Your Councils – Steamrollered, bulldozed, eradicated.
All eight of Devons district councils are fighting back against a plan by Devon County Council which they say will do just that – wipe out local accountability.
Devon County Council meets today (Thursday 09 January) to ask its councillors to support a One Authority plan. It also seeks to abandon this May’s county elections and has to get its request in to the Government by Friday.
This is a completely wrong approach…
Angela Rayners’ White Paper
The shakeup of local Government has been set in train by the Government which just before Christmas dropped its bombshell on councillors. It wants to see what local councils are suggesting by March. Its aim is to set up Mayoral Strategic Authorities.
If it goes ahead, South Hams and all the district councils will be gone, possibly by May next year. Two unitary councils, Torbay and Plymouth, could also be brought into the fold. On Monday South Hams voted unanimously against any plan which will see Devon County Council become one unitary power.
Helter Skelter
Cllr John Birch (Lib Dem) who put forward Monday’s resolution said :”This is a completely wrong approach especially in this part of the world. Devon county council mark 2 would be just too remote. Devon wants to steamroller it through. It is important we consult businesses and townand parish councils.”
Cllr John McKay (Lib Dem) said : “ It is an extraordinary helter skelter change. It is a very complicated process.”
Councillors fear that nothing else will get done as districts will effectively be in limbo while the handover of power takes place. Meanwhile town and parish councils – which will remain – will likely take on further responsibilities. One concern is that things district provide which are nice to have but don’t have to be provided by law – like leisure centres for example – may close as money is diverted by the new one-for-all council to other things. Following the Council meeting last Monday, Green Party Councillors produced and signed an open letter to Devon residents which is copied out in full below.
Cllr McKay added that if there is no Devon county election, it means the current Tory run administration will get another 12 months in power without being mandated by the electorate.
You may ask – why does this matter to me?
Well district councils run planning, waste collection, leisure centres, public loos, some car parks. Councillors know what is important to their voters. They may not always get decisions right but they are like our bobby on the beat – easy to contact and able to represent their town or village.
Devon county council may not get its way this week though – 20 district councillors (four from the South Hams ) are also on Devon county, and those who voted against the One Unitary proposal
may vote against again. We will have to wait and see how the numbers stack up. The Totnes Pulse will update you here on the site.
Cllr McKay said if the plan is not accepted then there will be time to consider an alternative – which is to split Devon into two unitary councils – one based in Exeter, the other in Plymouth.
The Full Open Letter to Residents from the Local Green Party:
Keep the local in Local Government
Labour’s Devolution plans will radically reshape local government in Devon [1]. They aim to transfer powers from Whitehall to Strategic Mayoral Authorities, sweeping away both district and county councils. In their place, large new unitary authorities are also planned, serving a population of about 500,000 each – roughly half the size of Devon and Torbay Councils. As Unitary Authorities are established, Devon’s rural areas will see power move further away and held by fewer locally elected representatives.
Certainly, the two tier council model has not served Devon well. We have seen a decade of local failure of childrens’ services, ineffective special educational needs support and disjointed transport planning. At the same time multiple national crises are all taking their toll on Devon: struggling care and NHS services, lack of affordable and social housing plus the escalating environmental and climate crises. The results are growing inequality and shocking levels of child poverty in parts of Devon.
Genuine devolution, where decisions are made at the most local level possible, is a good thing. This would also involve referring up those matters that can’t be dealt with on a small scale. The Government’s vision of Strategic Authorities with strategic powers over transport, housing, economic development, and the environment could work well for the common good, fixing market failures and prioritising local needs.
However, Labour’s local government reorganisation risks sucking powers up; away from communities into the hands of a single Mayor with immense control and few checks and balances. There’s a real danger that a Mayor could ride roughshod over the best interests of communities and the environment.
The Green Party and elected Green councillors across Devon, Exeter, Torbay and Plymouth will press hard to keep the ‘local’ in local Government: being there to meet local needs. Local Government must maintain strong links and accountability between councillors and the communities they represent. New boundaries must respect our places and consider natural boundaries, such as river catchment areas, to enable better care of our natural environment.
Devolution must also be used to strengthen local democracy by introducing a fair and proportional voting system for local government elections so every vote counts.
We also need an increased recognition of Town and Parish Councils, already unsung heroes, as they increasingly take on responsibilities passed down or neglected by upper tiers, such as looking after parks, bins and gully clearance. Sadly the White Paper ignores this role, and certainly avoids allocating additional resources to meet local needs as towns, neighbourhoods and villages expand.
Unless Government makes serious investment in local services, no amount of reorganisation or devolution will undo the years of austerity and devaluing of Councils which has degraded services, people’s trust and our local environment.
Over the past year Devon County, Torbay Council and the Districts have haggled over a new Combined Authority, set to come into place this year with £16m of Government funding. Now the four councils of Devon, Torbay, Plymouth, and Cornwall are wanting to ask Government to trade-in this Combined Authority, for a Mayoral Strategic Authority in May 2026.
No one has asked residents how they would like our local government to govern. As these seemingly inevitable proposals for supersized councils progress, they will be pushed through by Councillors whose terms will have expired in May this year. May’s 2025 County Council elections should not be cancelled. They must provide an opportunity for residents to give a mandate to Councillors prepared to stand up for democracy, their communities and environment.
Signed,
Cllr Georgina Allen, Totnes ward, South Hams District Council
Cllr James Banyard, St David’s Ward, Exeter City Council
Cllr Carol Bennett , Heavitree Ward , Exeter City Council.
Cllr Malcolm Calder, Okehampton South, West Devon Borough Council
Cllr Lynn Daniel, South Tawton Ward, West Devon Borough Council
Cllr Olly Davey, Exmouth Town Ward, East Devon District Council/Exmouth Town Council
Cllr Paula Fernley, Broadclyst Ward. East Devon District Council & EDDC Assistant Portfolio Holder for Coast Country and Environment.
Cllr Henry Gent, Broadclyst Division, Devon County Council
Cllr Mark Haworth-Booth, Landkey ward, North Devon Council
Cllr Jacqi Hodgson, Devon County Councillor for Totnes and South Hams District Councillor for Dartington & Staverton, Executive Member for Waste & Community Compositing.
Cllr Andy Ketchin, Newtown & St Leonards Ward, Exeter City Council
Cllr Ricky Knight, Heanton Punchardon ward, North Devon Council
Cllr Lauren McLay, Plympton Chaddlewood ward, Plymouth City Council
Cllr Diana Moore, St David’s Ward. Exeter City Council
Cllr Ian Poyser, Plympton Chaddlewood ward, Plymouth City Council
Cllr Anna Presswell, Totnes ward, South Hams District Council
Cllr Tess Read,St David’s ward, Exeter City Council
Cllr Catherine Rees, Heavitree Ward, Exeter City Council
Cllr Gill Westcott, Canonsleigh ward, Mid Devon District Council
Cllr Lynn Wetenhall, Newtown & St Leonards Ward, Exeter City Council
Cllr Sara Wilson, Ilfracombe West Ward, North Devon District Council
And, Judy Maciejowska, Coordinator West Devon Green Party