A BID to set up a new unitary authority to invest millions of pounds in the Solent area has been dismissed by the government.

Dubbed ‘Solent City’, Southampton, Portsmouth and Isle of Wight councils applied in 2016 to create a body to boost economic growth - a move controversially supported by East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) whose then leader, Ferris Cowper, was keen that East Hampshire should be part of this southern initiative.

By taking this view, Mr Cowper fell out with Hampshire County Council leader Roy Perry, who was pushing for a unitary authority which would replace both the county council and Hampshire’s 11 district councils, among them EHDC.

The difference of opinion was sparked by pressure from central government to change local government structure with the introduction of unitary authorities and the devolution of services.

Mr Perry’s concern was that if a unitary Solent City was to be established it would, almost certainly, lead to the break up of Hampshire County Council and the division of the county.

But last week the Solent City bid was declared “dead in the water”.

According to Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan, the decision had emerged in a letter to him from Devolution Minister Jake Berry, which said the bid was no longer being considered.

He said: “I was very disappointed to hear the devolution plans were no longer being considered and even more disappointed that the government hadn’t even told the councils.

“This scrapping of our bid without notification is a kick in the teeth for Portsmouth and means our city missing out on millions in much-needed funding.”

Portsmouth City Council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson added: “Previously the government was pushing this as the solution to meet the needs of our area but, if they have now dismissed it, they need to provide something to take its place.”

The Solent Combined Authority intended to use government grants to create jobs and increase income from business rates. Previously, Hampshire County Council opposed the bid, saying it would lead to the “dismantling of vital county-wide services”.

While Mr Cowper was unavailable for comment, Mr Perry said of the decision: “I am not surprised to learn that the Government has finally confirmed that the Solent Combined Authority proposal is not being supported.

“I naturally share the desire of my fellow leaders and their authorities to secure better investment in our area but I was always dubious about promises stretching over 30 years.

“The suggested Solent area was far smaller than other devolution deals – and much of the infrastructure investment needed to help the economy of the Solent part of Hampshire is needed outside the immediate Solent area.

“For instance, the main problem on the M3 and motorway access to Southampton from the Midlands is at junction nine of the M3 at Winchester.

“Rail improvement for Southampton and Portsmouth requires track improvements up country at Woking and Wimbledon for example. A Solent combined authority could have led to a carve-up of the county. Disrupting a county like Hampshire would be a very expensive and time-consuming exercise to no-one’s benefit.”

Mr Perry continued: “Unfortunately, the economy in the part of the county in the Solent LEP area is not performing as well as in the rest of the county.

“Back in 1998, according to Office for National Statistics data, the two cities accounted for 49.5 per cent of the Solent economy, but by 2015 that had decreased to 46.2 per cent. GVA per head in Southampton was 17.1 per cent above the UK average in 1998, but by 2015 it fell to 3.9 per cent below the UK average. Preliminary data suggests it was 7.1 per cent below in 2016.

“That is one of the reasons that the county council is strongly recommending that Government should merge the Solent and the EM3 Local Enterprise Partnerships in the current review.

“We are definitely stronger together. My own determination is that now this difficult episode is over, which to my mind was never about real devolution or meaningful investment by Government, the existing authorities, cities and island, county and districts, can work together to make the case for our area which is so essential both to our communities and to the nation.”