Devolution: A new Mayoral authority for Hampshire and the Solent 

 

Blog by Rebecca Kinge, Director of Southampton Collective and Co-Chair of Southampton Climate Action Network

 

Devolution is on the cards in Hampshire and Solent. Have your say here by 13 April: https://consult.communities.gov.uk/lggc/hampshire-and-the-solent-devolution-consultation/

 

Following Tuesday’s event about devolution hosted by RSA Southampton, here are some questions that, in my view, need some careful focus:

  • How will the Mayor ensure that the vision belongs to the people of the area, “doing with”, not “doing to”? In the posturing for power that is inevitably happening, the voices of those most impacted must be included meaningfully. How will they make sure the loudest voices do not dominate at the expense of true representation?
  • How do we ensure that climate, nature, together with the investment and skills that are needed to address these issues, are embedded in the vision and plans? A statutory duty around climate and nature is critical to achieving this along with ringfenced funding. The authority will need to recruit elected representatives and a Mayor who understands the importance of ecosystems, infrastructure resilience, evidence-based approaches and proven technologies, and will generally ensure that climate and nature are integral to all decision-making.
  • How do we move beyond outdated notions of growth based on GDP alone, towards broader measures that include prosperity for all, improving the lives of people in poverty and disadvantage while also strengthening the ecosystems that sustain life? Without care for our environment there can be no secure future. This is why we advocate for approaches based on Doughnut Economics and Community Wealth building. See our film Local is the New Global and our Southampton Sustainability Directory which points people to places where they can make sustainable choices with their spending.

 

A fuller response on devolution is included in the joint Transition Southampton / Southampton Climate Action Network response: Hampshire and the Solent devolution consultation: (draft) response by Southampton Climate Action Network and Transition Southampton – deadline 13 April

 

Coming together

On a Tuesday in April 2025, over 50 people came together in Southampton to talk about devolution and a future Mayoral Authority for Hampshire and the Solent area. The panel was made up of Lorna Fielker from Southampton City Council, Rob Kurn from Southampton Voluntary Services, Debbie Tann from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, Ross McNally from Hampshire Chamber of Commerce along with Mark Lloyd who is the Head of Policy at RSA.

 

As advocated by Ross McNally, the real potential value of devolution will be the coming together, with a shared vision that can be implemented in a strategic way. Could anybody disagree? It is the how that is done that will bring the challenges. The idea of a “Council of All the Voices” was suggested, to bring together the politicians, businesses, community organisations and trade unions.  Increasingly, these types of forums are including the voice of nature, so we don’t lose sight of the ecosystems that sustain life.

 

As Lorna Fielker said we all need to be lobbying to make sure that we are influencing the priorities of this new authority and its Mayor. This is harder said than done when consultation and community involvement budgets have been cut to the bone. It has to go beyond the odd survey, and create a sense that people can get involved in creating the vision, with decisions being made in a fair and transparent way. This is an area where Southampton Collective has been working hard to explore and develop techniques in the Southampton area, including through Southampton Coproduction Corner, a local community practice around better working together coordinated by Southampton Voluntary Services

From growth to prosperity

There’s a lot of talk in Southampton and across Government about the drive for growth. Whilst sustainable development has been on the table for decades now, this has not stopped us getting into both climate and nature crises, which threaten life and livelihoods. Debbie Tann reminded us of the commonly expressed  false narrative that nature is a barrier to economic success, when in reality natural capital underpins a successful economy, enhances social connections and fosters health and wellbeing.

 

Debbie Tann also asked the fundamental question about what we mean by growth, which so frequently is measured in GDP. This led to a discussion about other ways of talking about and measuring prosperity such as focusing on happiness indices. To me this is a priority, because some of the narrative around growth remains focused on generating wealth regardless of whether it actually improves people’s lives. GDP based growth also treats the environment as an externality, grossly underestimating its value and benefits along with the risks and costs of damaging it.  Doughnut Economics and Community Wealth Building can help us with this. Southampton Climate Action Network will be further focusing on this over the next year and beyond, and anyone can join us in the journey.

A duty to climate and nature

Southampton Climate Action Network, and others involved in climate and nature in the Hampshire area, are advocating for a statutory duty around climate and nature. It is critical that the new authority recruits elected representatives and a Mayor who understands the importance of ecosystems, infrastructure resilience, evidence-based approaches, proven technologies and economic decision making based on sustainability. They will need to make sure that climate and nature is integral to all decision-making.

