WITH 150 staff and offices which are currently undergoing a state-of-the-art transformation, the community is left wondering what the impact will be if West Devon Borough Council is abolished in the biggest local government shake-up for more than 30 years.

The Boundary Committee last week announced it would be consulting again on proposals for a single Devon unitary authority and a two-unitary option — an Exeter and Exmouth council, including 21 surrounding rural parishes, and one covering the rest of Devon. Plymouth and Torbay would retain their existing unitary status.

Under the proposals West Devon Borough Council and the seven other district and borough councils in Devon would disappear, a move which has met much opposition from the borough's leaders who fear there would be a reduction in the quality of local services and local democracy.

If the unitary proposal gets the go-ahead, a question-mark hangs over the future of the borough's prominent Kilworthy Park offices at Tavistock. They are the hub of the local service network and in the region of £3-million has been spent bringing them into the 21st century.

If changes take place,Tavistock's economy is also likely to feel the pinch.

Chamber of commerce chairman Nigel Eadie said: 'There is a very positive economic impact on Tavistock's retail centre from the staff at West Devon Borough Council.

'With offices on the edge of town the staff come into the town for lunch and spend money in the shops. Any job losses would have an impact on the economy without a doubt.'

Mr Eadie said the chamber was not in favour of a unitary authority: 'We feel, as a lot of local people feel, things are better represented at a local level. A lot of work has been put in at Kilworthy Park, not just in terms of the physical benefit, but in terms of relationships being built in the town.

'I have worked in different parts of the country and I have found that West Devon is the authority to work with. The staff are dedicated to their work and will try as hard as they can to liaise with you about issues that you are interested in.'

The borough's corporate director Nick Payne said everything was speculation at this point and whatever decision was made it was not likely to be implemented before April 2011.

'If the Secretary of State decides to go for some sort of unitary authority it will take a long while for everything to fall into place, and on day one we would not expect to see a huge difference in the way local services are configured.'

He said even if there was no borough council — it is the council's wish for the status quo to remain — the hope was that a high profile public presence still be maintained in Tavistock.

'The investment that has gone into Kilworthy Park in the last couple of years is about saying to any successor, whoever that may be, that here is a state of the art facility in a very important part of Devon.

'It is a long way from Exeter and Barnstaple but nevertheless it is serving a very important community.'

He said the main concern of the council was maintaining the quality of services.

'If we were convinced that this new arrangement could be better for local people by improving local services and local democracy then we would fully support it. But do not have confidence that any of this criteria would be met and that is why the borough council has been consistently against these proposals.'

The public has until May 14 to give its views to the boundary commission. Leader of the borough council James McInnes is urging people who made representations last year to write again.

He said: 'This period of consultation will be the most important and the one that the Boundary Committee will be taking most seriously before they make their final recommendations to the Government in mid-July.

'If you don't want these proposed changes, it's important that the boundary committee knows why.

'Devon councils have, over the last few years, been working together to share the services they provide and reduce costs for residents. We would much rather make evolutionary changes in this way. The boundary committee's revolutionary changes would be a disaster.'

The consultation is being repeated with the alternative option of a two-unitary authority now on an equal footing with the single Devon authority proposal.

Chair of the boundary committee Max Caller said: 'We are not at this stage expressing a preference for one pattern over the other but, on the basis of the evidence received so far, we think both sets of proposals may have the capacity to meet all five criteria that the Secretary of State has given us and deliver the very best for local people.'

Responses to the draft proposals can be made by filling in an online form at or writing to: Review Manager (Devon Review), The Boundary Committee for England, Trevelyan House, Great Peter Street, London SW1P 2HW.