Greens warn of Devon devolution power grab

'It risks putting power into the hands of a single mayor with immense control'

Devon’s Green councillors have added their voices to the growing opposition to plans for a major shake-up in the county’s councils.

The government's proposals would do away with Devon’s district councils and see the county potentially governed by a single unitary authority, possibly led by an elected mayor.

Supporters say the move would sweep away a level of bureaucracy and lead to a better service for local communities.

But opponents fear that people will find it harder to have a say in how they are governed, with power in the hands of a mayor instead.

Twenty Green Party councillors from local authorities across Devon and Plymouth have put their names to an open letter expressing their concerns.

The letter says Labour’s reorganisation of local government "risks sucking powers up, away from communities and into the hands of a single mayor with immense control and few checks and balances".

The elected Greens say they will press hard for local government to maintain strong links with communities. 

District councils all over Devon are meeting this week to discuss their responses to the plans. The government’s white paper was published just before Christmas, and councils have until Friday to respond.

South Hams and West Devon have both come out strongly against the proposals in their current form.

Other councils are meeting in the coming days including Devon County Council, which is discussing a strategy to create a large unitary authority. The Conservative-led council will also discuss postponing elections scheduled for May until the devolution picture becomes clearer.

The Green councillors are against cancelling the elections, saying: “They provide an opportunity for residents to give a mandate to councillors prepared to stand up for democracy, their communities and the environment.”

The influential Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) has given a guarded welcome to the proposals for reorganisaion.

Chief executive Jonathan Carr-West said: “The government’s devolution agenda is ambitious and far-reaching. At LGIU, we have for many years argued that complex problems find their best solutions locally and that power needs to be devolved from Whitehall to our regions, councils and communities.

“Localism is both a democratic good and a better way of getting things done.”

However, he said the white paper "holds out promise but also creates risk". He went on: “We need to ensure that the coming months are not just spent in fractious debate about the appropriate size for unitary councils.

“Our agenda cannot just be about shuffling existing powers and functions around between different-sized units of government. This must be about genuine added value and better outcomes for communities whatever the structures we end up with.”