The Bill is designed to give powers back to local communities, including elected mayors and local authorities, and Steve Brine backed an amendment designed to boost the influence of National Parks as part of this wider move.
Winchester sits on the western gateway to the South Downs National Park, and Steve met recently with the SDNP team in Midhurst to discuss the Bill.
Speaking in the House, Steve said: "I have spoken to members of the board of the South Downs national park authority—Margaret Paren, who leads it, and Councillor Barry Lipscomb, who is a Winchester City councillor—and they very much welcome it. They think that this general power of competence will allow them to be full players at the table in the devolution bids that are so important in my area."
The session in Parliament was the Third Reading and Report Stage of the Bill, and at the end of the debate, the House voted by 292-187 in support of the clause.
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