The Budget statement included confirmation of the government’s support for devolution for Wessex. This is a significant vote of confidence in our region and recognition that decisions affecting local people are best made closer to their communities.
The four Wessex unitary councils – Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, and BCP – have consistently argued for devolution. We want to ensure that the key decisions affecting the people and future of Wessex are shaped here, rather than in Whitehall. With government increasingly ringfencing funding and decision-making to regional Strategic Authorities, we want to secure a fair share for our residents and businesses.
Joint statement from Councillor Millie Earl, Leader of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council; Councillor Nick Ireland, Leader of Dorset Council; Councillor Bill Revans, Leader of Somerset Council; and Councillor Ian Thorn, Leader of Wiltshire Council.
“We warmly welcome the Chancellor’s commitment today to support devolution for Wessex in the Autumn Budget Statement. This is a significant vote of confidence in our region and recognition that decisions affecting local people are best made closer to the communities they serve.
“We have consistently made a strong case for devolution in Wessex because we believe local people, businesses and communities are best placed to shape the future of our region.
“For residents, it means greater local control over decisions affecting transport, housing, skills, regeneration and economic growth, enabling new, significant funding and investment to be directed towards the priorities that matter most to our communities.
“For Wessex, devolution has the potential to help create better-paid jobs, support our town centres and high streets, improve access to skills and training and strengthen transport connections. Above all, it is about ensuring that decisions affecting the future of Wessex are shaped here.
“Elsewhere in England, devolution has already opened up significant benefits for residents and businesses. For residents, this devolution deal could mean tackling the local housing crisis by building the right homes in the right places, improved infrastructure that will better link our communities, better jobs, better protection for our precious environment and more powers to reinvent our town centres as places where businesses want to invest and people want to be.
“Wessex is ready. We have done the groundwork and look forward to continuing to work closely with Government on an agreement that delivers lasting benefits for our residents, businesses and communities for generations.”
Three of the region’s leading accredited county chambers of commerce – including Dorset – have joined forces to launch the Wessex Chamber Alliance.
It is a new strategic partnership designed to provide a strong, coordinated and representative voice for business across the Wessex region.
Bringing together Business West, Dorset Chamber of Commerce and Somerset Chamber of Commerce, the Alliance has been established as discussions around devolution and future governance arrangements gather pace across the South West.
The partnership will ensure that the views and experience of businesses are embedded in conversations about economic growth, infrastructure, skills, investment and long-term prosperity.
Representing thousands of businesses across the wider Wessex economy, the Alliance will work collaboratively with government, local authorities and other regional partners to help shape a prosperous future for the region.
It will provide evidence, insight and business intelligence to inform policy and decision making while championing the interests of employers of all sizes and sectors.
The Alliance’s priorities will include developing shared business priorities for the region, responding collectively to consultations and major initiatives, supporting economic growth and competitiveness and ensuring businesses have a meaningful voice as future governance structures emerge.
A joint statement from Dorset Chamber chief executive Ian Girling, Douglas Ure, chief executive of Business West, and David Crew, managing director of Somerset Chamber of Commerce, said:
“Devolution presents a once in a generation opportunity to shape the future of the Wessex economy. Businesses create jobs, attract investment, develop skills and generate prosperity in communities across our region, so it is essential that their voice is heard as plans develop.
“The Wessex Chamber Alliance has been created to provide a constructive and coordinated business voice that can work alongside government, local authorities and other partners.
“Our ambition is to ensure that employers are involved in shaping regional priorities from the outset and that decision makers have access to real time business insight grounded in the experiences of firms operating across the region.
“Our role is not to duplicate existing structures but to bring together the collective expertise, reach and influence of the chamber network to support sustainable economic growth and help unlock the full potential of the Wessex region.”
The launch is accompanied by an open letter from the three chambers calling for business to have a formal and meaningful role in the development and governance of any future Wessex devolution settlement.
The letter argues that devolution can only deliver its full potential if business is embedded in decision making from the beginning rather than being consulted after key decisions have already been made.
Employers across the region continue to face challenges including planning delays, infrastructure constraints, skills shortages and barriers to investment.
The Alliance believes addressing these issues successfully requires the practical insight of the businesses that experience them every day.
The open letter calls on local authorities, prospective devolution partners and Government to ensure business has a clear and influential voice in shaping the future of the region.
All three of the chambers are accredited to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
With around 100 members any business in Dorset can join Dorchester Chamber from business for £60p/a (no VAT).
