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New combined authority to hold first meeting

Kaleigh WattersonBBC Cheshire political reporter
BBC/Getty Images The Eastgate Clock in Chester, the golden gates of Warrington and Jodrell Bank in Cheshire EastBBC/Getty Images
A new combined authority is set to cover the three council areas in Cheshire

The first formal meeting of the board of the new Cheshire and Warrington Combined Authority is to take place later.

The authority came into being in February in a key change to the administration of the area, although a mayor will not be elected for another year.

In the meeting, the board will approve a range of measures related to the operation of the combined authority including appointing officers and a chairman, as well as signing off the first year's budget.

The authority's member groups are Cheshire East Council, Cheshire West and Chester Council and Warrington Council.

It will have access to £650m of mayoral investment funding over the next 30 years.

Left to right: Hans Mundry (leader of Warrington Borough Council), Jean Flahery (deputy leader of Warrington Borough Council), Karen Shore (deputy leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council), Louise Gittins (leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council), Nick Mannion (leader of Cheshire East Council) and Michael Gorman (deputy leader of Cheshire East Council).
The leaders and deputy leaders of the three councils are set to be appointed as members of the authority's board

The board is also set to approve the appointment of statutory officers, the constitution of the authority and the 2026/27 budget.

Former Homes England chief executive Nick Walkley has been recommended as the authority's interim chief executive while John Hooton has been put forward for chief finance officer and Catherine Salt as monitoring officer, both on an interim basis.

The leaders and deputy leaders of the three councils have been nominated as members.

The combined authority will allow the councils to work together but will not see the three authorities actually merge.

The first mayor of Cheshire and Warrington will be elected in May 2027.

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