Roads, renewal and reform - Devon politics in 2024

Rows about roads, plans for regeneration and talk of reform of local government have all been at the forefront of local politics in Devon in 2024.

All local councils say they are dealing with financial pressures that have shown no sign of easing through the year, with council tax set to increase by 5% - the maximum allowable without need for a local referendum - in most local authorities in 2025.

The local elections saw Labour consolidate its hold on Plymouth in May and the Conservatives hang on to control of Torbay Council in a key by-election in June.

Devon County Council members have been busy gearing up for county-wide elections in May 2025 but the government's devolution plans could bring wholesale change to local government in Devon with the advent of a region-wide elected mayor.

Housing continues to be a major issue for local councils, with the new Labour government setting higher housebuilding targets for local authorities.

In areas such as East Devon, that means the district council, which was previously trying to come up with ways of guaranteeing about 900 new homes every year, is now looking at meeting a target of about 1,200.

That is why East Devon has been looking at creating a new town with up to 8,000 homes.

Likewise, in Mid Devon, its district council got £34m of funding in August for a new relief road in Cullompton which is an essential condition of being able to build about 5,000 new homes.

Some councils will be able to charge 200% council tax on second homes from April 2025, but where that extra money will be spent has become a highly contentious issue, with South Hams councillors pushing for the cash to be spent on housing, not highways.

Regeneration has been a thread running through council activities in Torbay in 2024.

Much-maligned work to transform the landmark Strand area by the inner harbour has been going on throughout the year, culminating in a grand opening in December. Torbay Council has also taken back control of the historic Torquay Pavilion with a view to renovating the site.

The council had millions of pounds from different government grants to spend on developing Brixham, Paignton and Torquay and unveiled some of its transformation plans in October.

They included the demolition of the Union Square shopping centre to make way for new homes, a hotel on the old Debenhams site and a care home and flats in Paignton - but all of these developments depend on the council and its partners raising hundreds of millions of pounds of private investment.

In Plymouth, the fallout from more than 100 trees being cut down at night continued to haunt the city council well into 2024.

The council was relieved to hear a High Court case against it was thrown out in March but, as ordered by the judge in the case, a review of who did what and when will now take place in 2025.

In the meantime, the city council has completed regeneration work in the city centre.

It is also is pressing ahead with its new £30m plan to transform Armada Way and announced in March it had bought back the landmark tower block, the Civic Centre, for £1 with plans to create a new learning centre in partnership with City College.

There is set to be more work throughout the city as it was announced in September Plymouth had been chosen as one of 17 cities for a £60m pilot scheme of an underground heat network powered by energy from the incinerator at Devonport.

At the other end of the county, the long-awaited North Devon Link Road - which promised to unlock the economic potential of the region - staggered towards completion after four years of work.

Some people living in north Devon - including the area's new MP - believe it has taken too long, delivered too little and cost too much.

Elsewhere in north Devon, there was disappointment over Ilfracombe missing out on £24m of levelling up funding and campaigners have been continuing their fight in Saunton and Braunton against plans to bring an electricity cable from an offshore wind farm onto land at a famous beach.

In Exeter, a battle over the closure of some through roads to car drivers ended in a council U-turn.

The Low Traffic Neighbourhood Scheme caused bitter division among residents and was axed at a heated council meeting in June, with bollards removed from affected streets.

Devon County Council saw a change at the top with leader John Hart stepping down from the role after 15 years.

Financial problems at the county authority have continued, however, with children's services continuing to rack up debt despite a government bailout of £95m.

The council has been trying to come up with ways of balancing the books, but a plan to charge schools £21,000 for each pupil they exclude went down badly with head teachers.

There is a lot more change promised in 2025.

Devon County Council and Torbay Council - but not Plymouth City Council - agreed a deal in May to form a Combined County Authority with a £16m budget for areas such as skills training and public transport.

But, as the government has made clear, this was only "the first step in the process of further devolution".

Exactly what that devolution will mean for all of the councils in Devon will become clearer in the coming months.

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