South Midlands not included in Government’s devolution programme for now

05 February 2025

West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) is hugely disappointed that the South Midlands has not been chosen for the Government’s Devolution Priority Programme at this stage and that its residents will not yet benefit from the powers and funding that it would have brought.

The Council will however continue to work with Government and our partners towards devolution in the future and discussions will commence shortly on how we secure a devolution deal with the full support of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Governments (MHCLG) in those discussions.

WNC is encouraged by the Government’s commitment to continue to work with us in achieving this ambition.

Councils across the area had hoped to leverage the devolution model to bring millions of pounds of investment into the area during the coming decades, enhancing infrastructure, housing, and employment opportunities.

The Government has been clear that to join the priority programme there needed to be local consensus on the proposed Devolution footprint, and we were disappointed that this could not be achieved at this stage. There was however clear ministerial recognition that the South Midlands Authorities had a strong track record and was viewed as a central corridor for economic growth from a national perspective.

"The South Midlands has a long history of successful collaboration.

“It is now time for leaders across the area to ensure we are speaking with one voice, with the best interests of our residents in mind.

“Devolution offers so many potential benefits, including greater spending power and greater local control over infrastructure, jobs and growth.

“While we’re bitterly disappointed that we have not been successful this time around, we’re eager to work with partners in the other South Midlands Councils to form the consensus the Government needs from us.”

Councillor Adam Brown, Leader of West Northamptonshire Council

Six councils – Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Luton, Milton Keynes, North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire – already work together as part of the South Midlands Authorities.