Interesting response from Peter Whitfield to the piece on local government reorganisation.

Take a look at the current ‘dispute’ between Hull City Council and East Riding District Council, which is getting quite nasty.

http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Head-Hull-boundary-commission-border/story-22926385-detail/story.html

Hull want to take a chunk of East Riding, and the parallels with Exeter and East Devon are obvious.

The case for Exeter taking control of the growth point area is strong, and we know that Exeter is ambitious for expansion both economically and politically. They wanted to become a unitary council, and also had aspirations to absorb Exmouth. EDDC, in political turmoil, having made a colossal mess of the Local Plan, and now proposing a very unpopular relocation, look like sitting ducks. EDDC is the largest District Council in Devon, and one of the largest by population in the country. Exeter City Council are well regarded, and have the highly rated Karime Hassan ex EDDC) in charge as Chief Executive: the call for devolution following the Scottish referendum will surely be an opportunity to trigger an attempted snatch of territory from EDDC.

The Growth Point is already a joint enterprise between various authorities and is widely perceived as an extension to the economic zone of Exeter. Its political and economic orientation is completely dominated by its proximity to and relationship with the City.

I have often wondered at the way in which East Devon’s boundaries are arranged, with Pinhoe, so obviously part of Exeter, being included, and areas to the north and east of Exeter bizarrely being administered by EDDC.

Of course, once the loss of the Growth Point is conceded, the next issue is where would the new boundaries of the City be set? Presumably, Cranbrook would be included in Greater Exeter.