What do all the councils do?
Trying to work out what each local council does in Honiton what can be a complete nightmare.
Devon County Council (DCC) handles education, social care, highways, and strategic planning.
East Devon District Council (EDDC) manages local planning, housing, refuse collection, and environmental health.
Honiton Town Council (HTC) focuses on community-level services like the street market, allotments, local events, and acting as a planning consultee.
In reality, this means completely a wierd split of responsibilities in Honiton.
On street parking is DCC but the car parks are run by EDDC. Potholes and loose paving stones are DCC but EDDC are responsible for street cleaning. Meanwhile HTC is responsible for maintenance of some bus stops and upkeep of some local flower beds and hanging baskets. But EDDC (or is it DCC?) cut the grass around the flower beds. Confused yet?
Sometimes town and parish councils like Honiton Town Council end up taking on jobs such as public toilets that are really the responsibility of the District Council. This pushes up the tax bill (the precept) for local residents who effectively end up paying twice for the same service.
Proposed Local Government Reorganisation
The proposed local government reorganisation aims to simplify these responsibilities by creating unitary authorities and getting rid of district councils to reduce duplication and “to improve efficiency” (that old chestnut).
So in Honiton, this will mean that East Devon District Council and Devon County Council will be abolished and their responsibilities merged into some new council. As the various councils in Devon could not agree a single proposal, the government decides what we get.
This has already happened in Cornwall which became a unitary authority in 2009, replacing its six district councils with a single Cornwall Council responsible for all local government functions.
On 16th July, the government announced their plan for several areas, including Devon.
The decision for Devon was to divide it into four unitary councils:
- an expanded Plymouth
- an expanded Torbay
- a significantly expanded Exeter
- the remainder of Devon
This was the proposal put forward jointly by Plymouth Council and Exeter City Council.
Why Is This Bad for Honiton?
Honiton is in the area of the new council for “Devon Coast and Countryside” which is all the bits left over after Plymouth, Exeter and Torbay expanded into their surrounding areas.
This looks like a bad move for Honiton. We will be part of a council that has no natural centre, no transport links between its parts, and could mean we end up having to travel miles to access council services.
Part of the area covered by East Devon District Council will be swallowed up by the expanded Exeter council, which means even more work to split EDDC services between two new unitary councils.
This may also result in power becoming more remote, with fewer councillors covering larger areas and decision-making becoming less responsive to local community needs.
In a bigger unitary council, party politics often take centre stage, making it harder for local voices to be heard. This risks sidelining the priorities of towns like Honiton.
Honiton Town Council Plans
Town councils will continue but whether their function will change significantly is still unclear. This has varied in areas where unitary councils are well established. Sometimes unitary councils decide to stop providing some services, such as public toilets and play parks, and Town Councils have to decide whether to take over,
And what are Honiton Town Council’s plans for the new era of local governance?
HTC is considering plans to increase tax revenue raised from Honiton residents and use the money take over services previously provided by EDDC … and build a multi storey car park in Lace Walk. I will write more about their plans later.
Independent Thinking
With these big changes coming up, it’s vital that local residents have councillors who know their area well and can focus on what matters most to their community, not just toe the party political line.
If elected, I will make sure that the views of Honiton residents and businesses are heard in the planning for this reorganisation.
This article was updated on 22nd July 2026 to reflect the recent government decision on LGR in Devon