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Joint meeting - West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee - Friday, 5th June, 2026 1.00 pm
June 5, 2026 at 1:00 pm Joint meeting - West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee View on council websiteSummary
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The West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee met on Friday 5 June 2026, approving the West of England Investment Plan 2026 and noting the publication of the West of England Investment Prospectus. The committee also supported the Mayor's intention to apply for Established Mayoral Strategic Authority (EMSA) status, a move that would unlock further devolved powers and funding.
Key decisions made during the meeting included the approval of the West of England Investment Plan 2026, which outlines the region's strategic priorities for growth and investment over the next decade. The committee also supported the Mayor's intention to formally apply for Established Mayoral Strategic Authority (EMSA) status, a move that would grant the region access to the highest level of devolution currently available in England. Additionally, the committee approved plans to establish an interim delivery team and a Mayoral Development Zone (MDZ) for the Brabazon and West Innovation Arc new town project, aiming to accelerate progress and secure future development. The committee also noted the receipt of a £45 million allocation from the Brownfield Housing Fund, which will be used to support the accelerated delivery of homes on stalled brownfield sites across the region.
The meeting also addressed the Mayoral Combined Authority and Mayoral Budget Outturn for 2025/26, noting the final outturn positions for both revenue and capital budgets. The Investment Fund Programme and Grant Assurance was updated, with the committee delegating authority for approving the Full Business Case for the Distribution Hub and allocating £5 million to create a Nature Recovery Fund. Furthermore, the committee approved changes to schemes within the current Investment Fund programme and agreed to allow flexibility in moving CRSTS risk budgets between projects. The West of England Investment Plan 2026 was approved, and the publication of the West of England Investment Prospectus was noted. The committee also approved the West of England Skills Strategy, a key document outlining the region's approach to developing a skilled workforce. Finally, the committee supported the Mayor's intention to consent to the submission of a formal proposal to expand the West of England Combined Authority to incorporate North Somerset Council. The Hicks Gate Masterplan was endorsed as a non-statutory planning framework, and the revised Corporate Risk Management Framework was approved. The Audit Committee Annual Report 2025/26 and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report 2025/26 were both noted. The Joint Committee Budget Outturn for 2025/26 was also noted, along with the approval of change requests for schemes within the Economic Development Fund and Revolving Infrastructure Fund programmes.
Delegated decisions linked to this meeting
Decision summaries below are AI-generated from the council’s published record. Check the council source or the full decision page before relying on them.
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Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report 2025/26
Recommendations ApprovedThe Executive Director of Transport approved the Full Business Case for Bath City Centre Phase 2 and awarded £377,000 of CRSTS funding to Bath and North East Somerset Council on 23/04/2026. This project aims to improve active travel and public transport within Bath City Centre.
The Director of Operations approved changes to the Keynsham Community Energy project, extending milestones to August 2026 and reprofiling £16,220 revenue into the next financial year, on 23 April 2026.
The Executive Director of Transport approved the West of England Strategic Rail Pipeline Feasibility and Development Funding Application, awarding £1.33m of Transport for City Regions revenue funding and £0.42m of City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement revenue funding for 2026/27 on 01/06/2026.
The Director of Operations approved an increase of £3,953.40 for four previously approved projects under the Low Carbon Business Support – Green Business Grants scheme on 21 April 2026.
The Director of Operations approved the extension of UKSPF grant agreements with Bath and North-East Somerset Council, Bristol City Council, and South Gloucestershire Council until 30 September 2026 on 20 April 2026.
The Executive Director of Transport noted £250,500 of IMS Concession Fee and awarded £69,091 of IMS Revenue Share for the micromobility project, and awarded £372,569 and £156,500 of IMS Revenue Share for the MaaS and Transport Data Hub projects respectively on 23/04/2026.
The Executive Director of Transport approved the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report 2025/26 on 05/06/2026.
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Brownfield Housing Fund
Recommendations ApprovedThe Joint meeting - West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee approved recommendations on 05/06/2026. They noted the receipt of a £45,005,618 Brownfield Housing Fund allocation and delegated delivery details to the MCA’s Director of Place in consultation with Unitary Authority directors.
The Combined Authority Committee supported the Mayor's intention to apply for Established Mayoral Strategic Authority status on 05/06/2026. This application is a formal step to unlock the highest levels of devolution currently available in England.
