Dave Thomas: We need your help to restructure local government

If you haven’t already seen, our public engagement on Local Government Reorganisation  is now open and I would really encourage you to take part.

 If you live here, work here or study in the Bay, we want to hear from you all.  

As a reminder, the Government has asked all the councils across Devon to work together to develop a proposal to replace the current system of unitary, district and county councils, with a solely unitary model of local government.  

What is important is that we need to ensure what we submit is right for Torbay. I am aware though that we have to meet the criteria that the government has set and constructively engage in the process, or we could be in the very real position that we are done to. We need to very much be a part of this conversation in order to influence the outcome. 

Here in the Bay, we have achieved a lot, and we are continuously looking at where we can improve. We don’t want to risk all our hard work being undone, and this can be seen through our careful financial management, as we are in a secure financial position. 

We want to continue to deliver for our people and our place. We know we have challenges, but we have high aspirations.  We want to continue that work together. 

Earlier this year the Cabinet considered how to respond to the Government’s request for initial proposals on LGR in Devon. 

Following our public event and receiving feedback from you, it was agreed that there were three potential options for re-organisation should be explored, these are below and are in order of preference: 

Our preferred option is for Torbay Council to remain as is. I want to say here as well that not only is this Cabinet’s preferred option, but we also have cross party agreement on this being our main option. 

The second option is a new unitary council to be created covering Torbay, approximately half of South Hams and most of Teignbridge. This is similar to the catchment area of the Torbay and South Devon NHS foundation Trust and mirrors the South Local Care Partnership area.  

The third option is a new unitary council to be created covering the area of Torbay, South Hams, West Devon and Teignbridge. 

The option of a single Devon unitary authority, with or without Plymouth, was discounted. It was felt that the size of this single authority would be too large for it to be efficient and effective whilst retaining a sense of place and community for Torbay.   

After our initial submission, Government sent a letter to all councils in Devon inviting us to fully develop our preference into a business case and submitting it at the end of November.

So as mentioned at the start, we now want to hear from you. Do you think we are right to pursue the bay staying as it is? or would you prefer to see us re-united back into a single Devon? 

These options and more are all included in the consultation, and it is extremely important that we have your views. I accept that the ultimate decision is for government to tell us which option they are choosing, but your view is incredibly important and I want to ensure as many as possible get to fill in the survey – whether on line or on paper format. 

The consultation is open for another five weeks and all the information can be found at www.torbay.gov.uk/lgr. For those of you that would prefer to complete a paper copy, these are available in all four of our libraries.  

Once this consultation closes, we will evaluate everything you tell us to help develop our final proposals. We have to submit the final proposal to Government in November, after it has been agreed by Cabinet and Council.    

We want to continue to deliver for you, your businesses and our place. We know we have challenges, but we also have high aspirations. 

By continuing to work closely with our communities and partners and capitalising on our strengths, we want to make Torbay a great place to do business. A place where everyone is able to live their best life.