DEVON has been left in “no doubt” that Cornwall does not want to form an alliance in respect of a mayor for the two counties.

Westminster’s massive local government shake-up plans involve the idea of mayors overseeing areas to help coordinate larger projects, such as transport, skills and employment, and housing.

These mayors would, it is envisaged, oversee a number of the larger unitary councils that the government wants to create.

But Councillor Paul Arnott (Liberal Democrat, Coly Valley), the deputy leader of Devon County Council, told the cabinet (Tuesday 18 November) he had spoken to representatives of the neighbouring council at a recent conference and that their view was clear.

“We had a conversation with Cornwall which left us in no doubt that it is just not coming into a strategic mayoral authority with us at all,” he said.

“We understood from them that they are making progress with the government in terms of their bid to remain as a single unitary council potentially with some powers of a strategic mayoral authority.

“If that proves the case, then we achieve certainty that Devon will stand alone.”

While the government does not appear to have a specific number of unitary councils it wants mayors to oversee, the initial suggestion was that it would be several in an area.

There are reasons why a mayor for Devon and Cornwall would make sense, including that the two counties’ integrated care boards (ICBs) are being merged together, and the police force covers both counties.

The pair also share transport issues and have a strong reliance on tourism for their respective economies.