£150,000 to keep North Devon identity

Councillors want Barnstaple as focus for local government shake-up

North Devon Council is going it alone to build a case for a super council in the north of the county under local government reorganisation but has been warned it could cost £150,000.

Councillors want Barnstaple to be a hub for services in the future as the government looks to get rid of the two tier system of district and county councils which currently exists in Devon.

Members fear the district could be sucked up by Exeter and lose its identity when the county is divided up into fewer but larger unitary councils responsible for all local services from waste to children’s and adult social care.

At a special North Devon Council meeting on Wednesday, councillors agreed to look at two options which focus on a greater northern Devon area alongside the 1:4:5 model which is favoured by the other districts and puts North Devon and its neighbour Torridge in a unitary authority with Exeter.

But they were told it could cost upwards of £150,000 to finance the work needed to build a north-focused proposal to put before the government in November.

Leader of Torridge District Council (TDC) Ken James (Ind, Milton and Tamarside) has also indicated in an email to NDC leader David Clayton (Lib Dem, Barnstaple with Westacott) that he was not in support of it and would be only be backing the 1:4:5 model. 

Cllr James said on a previous occasion that unitary authorities needed a large economic centre like Exeter to be viable.

Under the 1:4:5 model for Devon, Plymouth is the 1, South Hams, West Devon, Teignbridge and Torbay the 4 and North Devon, Torridge, Mid Devon, Exeter and East Devon the 5.

North Devon is proposing another model where the district amalgamates with Torridge and Mid Devon and a third option where it also includes West Devon. These would effectively create a north/south split.

But with no support from the other authorities involved as yet, the council would have to meet the cost itself.

NDC chief executive Ken Miles said the cost of working up these plans needed to be balanced against other things such as the electrification of vehicles, to meet climate change targets, and improving housing for deprived communities like Ilfracombe.

But he told councillors that work carried out so far by consultants had found “some merit” in a greater northern Devon proposal.

Cllr Mathew Bushell (Ind, South Molton) said North Devon, with its beautiful coast and countryside, was becoming a place where people in high value jobs, who could work remotely, wanted to move to for the work/life balance.

“In the past everyone moved to Exeter for the big wages but now they are thinking I want to live my life as much as I want to work and Northern Devon is becoming the place where people want to go.

“I’m glad we are supporting all three options so we can work out what is best for our people.”

Cllr Malcolm Prowse (Ind, Bratton Fleming) said the independent group on the council was concerned about the electoral deficit that would result from larger authorities and the economic pull of Exeter dominating a new unitary.

Cllr Robin Milton (Ind, Bishops Nympton) said the 1:4:5 model was increasingly looking like it would be a “sell out” of North Devon’s identity.

“I am reluctant to support that one as a primary option. I am not seeing the level of understanding from the other people from the southern end of the county towards us and I feel we will be tagged on the end when it suits.”

He said the government would make the decision in the end on how Devon would be governed but at the very least the council should “do down fighting”.

“Let’s not roll over and just let this happen,” he said.

Cllr Peter Jones (Ind, Witheridge) said it was “deeply disappointing” that Torridge’s leader was not keen to get involved in supporting a northern Devon option, saying he “seems to have lost hope”

“Not only are we about to lose our identity but also our ability to really serve the community. We are just following everyone else by supporting 1:4:5. We should put primarily focus on a northern Devon option. Our councillors know and serve our communities really well and we must do as much as we can to defend and protect that.”

NDC leader Cllr Clayton said it was not a good idea to prioritise any option as yet until there was more information and analysis of the data across the  county regarding finances and services including social care.

He said with Exeter and Plymouth councils now expressing a desire to go it alone under the local government shake-up it could leave this rest of Devon a “blob” that needed sorting out.

“The work we are doing now could be to our own advantage. If we are looking at silver linings we could have council officers working from Barnstaple in the future.”

The Labour government is expected to make a decision on the best option for Devon in May next year with elections for new unitary authorities in 2027  which would be up and running by May 2028.

Making the announcement on the shake up at the end of last year Labour said it wanted to simplify local government but critics have said it is a cost cutting measure which will result in a loss of local representation and a decline in services.

Devon’s councils will be responsible for populations of around 300,000 each.