 

The conversation touched on the “othering” of environmentalists, when so often those who are passionate about evidence-based sustainable approaches to development and living are ignored, and their only course of action is to protest. We need to move from protest to policy. As Southampton Climate Action Network, we are a broad organisation that involves community groups, and local businesses alongside activists and residents. We focus on evidence-based action and foster collaboration, and this is embedded in our Guiding Principles.

Social connections and social mobility

Mark Lloyd talked about the importance of the Mayoral Authority addressing social connections which is a strong predictor of social mobility. This is where the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector plays a crucial role, because they can offer a bridge between real people in communities and decision-makers. However, VCSE organisations are so busy delivering essential services to people and responding to the harsh cuts that have faced public services, that they have little or no capacity to get involved in lobbying, policy development or visioning exercises. How can they be empowered to speak up and be heard as part of a Mayoral authority?

 

Mark also emphasised the importance of looking at the deeper barriers to accessing employment opportunities and devolving more power to local service providers, creating a big opportunity from devolution. This will be game changing if the new authority, is able to achieve it. It can only happen in partnership with the communities, businesses and organisations that it serves.

Jobs and skills

There’s a lot of talk about making sure there are jobs in cities like Southampton for local people, addressing the current over-reliance on people coming from other areas to fill our skills gaps. The conversation on Tuesday included the importance of breaking down the urban/rural divide. More jobs and skills are needed to implement nature-based solutions, so we need to focus on upskilling young people to follow career paths in landscapes and open spaces, farming, the circular economy, sustainable technologies and community wealth building more widely.

Next steps

It is encouraging to think of how things could improve for the better, if we all work positively together and keep evidence-based and community-focused approaches at the centre of Mayoral authority decision-making.

If you would like to get involved with Southampton Collective or Southampton Climate Action Network, please get in touch.

 

Rebecca Kinge

www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccakinge/

10 April 2025

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On 20th May 2020, we will be part of the organising team for the Positive Futures online event. This is all about young people, arts, creativity and mental health. Details here. This event is a partnership with Arts and Health South West, Hampshire Cultural Trust, and us, in our role with the Southampton Art In… Read More

Artist Claudia Friend is helping everyone make something together! Make a line – draw, scribble, sculpt, build, fold, paint, create or find a line – just one – curved, colourful, straight, loopy, dotted, thick, thin…get creative! Send the pic to Claudia on Instragram, Facebook or email doloresfroh@gmail.com including your name, location (e.g. Hampshire), Instagram tag…and… Read More

Today, our Health Model Village joined SO:Linked community project in the first of a series of events around Southampton, hosting drop-in events at Lordshill Library and Lordswood’s Kings Community Church. We asked people what they like about their areas and plotted their local gems on our big map. People told us how they like to… Read More

Interested in the connections between creativity and health? Join the informal gathering of the Southampton Art in Health Forum this Wed 26 Feb 12-2pm at NST City’s Tyrell’s cafe in Guildhall Square. More here.

On Monday 3rd February 2020, we were at Gods House Tower with 27 people from a range of arts projects, health services and community groups. This was a combined event between CHAOS (Creative, Heritage and Arts Organisations of Southampton) and the Southampton Art In Health Forum. We all shared a little bit about ourselves. We… Read More

Getting creative is good for our health. Whether you like dance, theatre, visual arts, cooking, gardening, music, cooking, sewing, woodwork (anything really), there’s so much potential to be creative and enjoy the creativity of others. The evidence says that arts can make a powerful contribution to health and wellbeing. As the Parliamentary Inquiry into Creative… Read More

What’s On for a Sustainable and Healthy Southampton? Here’s some events that we are involved in, or think you’d like to know about: Getting net zero on track: a workshop with Hope for the Future This will explore the role of People’s Assemblies for a zero carbon future. Fri 31st Jan 2020 6pm at Edmund Kell Hall.… Read More

This workshop, with a focus on the role of a People’s Assembly, is being held on Friday 31 January, 6pm, at Edmund Kell Hall in Southampton. Book your tickets here Hope for the Future are specialists in training citizens to have effective conversations with their representatives. This workshop focuses on how a People’s Assembly can… Read More

