HAMPSHIRE County Council’s leader has revived his plan for a ‘combined authority’ – and has warned other council leaders they face financial strife if they do not team up.

Councillor Roy Perry, pictured, has written to borough and district council leaders and bosses at Southampton, Portsmouth and Isle of Wight unitary authorities calling on them to co-operate.

In his letter he says: “I am pleased that in Hampshire we have so far avoided the worst of the problems seemingly being experienced in Northamptonshire, but also in neighbouring counties such as Surrey.

“Nonetheless without significant change those problems will not go away.”

Northamptonshire County Council is on the verge of bankruptcy after issuing a section 114 notice which bans all new spending.

Under Cllr Perry’s proposals, the plans would mean that Hampshire’s existing councils would still carry out their functions but a new layer of government, made up of a joint committee of council leaders, would hold the control of millions of pounds of funding each year, currently in the hands of government ministers.

Representatives from the Solent and M3 local enterprise partnerships as well as South Downs and New Forest national park authorities would also sit on the board responsible for decisions on transport, health and social care and skills and housing across the county.

But Cllr Perry said back office functions such as legal or IT services could be shared across councils in a bid to save cash, which he admitted could lead to job cuts.

Initially, the bid would be for an extra £30m a year from central government to help run the devolved powers.

The idea was first suggested in 2015 but was soon dropped when Southampton, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight developed plans to create a combined authority for the Solent area with funding of £900m over 30 years from the government.

However the deal was dropped after the Isle of Wight Council pulled out in January last year.

Cllr Perry added: “In my discussions with the Secretary of State, Sajid Javid has personally made it clear to me he will only progress a scheme for Hampshire that is supported by the county council as well as the districts.”

Councillor Sean Woodward, leader of Fareham Borough Council, said he would not be supporting the scheme.

Councillor Keith House, leader of Eastleigh Borough Council, said: “A joint arrangement that treated all councils as equals, that could seriously sort out traffic congestion, keep business rates, tackle bed-blocking and deliver a much-needed South Hampshire Greenbelt, would be a different proposition. That’s the challenge for the County Council to consider.”

But Portsmouth City Council leader Donna Jones backed the proposals adding that “speed is of the essence to ensure that the county does not get left behind” in terms of economic growth.

Isle of Wight council leader Dave Stewart stressed that all councils could come together and create a strong bid for a combined authority as long as they realised the changes which took place in 2015.

The motion will put before the county council on Thursday.