HAMPSHIRE’S council leaders have united to win fresh powers so they can form a “Southern powerhouse”.

Top level talks have been talking place over proposals to grab control over millions of pounds of funding for transport, skills and health from Whitehall.

And Hampshire’s 15 council leaders will now all write to the Government to make sure the Solent isn’t left behind when the new powers are dished out.

The discussions over a proposed Solent “Combined Authority” were first revealed in the Daily Echo last year.

Council leaders say the plans would not see the South’s existing councils vanish, but instead a new layer of Government, formed by council leaders, who would hold control of millions of pounds of funding each year, currently in the hands of Government ministers.

They are looking to follow the example of Greater Manchester – dubbed the “Northern powerhouse” by Chancellor George Osborne – which has grabbed control over the region’s £6bn health budget, a £300 million housing fund and £500 million of skills spending.

And if a Solent “super authority” is created there could be elections for a “metro mayor” to oversee it. following on from what has been laid out by Mr Osborne as the blueprint for areas wanting devolution.

Civic chiefs in Hampshire may look to have complete control over how budgets for health and social care, transport and infrastructure and local skills, further education and adult learning are spent, allowing them to put money where it is seen as most needed.

At the moment there is still uncertainty over what area a “Southern powerhouse” would cover, with some council leaders previously saying it should be the south of Hampshire and others saying it should be the whole county.

But now the leaders of Hampshire County Council, Southampton and Portsmouth city councils, the county’s 15 district councils and the Isle of Wight Council have all agreed to write to the Government about bringing forward plans, with the exact wording expected to be agreed over the next week.

Daily Echo:

Southampton City Council leader Simon Letts, above, said: “The general feeling was that if we didn’t crack on, every other region would be past us and we would be at the back of the queue. and while other areas would have powers allocated to them we would be sat on our hands We need to get this Southern powerhouse moving – just as the North is a place that can push on with economic development, so can the South.”

Daily Echo:

County council leader Roy Perry, above, added: “There is cross-party and cross-county support. There’s no suggestion about changing the boundaries or functions of existing councils. It’s about getting extra power over things like transport, skills and health.

“It is a historichistory opportunity and I think we are all agreed that all of us in the South are just as capable and confident of seizing this opportunity as anyone in the North.”