Southampton Art in Health Forum 3rd Feb 2020 – 10am til lunchat Gods House Tower SO14 2NY We’re teaming up with the CHAOS network on 3rd February. CHAOS is a network for creative, heritage and arts organisations of Southampton. The gathering starts at 10am with a general CHAOS meeting, and then we’ll focus on health from 11.30am.… Read More

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In August 2019, we set up Southampton City Vision as a place for residents and those with a strong connection to the city to have a conversation about what Southampton should be like. We’d been to a Friday Forum gathering at Southampton Voluntary Services on 2 August, and heard about plans for the next phase… Read More

September steps towards a sustainable, healthy Southampton with the community at the heart. All Aboard, a Musical and Theatrical Treasure Trail at High Tide (11.30-2.30) on Sat Aug 31st 2019 around the River Itchen’s Cobden Bridge and Blue Rail Bridge. Watch out for the troll! This event has received a Breathing Spaces bursary from The… Read More

Join us for the film premiere of The Race is On. Let’s start a revolution.… Read More

A year is a long time in environmental politics. Last summer, an unknown school girl was striking outside the Swedish Parliament, frustrated by a lack of action on climate change. Back then no-one would have dared to believe that Greta Thunberg would one day be on the cover of Time magazine or nominated for the… Read More

Our Breathing Spaces project in St Denys is gathering lots of momentum. We’ve had three Clean Air Cafes now, where people have shared their ideas and pledges for action to improve local air quality and promote liveable neighbourhoods. Our next event is a Clean Air Ideas Drop In on Tues 18 June 5-9pm at St… Read More

We have two events coming up for April. On Thursday 11th April 6.30-8.30pm we’ll  be at October Books for Cuppa Social, an informal chance for a chat over a drink. Just turn up, all welcome. On Saturday 27th April at 3pm, we’ve got the second Clean Air Cafe in St Denys. If you want to… Read More

We had a fantastic time on Sat 23 March exploring arts and health, at the Umbrella Arts Festival at NST City. Hundreds of people came and got involved in singing, interactive theatre, drumming, all sorts of painting and collage activities, board games and joined the health cafes. We made asked people to draw a bike… Read More

This year’s IWD falls on a FriYay! and the theme is #balanceforbetter . Women can be very good at hosting, feeding and juggling everybody’s needs but often at a cost to their own enjoyment and participation. We wondered how we could balance organising a fun Friday night out without exhausting ourselves or our wallets. We… Read More

Dear Youth 4 Climate Strikers You have our full support. There’s no question that politicians and businesses are asleep at the wheel when it comes to climate change. Here you are, waking them up, encouraging them to rethink their policies and steer the juggernaut away from the edge. It’s not going to be easy. Before… Read More

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Fun to be had in Portswood this Saturday with body confidence coach Vie Portland of VieNess. We’ll be chatting and cutting and sticking and all sorts of prep for our International Women’s Day event in March.

We decided that there’s never enough time just to sit and chat, so our very own Rebecca Kinge has organised a ‘Cuppa Social’ on Thurs 22nd November at 6pm at By Sea Coffee Lounge. This is chance for anyone interested in health and sustainability in Southampton to come and chat. It’s very informal, let’s grab… Read More

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Artwork is by Kev Munday – Part of the Stand Together exhibition Thursday 12 April 2018 11am-6pm we are having a Get Together for Health and Wellbeing. This is part of Stand Together for Health week at Solent Showcase Gallery, just off Southampton’s Guildhall Square next to Artisan Cafe. Drop in during the day, or… Read More

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Creative Places is working for Solent Showcase gallery on behalf of Go Southampton, the city’s Business Improvement District, to produce some school holiday trails for the February half term. Families will be able to explore the city centre with a Spitfire theme, learning about the city during World War II and the role of the… Read More

Come along to Touch Network’s evening of live storytelling, taking place on Friday 19th January at 7.30pm at Mettricks Old Town (117 High Street). Debs Carter, the Founder of the Touch Network was a speaker at TEDxSouthampton 2016. The speakers for the storytelling evening have been arranged by Rebecca Kinge, one of the Southampton Collective… Read More

