Author: Hilary Goodreid

Having negotiated and accepted the Devolution Agreement with government, the seven constituent councils and the Combined Authority have approved the creation of a mayoral combined authority. This includes the election of a mayor and the associated Mayoral WMCA Functions Scheme. It is this Functions Scheme that is being consulted on.

The ‘Scheme’ is the legislation that says how the Mayor and the WMCA will make decisions, who will be responsible for what and how the Mayor will work with the WMCA board.

Findings from the consultation will be sent as part of the Mayoral WMCA Functions Scheme to inform the decision making of the Secretary of State (SoS) and Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) before an Order could be laid before Parliament. 

It will give the SoS an understanding of what the public think of the functions and responsibilities of a Mayoral WMCA and how the Scheme meets the SoS’s key tests of whether they promote efficient and effective governance and their impact on local community identity.

The consultation is available on the WMCA website, along with the supporting documents which provide all the background information to help people come to a view on how the WMCA and mayor will work together.

The consultation will also be available in hard copy upon request at libraries and some council public buildings across the region (see the relevant local authority website for more information).

Councillor Bob Sleigh, Chair of the WMCA and Leader of Solihull Council said:

 “We have created the WMCA with the clear purpose of improving the prosperity of the region for its people and businesses. Government has recognised that we can work together effectively, which is why we have been able to negotiate a devolution agreement that brings an extra £36.5 million a year to the region over the next 30 years – resulting in an £8 billion investment package.

“A condition of this first Devolution Agreement was an elected mayor, which we have been able to accept because of the significance of the Agreement to the region’s economy.

“The idea of a mayor for the WMCA area is to provide a strong voice for the region. They would also be an ambassador for the area, selling it on the global stage. They would be the point of contact when the Government want to speak to ‘the West Midlands’ and be responsible for driving the Devolution Agreement within government and the region.

“The detail in the Functions Scheme should demonstrate that we have given much thought to how a Mayoral WMCA will work effectively to deliver the Devolution Agreement.

“I encourage residents, businesses, community groups and partners from across the region to complete the consultation and have their say.”

The Battle of the Somme is seen as representing the brutality and futility of much of the fighting during the war and the first day of the battle was the bloodiest in British military history, with the British Army suffering over 56,000 casualties.

24 men who had lived or studied in Solihull died on the first day; many of them part of the Royal Warwickshire regiment. In total 127 Silhillians died in WWI between July and November 1916 (the duration of the battle).

The event at CTC Kingshurst will see the 24 men remembered, as well as poetry readings from students and a minute’s silence.  There will also be an exhibition on the Royal Warwickshire Regiment featuring genuine battlefield relics and information about local people who served.

The Mayor of Solihull, Cllr Mike Robinson, will lead the service; he said “The Battle of the Somme was one of the most devastating battles in British history. This commemoration event will be a fitting tribute to those who fell from across the country but particularly from Solihull.

“The trench at CTC Kingshurst is a great way to help people understand what the men on the front line experienced.”

Although this event is invite-only, the following day (Saturday 2nd) there is an open day for the public to visit the trench and see the exhibition. There will an opportunity for children to take part in activities including rope climbing, practicing medical dressings and looking out into no man’s land through periscopes.

A special exhibition at the Core called ‘Solihull Remembers’ opened on Saturday 25 June and commemorates the men who died and has further information about those died throughout the course of the war.

The men who died in the fighting on the first day are:

John Balkwill
Geoffrey Jermyn Brand
James Burton
John Thomas Churchill
Harold Clifton
Frederick Percy Cooper
Thomas Cooper
William Henry Furse
Robert Quilter Gilson
John Herbert Hockley
Walter Jennings
Horace Birchall Jones
Maurice Nicholl Kennard
Stratford Walter Ludlow
John Palmer Lyndon
Alfred Mutlow
Harry Rudd
Richard James Smith
George Arthur Smitten
Donald George Harding Truman
Leslie Waters
Albert Weale
James Webster
Willingham Franklin Gell Wiseman

Between July and November 1916, 127 men from Solihull died during the course of the Battle of the Somme.

If you have any information on any of the men, please email heritage@solihull.gov.uk.

Solihull Council is making changes to its mobile library service.

The mobile library service which is run in partnership with Warwickshire County Council, brings books, audio books and other library services direct to people who cannot access community libraries. The service is free of charge and there are no charges for fines or reservations.

Following a survey with people who use the service, the mobile library will stay longer at the Cheswick Green and Hockley Heath stops.

Four new stops will also be created at St Francis Lodge, Solihull; Chestnut Court, Castle Bromwich; Kingslea Road, Shirley and Farmhouse Way, Monkspath.

The full mobile library timetable can be found at: www.solihull.gov.uk/Portals/0/libraries/Mobile_library_timetable.pdf or for more information call 01926 851 031.