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 and improved council, or possibly multiple councils, covering all of Devon.
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.
The details are not yet known but we could end up with expanded Exeter and Plymouth councils and a small Devon Unitary Authority representing everyone else. Or perhaps the combined Devon & Torbay (but not Plymouth) idea may still go ahead. Or maybe something completely different.
Why Is This Bad for Honiton?
Moving to a unitary authority could be bad news for towns like Honiton. It may result in power becoming more centralised 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.
Share on Facebook
It would help my campaign if you would share this page on Facebook.
Honiton Town Council Plans
Town councils will continue but whether their function will change significantly is still unclear.
And what are Honiton Town Council’s plans for the new era of local governance?
HTC is considering plans to merge with other local parish councils (in effect bringing back the old Honiton Municipal Borough abolished in 1974) to increase tax revenue and use the money take over local rubbish collections and to build a multi-storey car park in Lace Walk.
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 to DCC, I will make sure that the views of Feniton and Honiton residents and businesses are heard in the planning for this reorganisation.
And just in case you were wondering, I will be voting against plans for a multi-storey car park in Lace Walk.