  Rebecca Kinge, our coordinator of the Creative Places Southampton, chatted with Alex Ivancevic on Unity 101 radio station during Community Hour, talking about the range of community projects that she has been involved in over the years. Click here to listen to Rebecca chatting about The Southampton Collective, why we need Creative Places and… Read More

Under our Creative Places project, we are hosting an event “Innovation on the High Street” on Friday 8 December at 9.30am. This is in partnership with Culture Southampton and others. If you would like to attend, please register via Eventbrite. It’s free and we are delighted that a cross section of people involved in various… Read More

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We are very pleased to have been awarded Community Chest funding by Southampton City Council! This will be used to develop The Southampton Collective as an economically viable, resilient, collaborative community development organisation, which complements the work that others are doing in the city. This includes the outcomes of the council’s consultation on the future… Read More

You may have heard of the world famous TED talks, and watched a few online, but did you know that you can watch them live in Southampton? Since 2013, annual TEDx events have been taking place in different venues across the city.… Read More

Here at Southampton Collective, we file our annual accounts with Companies House. As well as submitting information about our profit and loss, we also prepare a Review of the Year and a CIC34 statement, which sets out how we have been operating in the community interest. You can ask us for a copy of these… Read More

We are getting ready for the following event. Could you help us by sharing an image with us in advance that could help us imagine a prosperous, planet-positive Southampton in 2050? The RSA Southampton: Thursday 27 June 5.30 pm: Empowered Communities How can people and communities imagine and deliver a more prosperous, planet-positive Southampton? Southampton’s… Read More

Date and time: 20th October at 7pm What: What are you going to do this winter to make sure you stay healthy? Where: Zoom event online with a Portswood community focus Come and join this community-led conversation about what we can all do this winter to ensure we stay healthy of mind and body. With…

Read More

The “Mush”Room – a pop-up space where we re-imagine our place

On 20th May 2020, we will be part of the organising team for the Positive Futures online event. This is all about young people, arts, creativity and mental health. Details here. This event is a partnership with Arts and Health South West, Hampshire Cultural Trust, and us, in our role with the Southampton Art In…

Read More

Positive Futures

Artist Claudia Friend is helping everyone make something together! Make a line – draw, scribble, sculpt, build, fold, paint, create or find a line – just one – curved, colourful, straight, loopy, dotted, thick, thin…get creative! Send the pic to Claudia on Instragram, Facebook or email doloresfroh@gmail.com including your name, location (e.g. Hampshire), Instagram tag…and…

Read More

Drop Me A Line

Today, our Health Model Village joined SO:Linked community project in the first of a series of events around Southampton, hosting drop-in events at Lordshill Library and Lordswood’s Kings Community Church. We asked people what they like about their areas and plotted their local gems on our big map. People told us how they like to…

Read More

Community conversations

Interested in the connections between creativity and health? Join the informal gathering of the Southampton Art in Health Forum this Wed 26 Feb 12-2pm at NST City’s Tyrell’s cafe in Guildhall Square. More here.

On Monday 3rd February 2020, we were at Gods House Tower with 27 people from a range of arts projects, health services and community groups. This was a combined event between CHAOS (Creative, Heritage and Arts Organisations of Southampton) and the Southampton Art In Health Forum. We all shared a little bit about ourselves. We…

Read More

Art and Health – February gathering

Join VieNess for a day of inspiring talks and more, at the Phenomenal Women event on 8 March. Details here

Getting creative is good for our health. Whether you like dance, theatre, visual arts, cooking, gardening, music, cooking, sewing, woodwork (anything really), there’s so much potential to be creative and enjoy the creativity of others. The evidence says that arts can make a powerful contribution to health and wellbeing. As the Parliamentary Inquiry into Creative…

Read More

May is the month of creativity and health!

Deb and Chris went to London Southbanks’ ‘Deathfest’ in 2012 & were amazed at how many people were there to find out more about death & dying, that they decided to try it in Southampton – and call it ‘Dead Good Days‘. With years of Palliative Care Nursing / Environmental teaching behind them, they continue…

Read More

Dead Good Days

What’s On for a Sustainable and Healthy Southampton? Here’s some events that we are involved in, or think you’d like to know about: Getting net zero on track: a workshop with Hope for the Future This will explore the role of People’s Assemblies for a zero carbon future. Fri 31st Jan 2020 6pm at Edmund Kell Hall.…

Read More

What’s coming up