Members of Torridge District Council have voted to support Plymouth’s bid to join the Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority.
The Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority (the CCA) was set up in March 2025 under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 as a vehicle to hold devolved powers from central government and to work with local leaders and communities to take investment decisions.
With the new drive to extend devolution to all areas of the country, a consultation is now underway seeking views on extending the geography of the CCA to include Plymouth and on making application to government to become a Mayoral Strategic Authority (MSA). As part of that consideration, a public consultation has been issued by the CCA and runs until Wednesday 28th October.
The English Devolution White Paper sets out the governments ambition to extend out devolution arrangements. That has been supplemented by announcements since the change in Prime Minister which indicates, through papers such as the “Rewiring the State” cabinet statement, that the government intends to transfer power over issues such as skills, 16-19 education budgets, transport, housing, innovation and public service to local leaders and mayors by 2028.
There are also suggestions that local leaders and mayors will be given the opportunity to raise further funding locally through retaining more of the business rate income and the introduction of visitor levies.
Given that the fullest benefits of devolution will be delivered through MSAs on a county wide basis, consideration is being given to broadening the geography of the CCA to include Plymouth and to approaching government with a proposal to extend the current devolution arrangements to create a MSA.
However, there is a concern as to how the District Councils are currently represented on the CCA. At present, District Councils are represented through two District Leaders – which changes on rotation and they may vote on a range of policy and investment matters affecting district areas including housing, regeneration, skills, business support, environmental sustainability and transport.
District Councils also aren’t allowed to vote on matters reserved to constituent authorities, currently Devon County Council and Torbay Council but would also include Plymouth City Council, including the budget, constitution, major investment decisions and other reserved functions. Currently the Governance section of the consultation suggests that the current arrangement of non-constituent and associate members will be carried over to a MSA and states that the distinction between constituent members and wider local government representation should be preserved.
Councillor Ken James, Leader of Torridge District Council, said:
“Whilst we support Plymouth City Council joining the Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority, any new arrangements that create a MSA should include provisions that allow all District Councils to be fairly represented. We need to have full voting rights through the same number of members as are afforded to the County Council and the unitary councils where permittable.
“However, it is imperative that Torridge, Northern Devon and the wider Devon seek to secure the best outcome for our area, which can be secured via an MSA. Therefore, the inclusion of Plymouth and moving to a MSA is viewed as positive step toward a better deal with Government for Devon.”
