Devon County Council and its last local election before changes
Elections usually mean new beginnings – but for Devon County Council this week's poll is the beginning of the end.Like all local authority councils in the remaining "two-tier" areas – governed by a combination of county and district councils – it will soon be abolished.The government announced in the autumn that it wanted unitary authorities – single councils which provide all local government services – everywhere.To say it is the end of an era in Devon is perhaps an understatement: Devon County Council has been governing most of the county for a very long time.
Councillors in the dock
It was created by the Local Government Act of 1888 - a milestone in local democracy.Before then, Devon's smaller towns and rural areas were governed by unelected magistrates through the Court of Quarter Sessions, which sat in the old law courts at Exeter Castle.The castle courtrooms subsequently became the first home of the new county council – although the accommodation was apparently so cramped to begin with that some members had to sit in what had been the dock for the previous courts' accused.Indeed it was only in 1964 that the council moved to its current purpose-built home outside Exeter city centre.
The main urban centres of Plymouth, Torbay and Exeter have at different times moved in or out of the county council's jurisdiction.At the moment Exeter's in, while Plymouth and Torbay are out, both having been made unitary authorities nearly 30 years ago.Now, though, everything and everywhere in Devon is up for grabs; all 2,590 square miles (6,710 square km), 1.2 million people, the county council, the eight district councils and Plymouth and Torbay will be remoulded into a much smaller number of unitary authorities.Exactly how is a work in progress, but ministers expect the new local government map of Devon to be in place by 2028 at the latest.And that is not all.Across the country, the government also wants to see unitary authorities coming together under elected mayors.The existing councils in Devon wanted that to extend across the River Tamar in the form of a joint mayor for Devon and Cornwall.Cornwall Council, already a unitary authority, has emphatically rejected that, saying Cornwall should not have to combine with anybody and it does not want a mayor.
Driving local solutions
Devon's local government leaders are now asking Whitehall for a mayor to oversee the new group of councils in Devon alone – with an open invitation for Cornwall to join. How this pans out remains to be seen.But some things we do know.Ministers have been clear they are prepared to intervene as a last resort if acceptable solutions cannot be agreed locally.It is equally clear they see mayors as key players driving local government solutions. Expect to see more powers handed down from Westminster and Whitehall to those areas which accept an elected mayor.Take the pub trade, for instance. The Mayor of London has just been given new powers to grant pubs and clubs later opening hours.The government said this could be extended - you've guessed it - "to other mayors".Perish the thought that local government could ever be dull.And the outcome of this week's elections is just the start.
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BBC News
30-04-2025
- BBC News
Devon County Council and its last local election before changes
Elections usually mean new beginnings – but for Devon County Council this week's poll is the beginning of the all local authority councils in the remaining "two-tier" areas – governed by a combination of county and district councils – it will soon be government announced in the autumn that it wanted unitary authorities – single councils which provide all local government services – say it is the end of an era in Devon is perhaps an understatement: Devon County Council has been governing most of the county for a very long time. Councillors in the dock It was created by the Local Government Act of 1888 - a milestone in local then, Devon's smaller towns and rural areas were governed by unelected magistrates through the Court of Quarter Sessions, which sat in the old law courts at Exeter castle courtrooms subsequently became the first home of the new county council – although the accommodation was apparently so cramped to begin with that some members had to sit in what had been the dock for the previous courts' it was only in 1964 that the council moved to its current purpose-built home outside Exeter city centre. The main urban centres of Plymouth, Torbay and Exeter have at different times moved in or out of the county council's the moment Exeter's in, while Plymouth and Torbay are out, both having been made unitary authorities nearly 30 years though, everything and everywhere in Devon is up for grabs; all 2,590 square miles (6,710 square km), 1.2 million people, the county council, the eight district councils and Plymouth and Torbay will be remoulded into a much smaller number of unitary how is a work in progress, but ministers expect the new local government map of Devon to be in place by 2028 at the that is not the country, the government also wants to see unitary authorities coming together under elected existing councils in Devon wanted that to extend across the River Tamar in the form of a joint mayor for Devon and Council, already a unitary authority, has emphatically rejected that, saying Cornwall should not have to combine with anybody and it does not want a mayor. Driving local solutions Devon's local government leaders are now asking Whitehall for a mayor to oversee the new group of councils in Devon alone – with an open invitation for Cornwall to join. How this pans out remains to be some things we do have been clear they are prepared to intervene as a last resort if acceptable solutions cannot be agreed is equally clear they see mayors as key players driving local government solutions. Expect to see more powers handed down from Westminster and Whitehall to those areas which accept an elected the pub trade, for instance. The Mayor of London has just been given new powers to grant pubs and clubs later opening government said this could be extended - you've guessed it - "to other mayors".Perish the thought that local government could ever be the outcome of this week's elections is just the start.
