BARELY had the dust settled on the government’s proposals to carve up Devon before efforts were underway to frustrate the process.

Bradley Gerrard www.middevonadvertiser.co.uk

Devon’s prospective fate was confirmed in Parliament earlier this month (Thursday, July 16), with the county’s Labour-led cities Plymouth and Exeter being granted permission to expand into their affluent neighbours.

Alongside those new ‘Greater Plymouth’ and ‘Greater Exeter’ councils, an augmented Torbay was green-lighted, leaving the rest of Devon as a mega council covering a swathe of rural and coastal communities spanning around 110 miles from Salcombe in the south to Lynton in the north.

It was the latter part of the proposal that sparked fury across Devon, with some politicians calling it a “betrayal” of the county.

Within days, Devon County Council confirmed that it had begun information gathering with a view to submitting a Judicial Review. Such processes tend not to decide if a decision is right or wrong in principle, but seek to establish whether a decision was made correctly in line with relevant policies, procedures and regulations.

Here we consider possible arguments the county council may lean on or explore to make its case.

Sticking to the rules

A crucial argument will be for Devon to claim that the government did not follow its own advice on how to reorganise Devon.

A claim of overlooking expert and high-ranking views was even made by the shadow secretary for housing, communities and local government, James Cleverly MP, when the announcement was made in the House of Commons.

However, the government would no doubt respond by echoing the words of Steve Reed MP, the secretary of state, that the choice was made because it “will enable a better outcome overall for the area”, and that it has been judged against the criteria set out in the consultation.

Actively opposed

Closely related to the first possible argument is the results of the government’s own consultation on the proposed council shake-up for Devon.

Just a fifth of respondents (20 per cent) were in favour of the government’s chosen option, with more than two-thirds (69 per cent) against it.

Indeed, the chosen option ranked fourth out of the five put forward by Devon’s councils.

While the government has always had the power to choose whichever option it wishes, and even to tweak proposals to make an amended option, the county council could claim that such negative responses in the consultation show a lack of support for the selected option.

Questionable boundaries

There may also be emphasis on some inconvenient boundaries that would emerge if the government’s option for local government reorganisation goes ahead.

One of those would be between Ottery St Mary and West Hill, which are two inextricably linked communities.

Under the government’s preferred option, the new expanded Exeter council would subsume West Hill, but Ottery St Mary would fall into the coast and country authority.

Interestingly, a proposal in 2022 to put each of the communities in different parliamentary constituencies ultimately failed, partly because of opposition from residents.

Other curious boundaries are also understood to transpire in Totnes, which would have part of Bridgetown in a different council, and in Dawlish and Teignmouth, which would be split between the new Exeter and Torbay councils, respectively.

Population predicament

The secretary of state’s letter to Devon cites part of the rationale for his decision being to allow “communities to be better represented through their councils with clear place-based public service priorities”.

However, opponents may argue that the vast footprint of the coast and country council has no obvious economic centre, and therefore providing services across that expanse could present the new council with a host of problems.

As Plymouth’s own submission stated, rural Devon has a population density of just 124 people per square kilometre compared to the city’s 3,311, which is something that could make it harder for services to reach the people that need them most.

While the coast and country council would still have the largest population – 460,000 – compared to the enlarged urban councils, the extra cost of delivering services across the council could present an issue.

Interestingly, the three urban councils will have populations below the 500,000 level that the government initially stated was an important factor.

Vulnerable children concern

Concerns around vulnerable children may also be used as an argument by the county council against the selected council overhaul, especially as fears on this topic have been aired by a government appointee.

The Children’s Services Commissioner for Devon County Council, Nigel Richardson CBE, warned in a report last year that one of his two major concerns for children’s services – which the county council oversees – was LGR.

He stated that “anything that breaks” the positive improvement being seen in the county council’s children’s services department would “risk stopping the existing work in its tracks with an even bigger risk that things would quickly slip backwards”, he said.

While Devon’s children’s services effectively remains graded as ‘Inadequate’ by the education regulator, Ofsted, Mr Richardson’s report noted clear improvements.

The county council’s proposal for LGR would have maintained its existing footprint, but led to a new unitary council taking responsibility for all services within that boundary, instead of the split of services between county and district councils within that area now.

Ultimately, Devon will be hoping a Judicial Review isn’t necessary, having already made pleas to Andy Burnham to halt the process in the county.

But even if it does reach a court showdown, it’s likely to be a close fight.

Towns split up, historic communities divided! [E.g. Totnes split and West Hill & Ottery St Mary divided.]

How does having two different authorities collecting rubbish from the same town make local service delivery more efficient?

There is no other council in the country the size and population of the rural rump, with Barnstable the largest town.

Addressing the government Julian Brazil says:

“Reject the blatantly politically partisan carving up of Devon and instead work with us to develop the best solution.”

“It is not the destination of LGR we oppose, but the journey you are forcing us on. Put aside the views of a handful of self-interested political pygmies and do what’s best for the people of Devon and indeed the Country.“

Councillor Julian Brazil www.southhams-today.co.uk

The government has announced its options for unitary Devon. Districts and the County Council will cease, and instead we will have four unitary councils. When we first heard, I had to check it wasn’t April 1st. It’s the worst possible scenario. Towns split up, historic communities divided and an option the vast majority of Devon’s residents do not want. There is no other council in the country the size and population of the rural rump, with Barnstable the largest town.

I have never been opposed to Local Government Reorganisation, but this is just wrong on so many levels. The decision negates many of the benefits we could have seen. How does having two different authorities collecting rubbish from the same town make local service delivery more efficient? Government seems to have lost the plot. The justification for their decision is based entirely on economic growth and housing construction. And yet our service priorities are around waste collection, road maintenance, children’s and adults’ services. Inevitably, these will all suffer and take years to get back to where we are now. The whole flawed exercise will cost around £80 million, all paid for by Devon’s council taxpayers.

We do want good economic growth and the right houses in the right places at the right prices for our local residents. The way we can support this is by providing the best and most efficient day-to-day services people rely on; that’s our job. If you neglect these bread-and-butter workings, the strong foundations our country needs, then growth and increased productivity will not happen. Anyway, I thought this strategic role is for a mayor. Setting up separate unitary councils to prioritise growth misses the point. It exhibits a complete lack of understanding of how local government works. Take children’s services, our top priority, at the council. Both the government-appointed commissioner and Ofsted have recognised the progress we are making in our much-needed improvement journey. The commissioner has explicitly warned that splitting the service is fraught with risk and will lead to deterioration, but the government apparently isn’t interested.

With a new prime minister and a mainly new cabinet, the government has the opportunity to come to its senses. I was impressed with Mr Burnham’s first speech. Here was someone who actually understood the dynamics between local and central government. He had a vision of genuine devolution, where innovation and efficiency were not stymied by the dead hand of Whitehall; Politicians working more collaboratively across parties and the rejection of yah-boo politics. It’s how we do it in the South Hams, and we are working towards the same at Devon County Council. We know our residents will be better served when we all work together through consensus and compromise.

Now the new prime minister can put his words into action. Reject the blatantly politically partisan carving up of Devon and instead work with us to develop the best solution. Do not waste the millions of pounds implementing this disastrous unitary pattern and listen to us. Our way will save money and the chance to invest in the priorities of Devon. We are working well with the districts, and we can achieve much. It is not the destination of LGR we oppose, but the journey you are forcing us on. Put aside the views of a handful of self-interested political pygmies and do what’s best for the people of Devon and indeed the Country.