Torbay determined to thrive under new devolved powers

Torbay is determined to make its voice heard as a nationwide shake-up threatens to transform the structure of local government.

Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, who is also secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, plans to shift more power to the regions by streamlining councils, merging areas with two tiers of local authority, which is the case in Devon outside Plymouth and Torbay.

The proposed changes have been a poorly-kept secret since the Local Government Association conference in the autumn, and Devon’s councils have been preparing their responses.

The changes could mean elected mayors cover large areas which could see Devon and Cornwall combined. There have even been rumours of merging the two counties with Somerset and Dorset for one huge south west council.

Others believe Devon’s eight district councils and the unitary authorities in Torbay and Plymouth could be amalgamated into two local authorities with around 500,000 people or more in each.

Torbay has been down the elected mayor route before, between 2005 and 2019, but has since reverted to the traditional committee-and-executive system.

Council leader David Thomas (Con, Preston) said he understands that Torbay and Devon are still on track to join together as a Combined County Authority (CCA), a plan set in motion under the previous Conservative government, but  questions remain about how the future looks, and it is important to take an active role.

“There’s a big shake-up coming down the line,” he said. “There is an opportunity to be ahead of the curve and to be at the table early on.

“It’s a case of if you want to talk to the government, they want to talk to you. If you don’t want to talk to the government at the moment, fine, but then it will be done ‘to’ you later on rather than ‘with’ you. I would much rather be involved in a conversation now.”

But, he said, it is inevitable that Torbay will lose some power in the shake-up. The bay’s population is around 146,000 people, meaning it will have to merge with other councils to meet the 500,000 population target for the new authorities.

“We have spoken for a while about Torbay being too small as a unitary authority, so I do think it’s the right direction,” he said. “Half a million is a lot of people, so it’s a big jump.

“But the direction of travel has been set, and you have two choices. You can either swim in the direction that things are heading, accept it and make sure you get the best out of it for our community.

“Or you can fight it and say we don’t want to be involved, we don’t want to talk, we’re not interested at all – and be left with whatever is left, I don’t think that’s the right thing to do.”