A PROPOSAL for the creation of a single council for West Devon and South Hams has passed the first hurdle at a committee meeting on Tuesday with a unanimous vote in favour of the plan.

The cost-cutting merger, which will almost definitely see the closure of the borough council’s Kilworthy offices in Tavistock and a central location found between Totnes and Tavistock for a new headquarters, was supported by West Devon’s hub committee who passionately discussed the impact this would have on local residents in the area.

Recommendations to agree, in principle, the proposal of a single second-tier council, followed by a consultation with the public and stakeholders from early August to September, with a follow up full council meeting in October to either approve or reject the proposal, were passed by the committee.

West Devon and South Hams have been facing financial pressures due to the phasing out of the money they used to receive from the Government.

The reduction in government funding (revenue support grant and the council’s share of business rates) has been dramatically reduced by £3-million in West Devon and £4-million in South Hams since 2009/2010.

However, through sharing services since 2007, the councils are currently saving £6-million a year. Despite this the councils are still facing a combined budget gap of £1.9-million each year after 2020, due to futher government cuts. As local councils are not allowed to set a negative budget, West Devon and South Hams need to find ways of closing that gap. If neither can set a balanced budget in 2020, there would be ‘severe financial consequences for both authorities because they are so intertwined’, it was reported.

Councillors recognised that there would be concerns from the public and they were advised to make a decision that ‘will best represent the people’.

Leader of West Devon Borough Council Cllr Philip Sanders said: ‘As a member of the council we will have to make a decision as to what we think is best in the short, medium or long term to represent the people who elected us — there is not a simple answer or a simple solution. 

‘It is by no means a simple process but at the moment the view of the officers is that it’s the right advice to give to members.’

Cllr Robert Sampson said: ‘This is a fundamental change - I urge all members to support this to refer to the council. This is an important and crucial topic and all members should participate in the full debate.’

Deputy leader of West Devon Borough Council Cllr Lois Samuel said: ‘£1.1-million is a lot of money to find and the “wait and see” approach is not an option — we need to be pro-active and get all members involved.’

If plans for the single council were finalised, it is reported that all staff employed by West Devon and South Hams would transfer to the new council from day one. There would be a reduction of less than ten posts across the whole organisation through ‘natural turnover’ instead of redundancy. There has been no details released as to whether the council offices will move from Tavistock.

The recommendations approved by the hub committee will now go forward to full council at West Devon on Tuesday, July 25. South Hams District Council were due to discuss the the issues at its executive meeting today (Thursday).

Speaking after the meeting Philip Sanders said there was no proposal on the table at the moment for the location of the new headquarters but it was likely to be someone between Totnes, where South Hams District Council was based, and Tavistock, where West Devon District Council was based, with small office bases retained in both towns.