Call for West Devon to be split to get best for residents

Residents in the north look to Exeter; and to Plymouth in the south

A call has been made for West Devon to be sliced in half and aligned with separate cities in the forthcoming local government reorganisation.

Cllr Patrick Kimber (Con, Hatherleigh) told West Devon Borough Council that Okehampton and the north of the borough looked to Exeter for health services, employment, education and shopping, while Tavistock looked to Plymouth.

The government wants to abolish county and district councils in favour of larger unitary authorities.

Plymouth wants to retain its current unitary status but needs to expand to have the number of residents the government suggests future unitaries will need.

Exeter, which is currently a district council, also wants to be a unitary body.

The government expects future unitary councils to cover around half a million residents. Both Exeter and Plymouth will need to bring in other areas to reach that size, unless the government offers them wriggle room.

It has already suggested some exceptions, such as Exeter, may be allowed.

Plymouth’s natural partners are South Hams and West Devon, with which it shares a local plan, and Tavistock is a 30-minute drive away.

District and borough councils in the county together with the unitary council of Torbay are currently in talks about how Devon could be carved up. They have to present initial plans to the government by Friday 21 March.

West Devon is the smallest of the councils with just 58,000 residents.

The government says unitary structures must prioritise high quality and sustainable public services, including health.

Cllr Kimber said it was a three-hour round trip to Plymouth from Hatherleigh in the north and residents there are referred to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, and North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple and had no connection to Plymouth.

Equally residents of West Devon’s second largest town of Okehampton look to Exeter which is just over half an hour’s drive or 40 minutes by train.

Passenger services from Okehampton to Exeter were reinstated three years ago but there is no train line to Plymouth.

Mr Kimber said if Exeter becomes a unitary council, the north of West Devon should be included or be aligned with councils in the North like Torridge to “get the best for residents.

Cllr Tony Leech (Ind, Okehampton North) said putting the Okehampton area in with Exeter did make sense, but he suspected that this would not meet the government’s criteria about taking account of existing council footprints.

He said it would also mean getting the Boundary Commission involved, which would  “complicate things”.