Cheshire West and Chester Council; Cheshire East Council and Warrington Borough Council are currently working together, alongside Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington, to secure a devolution agreement with government.
They believe it would give the area more say in its own future and more power to improve the things that matter to residents and businesses like transport, the economy, and job opportunities.
And today in an open letter, the Cheshire Business Advisory Board- with representation from sectors spanning life sciences, education, energy, tourism, digital and several business representative organisations such as the Cheshire Chambers and CBI, threw their weight behind the devolution push.
Penning the letter on the board’s behalf, its chair Steve Purdham, one of the co-founders behind Cheshire cybersecurity firm SurfControl Plc, one of the UK’s first internet unicorns wrote: “Fundamentally, the business community supports Cheshire & Warrington Devolution and the swift election of a Mayor at the earliest possible time” – adding that “devolution offers the single most significant mechanism we have seen to shape the prosperity of Cheshire & Warrington’s residents and businesses over the next five, ten and twenty years.”
The letter highlights the need to move quickly to avoid seeing financial settlements shrink in future, stressing “funding reserved for mayoral areas is being allocated now” and “every month of hesitation is a month in which real money, jobs and projects flow to our neighbours instead of to Cheshire & Warrington”.
The open letter, which can be read in full here, also says devolution for Cheshire and Warrington was a “a pragmatic opportunity” and an elected mayor would give the region “a voice at the main tables and national and regional forums, such as the Council of Nations and Regions and Committee of Mayors.
Devolution the letter states would see:
- Guaranteed multiyear investment - every mayoral area secures long-term, multimillion pound settlements for transport, brownfield development and skills, funding streams we cannot access today.
- Decisions made locally - a Mayor lets people who understand our economy set priorities on infrastructure, workforce, housing and investment.
- Keeping pace with our neighbours - Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region and others are already turning devolved powers into jobs, better services and greater investment.
Addressing common concerns, the Board clarifies: this is not an extra layer of government but a transfer of existing powers from Whitehall to Cheshire. Local councils retain control over services, while the Mayor will lead on strategic opportunities no single council can tackle alone.
The letter, which includes data on the millions enjoyed by other mayoral combined authorities such as Liverpool and Greater Manchester for things like transport and health adds: “In 2023-24, established MCAs were able to draw on hundreds of millions of pounds in transport, skills and regeneration funds—resources we simply cannot touch until we are in the system. If we delay, we forfeit the ‘Fast-Track’ status that guarantees early access to those larger pots, and there is no assurance the same opportunity will be available in 2027 or beyond.
Urging leaders to get devolution over the line, Mr Purdham concludes: “We are ready to work with the councils and a future Mayor to ensure benefits reach every town, village, community and business.
“We encourage you and all your elected councillor colleagues to put place before politics and seize this opportunity now. In a time of national economic challenge and global uncertainty there is no time to wait.”
For more information about the Cheshire and Warrington devolution programme, visit: cheshireandwarringtondevolution.com
For more information about the Cheshire & Warrington Business Advisory Board visit: www.cwbab.com