Neighbours in different councils after shake-up

Neighbours with only a hedge between them will be in different council areas after a reorganisation of local government in Devon.

Roberta Ayles and Ethan Merrington-Pink live next door to one another in Totnes but are on opposite sides of the planned boundary between the new Devon Council and the Torbay and South Devon Council.

They say the plan is ridiculous and will have an impact on issues like the choice of schools and bin collections. Their concerns are backed by other residents, councillors and the town's MP.

The government - which will make the final decision - has said it wants the boundary drawn along parish council lines but said it would consider requests for reviews of boundaries.

The Bridgetown area of Totnes will be cut off from the rest of the town under government proposals to create four new councils in Devon.

Standing by the border outside her home on Higher Westonfield, Ayles said: "Me and my neighbour Ethan are going to have different bin collections, he'll have to take his recycling off to Torbay.

"It seems a complete waste of time and money - it's not going to work on many levels so why not get it sorted to start with and then we won't have to revisit this.

"The idea of splitting the community literally down somebody's hedge - it's going to have to be looked at."

If the plans go ahead, the neighbours will have to use different council services and pay different levels of council tax.

Merrington-Pink said: "We bought our forever home and now we find ourselves in a situation where potentially there will be complications with sending kids to the local schools.

"If we start a family here and want to send them to the local school, which is St John's down the road, a three-minute walk, we're not going to be able to do that potentially."

Graham Bennett, from the community group Bridgetown Alive, lives further up in Bridgetown and would also find himself in the new Torbay and South Devon Council if the changes go ahead.

He said it did not make any sense to use parish council boundaries - that separated Totnes from the Berry Pomeroy parish - when Totnes had expanded well beyond those boundaries.

All of the district, county and unitary councils in Devon are being abolished to make way for four new unitary authorities with elections due to take place in May 2027.

All of the existing councils affected by the boundary decision are opposed to the new boundary plans.

Georgina Allen, Green Party councillor for Totnes on South Hams District Council, said services would "stop half way up the community" if the plans went ahead.

David Thomas, the Conservative leader of Torbay Council, said he would be happy for the whole parish of Berry Pomeroy to go to the new Devon Council, rather than the new Torbay and South Devon Council.

The MP for Totnes, Liberal Democrat Caroline Voaden, said residents who could end up in the Torbay area would feel cut off from the town.

She said: "They use the schools there, the libraries, the play parks, the swimming pool, that's where their buses come from - and yet they've been moved into a different unitary authority - it doesn't make any sense."

The government has set out its plans on the new boundaries and is expected to finalise them in September.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "Reorganisation will help communities by speeding up the construction of new homes and infrastructure, improving public services, and boosting regional growth to put more money in people's pockets – and will ultimately save taxpayers £30m a year.

"Where boundaries do not fully reflect communities between councils, councils can request a review to adjust these."

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