickshire County Council decided to continue to explore a closer working relationship with Coventry

Public consultation in the West Midlands, which started in July, will run until September.

The government would then carry out its own consultation process from November until January, a spokesman for the combined authorities has said.

If approved, the new combined council could serve four million people.

The plans follow the similar situation in Greater Manchester, where leaders of 10 councils work together as part of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.