The Executive Director of Transport retrospectively approved change requests for Active Travel Fund Tranche 4 schemes on 23/04/2026. These changes included updates to project milestones, scope, and reprofiling of funds for South Gloucestershire Council and Bristol City Council.
The Director of Operations approved an increase in project costs of £3,953.40 for four previously approved Green Business Grants projects on 21/04/2026. The applications were assessed as meeting the required criteria for value for money, financial viability, and deliverability.
The Director of Place awarded £152,615 to Constellia Public Limited to appoint a Programme Advisor for the Small Sites Aggregator programme on 04/06/2026. This funding supports the programme's delivery by providing niche support to the MCA.
The Joint Committee noted the outturn position for the West of England Joint Committee Revenue Outturn and approved change requests for schemes in the Economic Development Fund and Revolving Infrastructure Fund programmes on 05/06/2026. The report detailed revenue and capital outturn for the financial year 2025/26.
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Joint Committee Budget Outturn 2025/26
Recommendations ApprovedThe Executive Director of Transport noted the Joint Committee's revenue and capital outturn for 2025/26 on 05/06/2026. The Executive Director of Transport also approved change requests for schemes within the Economic Development Fund and Revolving Infrastructure Fund programmes.
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Joint Committee Budget Outturn 2025/26
Recommendations ApprovedThe West of England Joint Committee noted the revenue and capital outturn for the 2025/26 financial year. The committee approved change requests for schemes within the Economic Development Fund and Revolving Infrastructure Fund programmes.
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Brownfield Housing Fund
Recommendations ApprovedThe Joint meeting - West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee noted the receipt of a £45,005,618 Brownfield Housing Fund allocation on 05/06/2026. Recommendations were approved, delegating delivery details to the MCA’s Director of Place in consultation with Unitary Authority directors, with escalation to the MCA’s CEO and Unitary Authority CEOs if consensus is not reached.
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Forward Plan of Regional Strategic Work
Recommendations ApprovedThe Joint meeting of the West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee decided to note the forward plan of regional strategic work and provide steers on priorities. This decision was made on 05/06/2026. The committee noted the forward plan and provided steers on priorities and the direction of the work areas it contained.
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Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report 2025/26
Recommendations ApprovedThe West of England Combined Authority Committee noted the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report 2025/26 on 05/06/2026. The report summarised the committee's work and actions undertaken during the 2025/26 period.
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Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report 2025/26
Recommendations ApprovedThe Joint meeting of the West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee approved the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report 2025/26 on 05/06/2026.
The West of England Mayoral Combined Authority Section 73 officer, Director of Finance, Investments and Commercial, accepted a grant award of £26,174,059 for the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas 2 scheme and approved entering into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department for Transport on 05/05/2026.
The West of England Combined Authority Committee delegated authority to the Director of Place to approve the Full Business Case for the Distribution Hub, allocated £5m to create a Nature Recovery Fund, and noted the intended receipt of £868,500 for Local Remediation Acceleration Plans revenue grant on 05/06/2026. The Director of Operations approved final allocations for the Adult Skills Fund totaling £15,738,633 on 01/06/2026. The Director of Bus Operations awarded a contract to Atkins Realis for a Bus Information Review for up to £52,000 on 11/06/2026. The Combined Authority Committee supported the Mayor's intention to apply for Established Mayoral Strategic Authority status.
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Expansion of the West Of England Combined Authority
Recommendations ApprovedThe Joint meeting - West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee supported the Mayor's intention to consent to the submission of a formal proposal to expand the West of England Combined Authority to incorporate North Somerset Council. The committee delegated authority to the Director of Law and Governance to approve the wording of the final draft order for the expansion of the MCA to be laid before parliament. This decision was made on 05/06/2026.
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Mayoral Combined Authority and Mayoral Budget Outturn 2025/26
Recommendations ApprovedThe Joint meeting - West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee noted the outturn position for the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority Revenue Budget, the Mayoral Revenue Budget, the Capital Outturn, and the Treasury Outturn on 05/06/2026. Recommendations were approved.
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Established Mayoral Strategic Authority Status
Recommendations ApprovedThe Joint meeting - West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee supported the Mayor’s intention to make a formal application for Established Mayoral Strategic Authority status on 05 June 2026. The committee approved recommendations to progress this application.
