Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution
What’s changing?
On 16 December 2024, the Government announced significant reforms for local government and published an English devolution white paper.
This includes two main initiatives:
- Devolution: Transferring powers and funding from Whitehall to local areas by creating regional strategic authorities with an elected Mayor, covering populations of over 1.5 million in all areas of England that don't already have them.
- Local Government Reorganisation: Ending the two-tier county and district council system by forming new unitary local authorities serving larger populations.
If the Government's plans for this reform go ahead, the way services are delivered by your councils will change.
What Local Government Reorganisation means for you
In the county of Devon, there are currently two unitary authorities (Torbay Council and Plymouth City Council), one county council (Devon) and eight district and borough councils, including Mid Devon.
You can read about the current structure here.
In the future, these could be reorganised to create new unitary authorities which will deliver all council services within their area.
If this happens, Mid Devon District Council and Devon County Council will no longer exist and the services we provide to you will be delivered by a single unitary authority.
Our proposals
As requested by Government, a joint outline proposal (known as an interim plan) has been submitted on behalf of all the Devon district councils, except Exeter. The proposal has also been included as one of several options submitted by both Torbay Council and Devon County Council.
We want to make sure that any future reorganisation meets the needs of our communities in Mid Devon and across the whole of Devon.
Known as the 1-4-5 plan, it proposes:
- Retaining Plymouth unitary authority.
- A unitary combining the South Hams, Teignbridge and West Devon areas with Torbay.
- A unitary including East, Mid, North Devon, Torridge and Exeter.
Multiple other proposals have also been submitted to Government by Plymouth, Exeter, Devon County and Torbay.
All councils across Devon are now working towards refining the possible options for the future of local government and final proposals will be submitted to Government in November 2025.
Your Say
As part of the submission process, along with other councils in Devon, over the next few months we want your feedback so we can understand what matters the most to you and your community. The views of our residents, partners and other stakeholders will help us develop a more detailed business case for our final proposal – a plan which must meet the future needs of everyone living, working and serving in Mid Devon.
Although the Government will ultimately decide how local government is reorganised in Devon, you can help influence the final proposals.
We are committed to making sure any changes to local government continues to tackle local challenges and makes the best use of the opportunities and resources we have.