Devon council shake-up hits fresh hurdle as Government reviews plans

Plans to reorganise local government across Devon have been paused and will now be reviewed by the Government.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) would have seen Exeter, Plymouth and Torbay expand their boundaries to create three large unitary authorities, with the rest of Devon forming a fourth.

Proposals were announced earlier this year under the previous Labour government and faced strong opposition from rural communities and some local politicians.

Announcing the review in the House of Commons, Communities Secretary Angela Rayner said Prime Minister Andy Burnham was determined to “rewire the state” and give more power to local communities.

She said the pause followed legal advice and would allow the Government to ensure the reorganisation process was robust and that its proposals matched the priorities of the new administration.

The Government also confirmed that local elections scheduled for May 2027 will go ahead on the existing council boundaries while the review takes place.

“We will work with people in Devon and make sure they get the right local government devolution for them,” Ms Rayner said.

The decision has been welcomed by Devon County Council leader Julian Brazil, who described it as “good news for the people of Devon”.

He said: “We now seem to have a Prime Minister who listens and this is a mature decision by the Government. We can work with a Government that listens.”

Rebecca Smith, Conservative MP for South West Devon, also welcomed the decision.

She said: “I am delighted that the Government has paused its plans for local government reorganisation in Plymouth, Devon and Torbay and will now look at them again.”

Ms Smith said the Prime Minister had agreed to reconsider the Devon decision when she questioned him last week.

“There is now an opportunity for the Government to listen properly to the communities affected and make sure whatever comes next is right for Devon,” she said.

Devon CPRE has also welcomed the Government’s decision to review the proposals.

Steve Crowther, chair of Devon CPRE, said the organisation had opposed the proposed structure because of its potential impact on rural Devon.

He said: “Impoverishing 440,000 Devonians with the most expensive Council Tax in the land, so that two cities could get more prosperous is not a good look or well thought through, as we all told them as much.”

The review follows pressure from several Devon MPs, including South Devon Liberal Democrat MP Caroline Voaden, who has been one of the most vocal opponents of the proposed rural unitary authority.

She said the Government had chosen an option that was “unworkable and not what rural Devon wanted”.

“This argument was never about being against LGR,” she said. “All we want is for the government to listen and prioritise local concerns over political interests.”

The Communities Secretary said the review would be carried out “as speedy as possible”, although no date has yet been given for a final decision on Devon's future council structure.