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West of England Investment Plan
Recommendations ApprovedThe Joint meeting - West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee approved the West of England Combined Authority Investment Plan 2026 on 05 June 2026. The meeting also noted the publication of the West of England Investment Prospectus.
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Audit Committee Annual Report 2025/26
Recommendations ApprovedThe West of England Combined Authority Audit Committee noted the Audit Committee Annual Report 2025/26 on 05/06/2026. The report summarised the committee's work in providing assurance on governance, risk management, and financial controls. The committee approved the external auditor's audit plan, received updates on internal audit work, reviewed risk management and corporate governance, and considered treasury management and non-treasury financial strategies.
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Corporate Risk Framework
Recommendations ApprovedThe Director of Strategy decided on 05/06/2026 to approve the revised Corporate Risk Management Framework. This framework includes updated risk categories, refined risk appetite statements, and the introduction of opportunity risk management.
The Executive Director of Transport approved on 18/05/2026 the submission of a change request to Active Travel England to extend the programme milestone delivery to September 2027 and amend the spend profile. This decision allows for the utilisation of an underspend within the programme.
The Executive Director of Transport approved on 23/04/2026 the reprofiling of South Gloucestershire Council's City Regions Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) funds between FY 2024/25 and FY 2025/26. This change is due to actual costs in FY 24/25 not aligning with forecasted amounts.
The Director of Place awarded on 04/06/2026 £152,615 to Constellia Public Limited to appoint a Programme Advisor for the Small Sites Aggregator. This appointment will provide niche support for the delivery of the Small Sites Aggregator programme.
The Director of Strategy approved on 05/06/2026 the allocation of £1m revenue funding from MHCLG to support the expansion of the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority. This includes £330,000 to North Somerset Council and £650,000 to WECA for expansion programme costs and acceleration of strategic projects.
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Mayoral Combined Authority and Mayoral Budget Outturn 2025/26
Recommendations ApprovedThe Joint meeting - West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee noted the outturn position for the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority Revenue Budget, the Mayoral Revenue Budget, the Capital Outturn, and the Treasury Outturn on 05/06/2026. The West of England Combined Authority Director of Operations awarded a grant of £92,537 to the City of Bristol College on 24/04/2026. This grant is for the delivery of phase 1 outcomes for the Further Education Teacher Industry Exchange project.
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Brabazon and West Innovation Arc New Town
Recommendations ApprovedThe Joint meeting - West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee approved the non-statutory designation of the West Innovation Arc as a Mayoral Development Zone on 05/06/2026. They also approved key principles for the zone, endorsed an interim delivery team, and delegated authority to recruit an interim chair. The committee noted the direction towards establishing a statutory Mayoral Development Corporation.
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Corporate Risk Framework
Recommendations ApprovedThe West of England Combined Authority Committee approved the revised Corporate Risk Management Framework on 05/06/2026. The revised framework includes updated risk categories, new risk appetite statements, and the introduction of residual risk appetite thresholds. It also incorporates a new approach for identifying and managing opportunity risk.
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Hicks Gate Masterplan
Recommendations ApprovedThe Joint meeting - West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee endorsed the Hicks Gate Masterplan as a non-statutory planning framework on 05/06/2026. The masterplan will inform emerging planning policy.
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Joint Committee Budget Outturn 2025/26
Recommendations ApprovedThe West of England Combined Authority Committee noted the 2025/26 revenue and capital outturn positions and approved change requests for schemes in the Economic Development Fund and Revolving Infrastructure Fund programmes on 05/06/2026.
The West of England Combined Authority Committee noted the receipt of a £45,005,618 allocation of the Brownfield Housing Fund capital grant and delegated the detail of delivery to the MCA's Director of Place on 05/06/2026.
The West of England Combined Authority Committee delegated authority to the Director of Place to approve the Full Business Case for the Distribution Hub, allocated £5m to create a Nature Recovery Fund, and noted the intended receipt of £868,500 for Local Remediation Acceleration Plans revenue grant on 05/06/2026.
The West of England Combined Authority Committee approved change requests for schemes within the Investment Fund programme and agreed flexibility to move CRSTS risk budgets between CRSTS projects on 05/06/2026.
The Mayor submitted a formal proposal to expand the West of England Combined Authority to incorporate North Somerset Council on 29/06/2026.
The Executive Director of Transport approved the award of a contract to OVE Arup & Partners Ltd for £350,075.49 to provide technical support for the West of England Transport Strategy 2026 on 08/07/2026.
