North Devon councillors support devolution deal 'with reservations'

North Devon councillors have agreed to support Devon and Torbay’s devolution deal, saying it is better to be in than out.

But major concerns remain over what they call the ‘democratic deficit.’

Councillors were told at Monday's strategy and resources committee meeting of North Devon Council that they could not change the law that dictates the make-up of the ruling body, which will have just two representatives from eight district councils – but that North Devon would be 'fundamental' in the planned combined county authority (CCA).

Under the proposals, the body would control adult education to create up to 50,000 new training and retraining opportunities by 2030.

The government says it will transfer more than £16million of new funding for the CCA to invest in green jobs, homes, skills and business growth, and by capitalising on the area’s world-leading expertise in green science and technology, will accelerate Devon and Torbay’s transition to a net-zero economy.

It plans to create a stronger partnership with affordable housing body Homes England  and to hand over power over local transport.

The 12-member CCA would be led by a cabinet made up of three Devon County councillors, three from Torbay Council, together with business and education leaders and two district council members.

Sitting directly underneath that body will be a ‘Team Devon’ panel in which district councillors will play a bigger part.

There would also be advisory groups and a scrutiny panel, chaired by members of Devon and Torbay council’s opposition parties, which will look at the decisions made by the cabinet.

Some members of North Devon Council are concerned they would be 'left with crumbs' after money goes to sort out what they claim are “significant” problems in Torbay, and the only city involved is Exeter as Plymouth has chosen not to be part of the deal.

Members of the committee said North Devon had missed out on levelling up funding for Ilfracombe and wondered how another level of bureaucracy would help get money where it is most needed.

Cllr Graham Bell said “the act of law” that gave the same powers to Torbay with 140,000 residents as Devon which has 800,000 people was wrong.

Cllr Malcolm Prowse agreed, saying the democracy of the CCA does not make sense and it would be a hard sell.

He said in his 44 years as a local councillor, North Devon had “always had the rough end of the stick.”

He continued: “We have always been short-changed by the government in the past. How can we do the best we can for the North Devon economy under this devolution deal?”

Phill Adams from Devon County Council, who is leading on devolution, said all district councils in Devon share the same concerns as they all want to make sure they get a fair crack of the whip.

He said Ilfracombe, where life expectancy is 10 years lower than the rest of Devon, was “absolutely on the radar” as one of the highest priorities, and North Devon itself is one of the biggest opportunities for economic growth because of floating offshore wind power (FLOW) and pharmaceutical investments.

“We cannot ignore North Devon. It is fundamental to what we are trying to do with the CCA.”

He said that all the powers and responsibilities of the district council would remain, but all the authorities would collaborate to get a better deal for the county and have a direct line to government.

Adult education priorities would no longer be decided by someone in Whitehall and there would be greater clout to get more money for affordable housing – £8m is on the cards for housing in the new deal.

Cllr Caroline Leaver said whatever colour of government, devolution is going to happen. “It’s the direction of travel and we need to engage in it in a positive way to get the best for our residents,” she said.

Cllr David Worden had reservations but supported devolution in principle as there are positives in terms of housing and net zero: “I do not want us to miss out on this,” he said.

Council leader Ian Roome said it is important that a North Devon county councillor is part of the ruling body to prevent it becoming “Exeter-centric” and being the experts on community land trusts, North Devon would be pushing for the housing money to come to the district.

The public consultation on the devolution deal ends on Saturday, March 24. To have your say CLICK HERE