BBC News
29-04-2025
- BBC News
Local Elections 2025: How should Devon's potholes be tackled?
Potholes are a major problem in Devon with the backlog of repairs thought to have an estimated cost of about £ campaigning to be elected as a Devon County Council member in elections on 1 May say problems on Devon's roads are the number one issue raised by members of the public on the are caused by ground water and heavy traffic and Tavistock, nestled in the heart of the Tamar Valley and on the edge of Dartmoor, has plenty of wet weather and lorries driving through the spoke to a local resident who campaigns for potholes to be fixed and to candidates from the five main parties about what they would do about the situation. Dave Newcombe pulls together information on where potholes develop in Tavistock and puts pressure on Devon County council to fix said the main gripes of people in the town were the amount of time it took to fix potholes and the quality of the repairs carried Newcombe said: "The potholes we've got have been here for quite a while and they've been marked out for repair, the paint is eroding, nothing seems to happen."The council don't seem to be accountable for what they're doing - if a repair is undertaken and fails within a short time it's redone again so we're paying for it again which I think is a waste of money." Debo Sellis is the Conservative candidate for said she wanted to see a change to the policy that decides which potholes get County Council currently only carries out work on potholes that have a 4cm (1.5in) vertical edge and are 30cm (12in) said: "If we can change that policy and we can use new materials we'll be able to future-proof the asset to do surface-dressing and repairs." Holly Greenberry-Pullen is the Liberal Democrat candidate for said: "What I'm hearing repeatedly at the doorstep is that residents are really dissatisfied with the significant amount of road repairs required across the whole of Devon."We need to have industry experts examine the situation, feed back to us and then potentially bring these repairs in-house."She said that would stop taxpayers' money being spent on "huge profits" for contractors from corporate companies. Gary Clifford is the Reform UK candidate for said he would like to see the council hiring a private contractor with specialist equipment to tackle said: "Modern specialist equipment is much faster - the seals they put in are permanent."We haven't got to go back over them and reinstate failed pothole repairs." Gemma Loving is the Labour candidate for said: "I'm an architect, I work in the construction industry and I believe in a quality solution the first time round."It's about focussing money in a structured and organised way."I think it's also about making sure that money isn't wasted and that when a job's done it's done properly." Sara Wood is the Green party candidate for said: "Funding needs to be allocated for repairing the roads - maybe a little less for making new said the funding needed to come from central government and that local authorities were "on their knees" Wood also said there needed to be improvements to public transport. Elections for Devon County Council will take place on will be elected for 60 seats across Devon and the counts will take place on Friday.A list of all of the candidates in all of the seats is available are expected to be the last elections for Devon County Council before all county councils and district councils are abolished in a reorganisation of local government.
BBC News
10-04-2025
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Parents lose SEND High Court challenge
Parents who said their councils had illegally reduced services for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have lost their High Court claim was brought against Devon County Council and Bristol City Council's involvement in multimillion-pound rescue packages from the government - known as Safety Valve claimed the deal involved the councils agreeing to make cuts to SEND services without any consultation with families or examining the long-term implications for National Audit Office warned in October that two-fifths of councils could be at risk of declaring bankruptcy by March 2026 because they were overspending on their high-needs budgets. Steadily rising In March 2024, the previous government agreed a bailout of £53.7m for Bristol City Council and £95m for Devon County Valve agreements are currently in place for 38 local authorities across the country in a bid to control high levels of case was heard over three days at the High Court in Bristol in January. The number of children with SEND has been steadily rising and is currently at about 1.6m.
