The leader of the smallest district authority in Devon claims the government is going to “squeeze” rural councils until they “bleed dry” as it presses ahead with local government reorganisation.
But Cllr Mandy Ewings (Ind, Tavistock South West) issued a rallying call to members of West Devon Borough Council to keep doing their best with the finances they have got for the time-being.
The government is looking to abolish the two-tier system of district and county councils which exists in Devon in favour of unitary councils covering larger geographic areas, possibly overseen by a mayor covering a strategic authority of Devon and Cornwall.
Exeter City Council is bidding for unitary status by including parts of East Devon, and Plymouth, which is already a unitary, hopes to extend its boundaries into the South Hams.
But how the rest of Devon will be controlled is unknown and district councils have begun talks to discuss possible mergers.
With 57,000 residents, West Devon would have to join with several other councils to be of a population size set by the government for a new unitary authority.
There is flexibility on the 500,000 population rule, however, if areas can put forward a strong case showing they are growth areas.
West Devon’s overview and scrutiny committee was told this week that rural councils are getting “very little” of new ‘recovery grants’ issued by the government to run services.
The government says it wants to “start to correct the unfairness of the current system” and “lay the foundation for future reform” with a new £600 million recovery grant, which is being allocated on deprivation, population and ability to raise income locally.
Deputy chief executive of West Devon Borough Council Steve Mullineaux said it is “crystal clear” what direction the government is heading by issuing metropolitan authorities like Liverpool and Manchester with the most funds of around £20 million or more. West Devon received £63,000.
The rural services delivery grant has been withdrawn from local authorities by Labour. This used to be worth £600,000 to the council. The authority will, however, make representations to the government on the cost of providing rural services to see if it can get the grant reinstated as part of its funding settlement for the next financial year.
The committee was told that the council is likely to end up with a £1.6 million budget gap in 2026/27. Mr Mullineaux said he is more pessimistic about funding than he had been in his 10 years of being at West Devon.
He said he doesn’t expect the local government reorganisation to hit West Devon for at least two years.
But he said: “This is residents’ money and we have got to make sure we carry on delivering services until someone shuts the light off and says goodbye West Devon.”
Cllr Ewings said: “The government is going to squeeze out rural authorities and keep squeezing them until we bleed dry.
“But we have to continue our day job and looking after communities and residents. If we are going to have to hand over the keys we want to leave it in the best state we possibly can.
“Where we can do things to the betterment of communities, all of us want to say I did my best for my ward while we are still here.”
Since 2010, West Devon’s core funding reduced under the Conservative and Coalition governments by £3 million. It now receives £112,000 of central funds to run services.
By sharing a workforce and some services with South Hams District Council, it has saved £2.2 million a year with combined savings of more than £6 million.
For 2025/26, councillors agreed annual budget savings of £1.7 million, which includes salary savings including scrapping a vacant post of assistant director of planning, generating more income in services and more business rates income.
The largest grant to the council from the government is the new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) grant of more than £1 million to manage packaging waste.
The New Homes Bonus will continue for this year at £216,000 for the council but is then expected to be discontinued.
Garden waste collections, which raise £70,000, are proposed to rise to £65 a year for households from April.
Council tax makes up 60 to 70 per cent of funding for West Devon. The overview and scrutiny committee supported a council tax rise of 2.99 per cent, the maximum amount allowed without a referendum. The final decision on council tax and budget setting process will be made by the full council in February.
Committee members agreed that £80,000 from the second homes council tax premium be reserved for providing more affordable housing.
The council’s earmarked reserves currently stand at £11 million and unearmarked reserves at £1.7 million.