Coventry moves closer to joining a combined authority

REPORTS this morning suggest Coventry City Council is warming to the idea of joining forces with local authorities in Birmingham and the Black Country in a combined authority.

Such an enlarged group is understood to be essential if the region is to receive the same devolved powers to control its own destiny in areas such as economic development and transport that Greater Manchester has received.

Four Black Country councils and Birmingham City Council have already agreed to create a combined authority but the inclusion of Coventry and, potentially, Solihull would immeasurably strengthen the region’s hand when approaching the Government in search of a larger degree of autonomy.

A report on the Coventry Telegraph newspaper’s website quotes the city’s council leader Ann Lucas as saying that the city risks being left behind if politicians cannot come to an agreement over what any combined authority should look like.

And in a vote last night in the city’s council house, Coventry City Council’s controlling Labour group agreed in principle to support a move towards joining forces with Birmingham.