A DEBATE into creating a combined authority for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight was due to be launched today.

In a motion due to be set before full council, Hampshire County Council leader Roy Perry will look at revising the county’s bid to create what some have dubbed a ‘super council’ which has the potential to unlock up to £1bn of future government cash for the area.

A council spokesman said the motion urges “district local authority partners in the county of Hampshire, and the unitary authorities of Portsmouth, Southampton and the Isle of Wight, to re-engage and return to the original prospectus for a combined authority for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight that we all agreed to in September 2015 together with the two LEPs and two national parks, and re-submit to the Government with additional focus on the challenges of the economy, housing and health”.

It follows a letter sent to all 11 district council leaders, including East Hampshire District Council, alerting them to the motion.

But Mr Perry has made it clear that “contrary to some recent claims, at no point have I stated that I wish to re-open talks on a mayoral combined authority”.

And he added: “I strongly believe there is scope for enhancing the original combined authority bid to cover more co-operation between all tiers of local government, on housing delivery and with the health authorities, particularly for social care, but this would be in the context of a combined authority not a mayoral combined authority or a unitary council.

“I have spoken with Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State, and he was quite clear that he would not wish to impose anything that would not have Hampshire County Council’s agreement. He also knows our concern that if a unitary Solent City were to be established, that could, and almost certainly would, lead to the division of Hampshire.”

Mr Perry continued: “Disrupting a county like Hampshire would be a very expensive and time-consuming exercise. It would also devastate some of the best local government services in the country.

“I am sure we can make significant economies with a combined authority (while still keeping local councils) by more shared service delivery between the county and districts.

“There is a need for speeding up housing delivery, and it is the county council, with its responsibility for highways and education, that has the scale and capacity and capital funds and flexibility to speed up that delivery.

“We are already working more closely with the NHS, but there is scope for even closer integration, but we need the same footprint – ie a pan Hampshire and Isle of Wight footprint for local government without disrupting existing arrangements for health, police and fire.”

He went on: “My view is that it is Hampshire’s scale and capacity that has enabled it to avoid the really severe financial problems being faced in other parts of the country, such as in Northamptonshire.

“I am well aware that there have been differing agendas on these issues, and I will of course fully respect any unitary authority which chooses not to engage in this proposal. However, I feel that a Hampshire-wide approach offers the best and only realistic opportunity of a platform for real devolution to aid economic development, including in the cities and on the island, while benefiting all residents.”