Paul Arnott LibDem deputy leader of Devon County Council and leader of East Devon District Council, said he welcomed the decision and said credit should go to Prime Minister Andy Burnham for having the “good judgment and humility” to pause and review the plans.

Miles Davis www.bbc.co.uk

The government had previously adopted the plans put forward by Labour councils in Plymouth and Exeter to expand the urban areas.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said in a statement it was launching the review to ensure the plan was “robust and aligns with new government priorities”.

Paul Arnott, Liberal Democrat deputy leader of Devon County Council and leader of East Devon District Council, welcomed the decision but said the project had already cost millions of pounds.

He said: “At both county and district levels, at least 30% of officer capacity has been redirected to work on local government reorganisation – that is multiple millions of pounds.”

Arnott said he welcomed the decision and said credit should go to Prime Minister Andy Burnham for having the “good judgment and humility” to pause and review the plans.

He said: “However, the district councils and the county council have been left with an enormous bill for this.”

Plans for local government reorganisation were originally launched in 2024 and elections were due to take place across Devon in May 2027 with the new authorities in place from April 2028.

The BBC has tried to contact the Labour leaders of Plymouth and Exeter and the Conservative leader of Torbay for comment.