ARCHIE Gall, writing on behalf of the Boundary Committee

(July 31) is to be applauded for trying to ensure the widest

public response to the committee's proposals for

reorganising local government in Devon.

However, surprisingly for a senior civil servant and of

whom we are entitled to expect neutrality, he indulges in

some 'spin' towards the end of his letter for which he

should be challenged.

Mr Gall alludes to wanting 'stronger, better resourced

parish and town councils capable of taking decisions that

affect their local communities'. He gives examples of local

decisions that could be enabled if the Boundary

Committee proposals were implemented.

This sort of future role for parishes is highly speculative at

this stage as financial modelling to test the affordability of

the committee's proposals is currently being undertaken

by financial experts and government appointed

consultants. This assessment will not be completed until

mid September, a matter of days before the public

consultation period closes.

We are now well into the 12-week public consultation for

these very far reaching proposals for the future

governance of our communities and there is little clarity

about the precise role/function of the 28 proposed

community boards, let alone what services/budgets might

be devolved to individual parishes by a new single Devon

unitary council.

The public is therefore being invited to comment on

critical proposals for change which are neither costed nor

properly defined.

Consequently, no-one can be confident of the likely

tangible benefits that may flow from the implementation

of these changes for our residents and businesses. For

many people this obvious lack of precision is a

fundamental flaw in the current process of public

consultation.

We would encourage all West Devon residents to take time

to examine these proposals extremely carefully. At stake

is the very process of local democracy itself and effective

public accountability for decision making which should be

precious to us all.

Please ensure that your views are heard before it becomes

too late to change the outcome.

Cllr James McInnes

Leader of West Devon Borough Council

Cllr Mrs Margaret Garton

Deputy Leader of West Devon Borough Council