Plymouth expansion plans revealed

Plymouth City Council is planning a major expansion in the reorganisation of local government that is taking place across England.

The council wants to take control of a large area which is currently part of South Hams District Council - expanding the population of Plymouth City Council by about 30,000.

Tudor Evans, leader of Labour-run Plymouth City Council, said the plan would "strengthen our city's identity and bring significant benefits to our residents".

The leader of South Hams District Council said he would fight the "land grab" as councils struggled to reach a consensus on how Devon should be carved up.

Evans said the plan, referred to as the Plymouth Growth Area, represented "a pivotal moment for Plymouth and the residents in our neighbouring parishes".

Under the scheme, Plymouth would expand to the north on to Dartmoor, to the east to take in the town of Ivybridge and the parish of Ugborough, and along the coast to the south west to take in villages such as Wembury and Noss Mayo.

He said the change would "strengthen our city's identity" and enable the council to "deliver better public services, create more jobs, and build much-needed new homes" while bringing "significant financial savings".

He said Plymouth had "a fantastic track record of delivery, and that there is a huge pipeline of growth potential if we grasp this opportunity now".

Evans said lots of people who lived in the expansion zone already had "strong ties" to Plymouth and the new plan would "ensure that they have one clear point of contact for all their needs, from waste collection to education".

Plymouth's expansion was criticised by the leader of South Hams District Council, Liberal Democrat Julian Brazil.

He said: "I'll be opposing this land grab - this is cherry-picking by Plymouth.

"What they're trying to do is to get the valuable land from the South Hams and put it into Plymouth City Council."

Brazil said he was "struggling to understand how an urban city council can take on a rural hump and expect to deliver efficiencies and better services".

Plymouth's current population is about 265,000 and the proposed expansion would take it much closer to 300,000 - understood to be the lowest figure for a unitary authority in the new set-up.

Devon is currently made up of two unitary authorities in Plymouth and Torbay, alongside Devon County Council, with seven district councils and Exeter City Council.

All district and county councils are being swept away in the biggest shake-up of local government for 50 years which will leave only unitary authorities in place.

The seven district council leaders in Devon have previously given their support to what is known as the 1-5-4 plan for reorganisation.

That would see an expanded Plymouth as one unitary authority, South Hams, Torbay, West Devon and Teignbridge forming a second; and Torridge, North Devon, Mid Devon, East Devon and Exeter forming a third.

Phil Bialyk, Labour leader of Exeter City Council, did not sign up to the 1-5-4 plan and said he wanted the city to become a unitary authority, with its expansion plan expected to be unveiled later in the week.

Plymouth City Council said it would now be working with parish councils "and other local stakeholders" on building a "detailed business case" for the expansion.

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