THE blame game is starting over the likely collapse of devolution plans for the Solent.

But at the same time civic chiefs are disputing whether the move to greater self-rule for the area is actually dead.

A meeting in Westminster of MPs and civic chiefs on Wednesday revealed a lack of support from the Isle of Wight for the new devolved super authority that would have attracted a reported £900m for infrastructure investment.

The Solent authority would comprise Southampton, Portsmouth, both in favour, and the Isle of Wight.

Simon Letts, leader of Southampton City Council, blamed the county council for the breakdown: “We have done everything we can to secure a deal and a £1 billion investment for the region and if the government reject our proposal then the fault will lie with Hampshire County Council who initially signed the deal last March only to pull out 24 hours later.

“While there is a lot of talk of the deal being ‘dead in the water’ the fact is that the government have not yet made their decision and I am not prepared to speculate on what their decision will be.

“The Solent area has been deprived of transport investment in particular for decades and a Solent authority was one way of putting this right.

"Rejection of the deal would mean all the money will go to areas like Greater Manchester where mature political leadership has delivered a shared vision.”

Roy Perry, leader of Hampshire County Council, denied that the county had actually signed up to anything although he said that he may have verbally agreed at a late-night dinner at Eastleigh College.

“I may have agreed but on sleeping on it I could not agree to the division of Hampshire. There were never any signatures.”

He said: “With the Isle of Wight withdrawing support it looks pretty dead. I have had meetings with Secretary of State Sajid Javid. He wants agreement between the relevant authorities, and there isn’t.

“Anything that divides Hampshire is not going to go anywhere. The Government wants agreement. What would help generate the economy and improve the efficiency of services has to be countywide.”

Cllr Perry described the £900m-£1billion figure as “mythical” and based on getting £30m a year for 30 years, something that could never be guaranteed.

“It is not extra money, just recycled money.”

He added: “Most people do not want change; most people are interested in good services and getting value for money.

“Look at the police and crime commissioner and the STP, sustainable transformation programme for the NHS, are both Hampshire wide. That is the area we have to look at and show what we can do together.”

But there are clear disagreements between senior Tories over the future of devolution.

Sean Woodward, leader of Fareham Borough Council and county councillor, denies devolution is dead.

He said yesterday: “We are still assured that devolution is still there but the Government’s priorities clearly focus on leaving the EU rather than local wrangles over devolution.

"In fact the message we are getting are that we should actually break away from Hampshire and form unitary authorities and would then sign up to the devolution deal."

The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) were asked to bring clarity to the situation.

Stewart Dunn, chief executive of Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “It is disappointing that the deal is not forthcoming and this additional funding has been put at risk.

“We are in favour of devolution but we would like to see the Government now give clear guidance. We were almost there before but the issue of the mayor stopped it. Some clear guidance and direction from the Government.”

Stephen Godfrey, senior councillor at Winchester, agreed about the need for the Government to step in.

“We need clear direction from ministers on what they want to achieve and what they expect from local authorities.”

A second proposal, Heart of Hampshire authority would include Winchester, Basingstoke and Deane, Hart, New Forest, Rushmoor and Test Valley councils as well as the county council and Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership.

A DCLG spokesman said last night: “The Government welcomes any proposal which delivers better local services, greater value for money and effective local leadership.

“Ministers are clear that where significant powers are transferred they must be accompanied by strong governance, clear accountability and local support.”

The mention of local support would appear to indicate that with the Isle of Wight’s withdrawal the Solent scheme is now fatally wounded.