A new board has been proposed to oversee economic growth in Gloucestershire.

Members of the seven local authorities in the county will be brought together under the Gloucestershire City Region Board (GCRB).

Its aim will be to develop and deliver a vision for the future growth of the economic success for the whole of the Gloucestershire economic area.

It will also provide an opportunity to establish the City Region as a nationally defined area that is a single economic functional area.

The board will merge the work of the Severn Vale, Rural Ambitions and Central Gloucestershire City Region together with the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Joint Committee (GEGJC).

It will be chaired by the county council's cabinet member for environment and planning which is currently Cllr David Gray (C, Winchcombe and Woodmancote).

The board will take control of the Strategic Economic Development Fund (SEDF) which is fed by retention of business rates.

In 2023/24 the council's pooled £4.369million of business rates which would otherwise have been returned to central government.

The fund was previously administered by the GEGJC on an "ad hoc" first come first served basis until its final meeting in September 2023.

At the time members said projects allocated funding were not always strategic in nature and did not necessarily maximise economic benefit and growth to the county.

Proposals for the board are making their way through the seven councils and were approved by Gloucester City Council at a meeting on March 6.

It agreed to appoint the cabinet member for environment to the board which is currently Cllr Richard Cook (C, Kingsway), leader of the council. He said: "The proposal is for the SEDF to be administered by the board. This would allow the build up of a pipeline and a more rigorous analysis thereby supporting the local economy through a strategic approach."

Cotswold District Council agreed the proposals at a meeting on March 7 and to appoint the cabinet member for economy and council transformation to the board.

Forest of Dean District Council agreed the proposals on March 14 and will appoint the leader of the council to the board.

Once all the councils have agreed to the proposals the board will be founded and an inter-authority agreement will be drawn up and signed to govern its workings with Gloucestershire County Council as the administering authority.