Candidacy
Norris was selected as the Labour Party candidate on 16 November 2020,defeating Bristol councillor Helen Godwin in a vote of local members by 1,611 votes to 1,558. [27] During the election campaign,the leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer visited Bath to campaign with him. They were asked to leave a pub by its landlord,who opposed the use of lockdowns as part of the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. [28]
During the election campaign,Norris said that incumbent mayor Tim Bowles was the "only metro mayor who doesn't have more powers than when he started",and that if elected he would seek more money and powers from central government. [29] He said he would establish a "Green Recovery Fund" to create 23,000 jobs by investing in "home retrofitting,tree-planting,flood and drought defences,and renewable energy". [30]
Mayoralty
Norris was elected as the mayor of the West of England in the 2021 mayoral election,a role which had previously been held by the Conservative Tim Bowles. [31] Upon taking office,he became entitled to the style of Mayor. [32] He credited his victory to the leadership of Keir Starmer. [31] He said he would support North Somerset and parts of Somerset joining the combined authority,and he would seek additional funds for them. [33]
In his first public meeting of the West of England Combined Authority (WECA),Norris vetoed a proposal supported by the leaders of the three constituent councils to spend £100,000 reviewing how the authority functions and makes decisions. [34] At a meeting in July,Norris and the council leaders rejected most of a climate action plan that the authority had been developing since 2019 as insufficiently ambitious,and agreed to begin developing a replacement. [35] [36] Also in July 2021,Norris launched new schemes to support the creative and food industries in the region. [37] [38]
In the October 2021 budget,the UK government allocated £540 million to WECA over a five-year period for public transport improvements,to predominantly be spent on improving bus services. [39] [40] This included £48 million for a park and ride scheme near the M32 strategic corridor from South Gloucestershire to Bristol. [41] The funding is from the Department for Transport's City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements scheme. [40] [42]
There was a dispute between WECA members and Norris over the mayor's powers, [43] in particular a power to veto alternative proposals to their joint committee which included North Somerset Council. The four local authorities’monitoring officers,who give legal advice,stated the veto could arguably amount to maladministration. [44] On 15 October 2021,the four council leaders did not attend a WECA meeting with the mayor,which meant over £50 million of spending decisions could not be made. [45] [46] Norris stated "I would agree that [my predecessor] gave into them,I am not prepared to do that ... I’m not really bothered about procedures or legal arguments,frankly. I’m determined to get policies through and things delivered." A former non-voting member of WECA,Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West of England Professor Steve West,was appointed as mediator in the dispute. [47] [48] In November 2021,after taking new legal advice,Norris agreed not to claim veto powers on decisions involving North Somerset. [49]
In November 2021,the combined authority submitted a plan for a "seamless" public transport system with a single brand and payment system across buses and trains and across different operators. [50] South Gloucestershire Council asked for funding from WECA for a pedestrianisation scheme on Thornbury's high street,which Norris threatened to withhold unless the council further consulted residents. [51] [52] [53] In the same month,Norris signed WECA up to a charter committing to support staff diagnosed with terminal illness,and urged organisations across the West of England to do likewise. [54] [55] He supported a strike by the University and College Union in Bristol in December 2021. [56]
Spatial Development Strategy
A major responsibility of WECA and the mayor is the development of a Spatial Development Strategy (SDS),which will guide major planning decisions in the area and thus development direction. [57] A somewhat similar Joint Spatial Plan was previously being developed by the area's unitary authorities in a four-year process,and included building three new "garden villages". In 2019,the plan was withdrawn after the Planning Inspectorate criticised it as not "robust,consistent or objective". [58] [59] [60] Consequently,producing a SDS for WECA to agree became a priority for the new mayor. [61] The SDS covers the period to 2041,and was to have a 12-week public consultation before a public examination by the Planning Inspectorate in early 2023. [62]
In March 2022,Norris stated that the region's green belt was "not fit for purpose". He argued that there should be no overall green belt area reduction,but limited changes to extend urban areas in a few places should be permitted. At the time,there was a proposal by the owners of Bristol's Ashton Gate Stadium to build 500 homes on the neighbouring green belt as part of a "sporting quarter" development. [63] [64]
The mayor and the leader of South Gloucestershire council disputed the amount of new housing proposed in WECA's forthcoming SDS,publication of which was deferred. [62] [65] In May 2022,Norris told the government that agreement of a SDS was impossible,blaming South Gloucestershire council for leaving discussions,which was denied by South Gloucestershire's leader. [66] [67] Subsequently,the three councils started developing their own individual Local Plans,which Norris had described as parochial. [60] [68]
