“Have your say today – East Devon District Council local government reorganisation and devolution” – consultation extended to Sunday 31st August
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We have been asked to have our say on the future of local government in Devon – and we might be forgiven for feeling rather fed, as arguments have been going on for some time.
Well over a decade ago, in the midst of the arguments back then over the district council’s political leadership wanting to move out of their HQ at Knowle, there was increasing talk about the longer-term demise of district councils and that East Devon District Council “will imminently have no alternative whatsoever than to integrate anyway.”
That was the very political situation back then. Now central government is telling Devon that there is indeed ‘no alternative than to integrate’. The question is what form this ‘demise’ of the district councils will take. And that is where the public is being asked for their input.
Over the last months, there have been fears about ‘rushed proposals’, an outcry at turning the South West into ‘the wild west’ and questions raised about who will manage what. The final proposal from the District Councils is that they ‘do not support the creation of one unitary council for Devon’. And, again, we have been asked to have our say on the future of local government in Devon – that particular consultation now having been extended to Sunday 31st August.
Meanwhile, as reported yesterday by the BBC, views are being sought in Devon on plans to scrap two-tier councils – with a separate county council consultation being put out, where members of the public can share their thoughts through an online survey, external which would be open until mid-October.
To further muddy the waters, as reported over the weekend by the Local Democracy Reporter, Exeter has unveiled a massive expansion project, meaning East Devon communities could be swallowed up by Exeter City Council – which seems to be part of the jostling for position before sending in the final proposals to central government:
The existing districts all favour a ‘1-5-4’ model in which Plymouth stands alone and the rest of the districts split to create two larger councils. The five-council section would include Exeter, East Devon, Mid Devon, Torridge and North Devon. The four-council section would be Torbay, Teignbridge, South Hams and West Devon.
But Torbay has said it wants to go it alone, and now Exeter City Council has published its own proposal. It says it reflects the city’s position as a major urban hub with strengths in housing growth, knowledge economy, innovation, education, climate science and transport connectivity. It says it recognises the importance of Devon’s two major urban centres – Exeter and Plymouth – as engines for economic and housing growth for the benefit of the whole county. It says the right way to go is an urban unitary council for Exeter and the surrounding areas; an urban unitary council for an expanded Plymouth and a rural and coastal unitary council for the rest of Devon.
The calls for Exeter City Council to merge with surrounding authorities has been given a positive spin by the council leader:
“Reorganisation presents a once in a generation opportunity to reshape public services to improve outcomes for residents, address inequalities and deliver value for money. Exeter is the regional capital and acts as the engine for growth of our dynamic and diverse urban and rural area and our important market towns.”
However, the areas which Exeter has its eye on will have none of it – and so it has been announced that East Devon, Teignbridge and Mid Devon District Councils are committed to working together for residents, with the deputy leader of East Devon District Council reiterating the original proposal:
“We continue to work towards the formation of two new unitary Councils. I firmly believe that this model provides a better and more balanced response to meeting the government’s criteria for local government reorganisation including for new authorities to have a guideline population of 500,000 people.”
And, again, in their press release, the district council asked residents to complete their survey by the end of August.
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