North Devon and Torridge to become part of ‘coast and country’ super council
Shake up of Devon’s councils is confirmed with Plymouth, Exeter and Torbay expanding and the rest lumped together into one council
North Devon and Torridge are to be lumped in with a huge ‘coast and country’ council after the biggest shake up of the county’s political map saw the Government decide to favour the city councils.
Plymouth, Exeter and Torbay will be expanded to become new standalone unitary authorities, while everyone else – and the majority of the county – will be under one single council.
It is being hailed as the biggest shake up in local government for 50 years.
The unitary authorities will run all council services, from social care, highways and education to planning and bin collections.
All eight district councils in Devon will cease to exist, along with Devon County Council.
Elections are proposed for the new councils next year with the unitary authorities taking over in 2028.
The changes are to be announced in Westminster later today (Thursday, July 16).
All councils had submitted a range of their own proposals for the government to consider, with the bigger councils all having their own ideas.
North Devon and Torridge district councils had opted for the so-called ‘1-4-5 plan’ which would have seen the creation of a ‘super council’ combining East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon, Torridge and Exeter.
In detail, a formal announcement is expected to say Plymouth will subsume 13 parishes currently in the South Hams, while Exeter will take 15 from Teignbridge, 28 from East Devon and six from Mid Devon.
Torbay will expand its boundary to take on 22 parishes in total from Teignbridge District Council and South Hams.
Speaking to the BBC today, Devon County Council leader Julian Brazil, said the county had been “betrayed.”
He said: “This is a deceitful decision. People in Devon, their council tax will be going up and their quality of services will be going down.
“It's also going to cost tens of millions to implement.
“That money is going to be spent on breaking contracts, making people redundant and then rehiring them.
“We're almost certainly going to take it to judicial review.”
The government said it would lead to “streamlined services, clearer accountability and an end to wasteful duplication.”
Secretary of State Steve Reed said: “We're shaking up local government so that people get the services they deserve - cleaner streets, better care, and money spent on what matters most to local people.
“These reforms create stronger, more efficient councils that lay the foundations for real devolution and the economic growth that will bring new jobs and opportunities to communities right across England.”