The leader of Lichfield District Council has insisted the local authority won’t enter into a combined authority agreement just because others do.
Cllr Mike Wilcox has met with members of a proposed Greater Birmingham group and has also held discussion with Staffordshire County Council.
But he has reiterated his view that not enough is known about the impact of any agreement to make an informed decision.
“We don’t want to all become like sheep and follow everyone else into a combined authority because we think it’s the done thing,” he said. “It’s all about gathering more information at this stage.
“I don’t think yet any of us are in a position yet to make any decision until we get a bit more detail about what the impact would be.”
Discussions were held with Staffordshire County Council yesterday to outline how the two authorities might work together.
Cllr Wilcox said he believes the county is also looking to “watch with interest” while more information about combined authorities comes to light.
But in the meantime, Lichfield District Council is also looking to continue talking with other groups about the prospect of linking up with a Greater Birmingham proposal.
“Bob Sleigh, the leader of Solihull Metropolitan Council, is coming to see us next week so we can hear their view,” said Cllr Wilcox.
“That will be interesting as they are a similar type of authority to us – Conservative-led with lots of Green Belt land.
“There’s also a meeting with leaders and chief executives of the Greater Birmingham Local Enterprise Partnership next week so we might know a bit more once we’ve heard what their view is on this talk of combined authorities.”