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West of England Investment Plan
Recommendations ApprovedThe West of England Combined Authority Committee approved the West of England Combined Authority Investment Plan 2026 and noted the publication of the West of England Investment Prospectus on 05/06/2026. The plan sets out a ten-year portfolio of strategic activities to deliver economic growth and improve lives across the region.
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Investment Fund Programme and Grant Assurance
Recommendations ApprovedThe West of England Combined Authority Committee approved recommendations regarding investment fund programmes and grant assurance on 05/06/2026. The committee delegated authority for approving a Distribution Hub business case, allocated £5m to a Nature Recovery Fund, and noted the receipt of funding for Local Remediation Acceleration Plans and Homes England. Specific officer actions include delegating the finalisation of allocation and use of Local Remediation Acceleration Plans funding and Homes England funding, and entering into a grant funding agreement with First Bus.
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Skills Strategy
Recommendations ApprovedThe Joint meeting - West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee approved the West of England Skills Strategy on 05/06/2026. The strategy sets out the Combined Authority's approach to creating a more joined-up employment and skills system.
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Corporate Risk Framework
Recommendations ApprovedThe Executive Director of Transport approved the early funding works application for the Bear Flat section of the Somer Valley Links – Phase 3 project on 25/06/2026. This decision approves the draw down of £1,203,538 of City Regions Sustainable Transport Settlement capital funding by Bath and North-East Somerset Council. This funding is conditional on the reallocation of CRSTS funds to ensure the project is fully funded.
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Delivery Assurance
Recommendations ApprovedThe Joint meeting - West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee approved change requests for schemes within the Investment Fund programme and agreed flexibility to move CRSTS risk budgets between CRSTS projects. This decision was made on 05/06/2026. The approved actions include approving change requests for schemes within the current Investment Fund programme and allowing the West of England Combined Authority and its partner councils to move CRSTS risk budgets between CRSTS projects subject to specific criteria.
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Brabazon and West Innovation Arc New Town
Recommendations ApprovedThe Joint meeting - West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee approved the non-statutory designation of the West Innovation Arc as a Mayoral Development Zone on 05/06/2026. The committee also approved key principles for the zone and endorsed the establishment of an interim delivery team. Authority was delegated to the MCA’s Director of Place to recruit an interim chair of the MDZ, supported by an MDZ Board.
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Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report 2025/26
Recommendations ApprovedThe Joint meeting - West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee approved the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report 2025/26 on 05/06/2026. The Committee noted the report.
The West of England Mayoral Combined Authority Committee endorsed the joint Masterplan for Hicks Gate as a non-statutory planning framework to inform emerging planning policy on 05/06/2026. The endorsement allows the masterplan to be used as a material consideration in planning applications.
The Head of Housing and Strategic Planning awarded a contract to College Green Group for a political and policy engagement campaign to support the Brabazon and West Innovation Arc new towns bid to Government on 12/06/2026. The contract value is £67,500 + VAT.
The Executive Director of Transport approved the West of England Future Bus Network and Active Travel Gap Analysis Studies Feasibility and Development Funding Application, awarding £33,000 of Transport for City Regions revenue funding for 2026/27 on 05/06/2026. This funding will support studies to identify investment priorities for transport projects.
The Executive Director for Transport awarded a contract to Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP for legal services for land acquisition for the Bath to Bristol Strategic Corridor programme on 05/06/2026. The contract value is £316,500 excluding VAT.
The Director of Bus Operations awarded the contract for the WESTlink Call Centre to Constellia Public Limited for up to one year with a maximum value of £201,600 on 02/04/2026. This award ensures continuity of service provision for WESTlink.
The CEO awarded a contract to Network Rail for Henbury Station detailed design and further design work on the Henbury line upgrade on 26/05/2026. The total contracted price is £6,764,379.
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Forward Plan of Regional Strategic Work
Recommendations ApprovedThe Joint meeting - West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee noted the forward plan and provided steers on priorities. The decision was made on 05/06/2026.
The Director of Place awarded £75,395.08 to Ove Arup & Partners Limited for programme lead and management support for the Small Sites Aggregator Programme. This decision was made on 04/06/2026.
The Section 73 officer, Director of Finance, Investments and Commercial, accepted a grant award of £26,174,059 for the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas 2 scheme and approved entering into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department for Transport. This decision was made on 05/05/2026.
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