At the moment no-one in Devon knows where we are going under the proposed local government reorganisation, except that district councils, the ones we are probably most aware of, are being abolished in the name of efficiency.

Ironically District Councils are the ones who collect Council Tax but East Devon only spends about 7% of it, not much more than is spent by towns and parishes.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that Honiton is hedging its bets by filling its coffers in what looks like an attempt to “take back control” and fill the vacuum. See how Honiton wants a 49.9% hike in precept].

As the press report referenced in the previous paragraph suggests, Honiton may not be the only town council doing this.

Honiton’s “vision” can be found on this link and more in depth press reviews following Owl’s post on Jo Fotheringham’s resignation can be found here.

Owl thought it might be helpful to review the back story: the evolution of local government; and wonders how far Honiton can rewind the clock.

Formation of East Devon District Council in 1974

East Devon District Council (EDDC) was formed in 1974.

It covers the whole area of eight former districts and part of a ninth, which were all abolished at the same time (many will be familiar names, others like St Thomas Rural which had its offices in Southernhay East, may not be):

• Axminster Rural District
• Budleigh Salterton Urban District
• Exmouth Urban District
• Honiton Municipal Borough
• Honiton Rural District
• Ottery St Mary Urban District
• St Thomas Rural District (parts north-east of Exeter, rest went to Teignbridge)
• Seaton Urban District
• Sidmouth Urban District

The purpose, surprise, surprise, was to make efficiency and cost savings. 

Before 1 April 1974, there were 1,211 local authorities in England. In many cases towns were governed by separate authorities from their rural surroundings. A 1971 White Paper proposed rationalisation for the following reasons:

“The areas of many existing authorities are out-dated and no longer reflect the pattern of life and work in modern society. The division between counties and county boroughs has prolonged an artificial separation of big towns from their surrounding hinterlands for functions whose planning and administration need to embrace both town and country.”

The reform created a more standardised pattern of 45 county councils and 332 district councils, though in the six metropolitan counties the division of functions between the two tiers was different from elsewhere. 

This produced a reduction of about 75% in the number of councils.

The White Paper also stated that “local authority areas should be related to areas within which people have a common interest – through living in a recognisable community, through the links of employment, shopping or social activities, or through history and tradition”.

This Act was hugely controversial at the time. It established some new counties and merged others.

It also ended the freedoms of ‘county boroughs’ – large towns and cities that had been allowed, in effect, to opt out of county council ‘control’ and run county services in their areas.

Nevertheless, these reforms were considerably less radical than those proposed by the 1968 Royal Commission on Local Government (the Redcliffe-Maud report)

Redcliffe-Maude redux?

Has Sir Humphrey run out of new ideas or is there really nothing new to add to the Redcliffe-Maude report? It looks suspiciously like the starting point for what the government is now seeking.

The 1968 Royal Commission proposed 58 unitary authorities to cover the whole of England outside of Greater London, plus three two-tier areas based on Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.  

[Note that 58 unitary authorities are just where we are headed now!]

The current 2025 reforms are aiming at creating between 2 or 3 unitary councils in place of each county council and its associated districts, effectively producing a similar reduction to that achieved in 1974.

It is also worth noting in the detail that Radcliffe-Maud proposed that Cornwall should become a single Unitary Authority and Devon be split into two: Plymouth and Devon (with Exeter included in Devon).

Evolution of local governance from ancient boroughs, parishes and feudal systems 

Local governance as we recognise it today started with the industrial revolution and consequential rapid increase in population and population densities.

Boards of improvement commissioners were ad hoc urban local government boards created during the 18th and 19th centuries to cope with things like street paving, lighting, cleaning and policing.

Local Boards of health were formed in response to cholera outbreaks in the late 19th centuries concerning themselves with sewage and water supply and general sanitary arrangements. These became particularly influential in the emerging Devon seaside resorts. 

Local authority elementary education boards were established in 1870 to take over from church and charity education foundations; their remit was extended to secondary education in 1902.

What happened to the Localism Act 2011?

This Act aimed to shift power, responsibility, and resources from Whitehall to local councils, neighbourhood groups, and individuals, promoting self-sufficiency and local decision-making.

Not at all obvious to Owl that this is the direction we are heading towards.