Newton Abbot Town Council has expressed its concerns at the local government reorganisation in a letter to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government shared with the Advertiser.

Despite failing to have reached a consensus among councillors, the Town Council say they felt compelled to raise concerns despite town and parish councils not being contained in a long list of statutory bodies including Police, education and health bodies and other public sector and business organisations.

The letter from March 25 signed by Mayor of Newton Abbot Town Council Cllr Colin Parker, the town clerk and chair of the LGR Working Group Cllr Mike Joyce raises concerns with the lack of a credible economic driver in the Devon Coast and Countryside part of the model proposed by Exeter City Council and Plymouth City Council.

They also feel the size of the new proposed single unitary option, making it one of the largest councils in England serving 840,000 residents would represent a “loss of local representation”.

The correspondence by the town council also suggests that far from simplifying the local government arrangements, the new multi-layered system will make way for “ill-defined and unaccountable bodies rendering local government even harder to understand for residents.”

Additional concerns they say are around the erosion of the power of town and parish councils as a consequence of the establishment of “unelected, potentially unrepresentative and powerless Neighbourhood Advisory Committees/Local Community Networks”.

They also queries the limited time being allowed for consultation on “such complex proposals”.

The closing statement in the letter says: “Newton Abbot Town Council is not opposed to the concept of Local Government Reorganisation and understands the importance and necessity of reform – as well as of local representation.

“Above all else, the welfare and economic viability of Devon’s communities must be at the forefront of any decision taken with regard to the future make-up of our County.”

In a statement issued separately from the Town Council, a spokesperson for the council concluded: “The authority has no objection to the principle of reorganisation but does have concerns about the options presented so far.

“It fears services and assets could be ‘pushed down’ to town and parishes without the adequate resources to operate them, and that the structure of local government could be ‘even harder’ for residents to understand.

“A need for reform is acknowledged by the Town Council but with the caveat that the county’s communities are safeguarded from detrimental change.”

The proposal out to consultation is about the structure of local government in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay. Each authority has outlined their plans for future reorganisation with Exeter City Council and Plymouth City Council proposing 4 unitary councils of which Devon Coast and Countryside would incorporate Newton Abbot.

Devon County Council, the three District Councils of South Hams, Teignbridge and West Devon Borough, as well as East, Mid and North Devon Councils with Torridge suggesting opposing suggestions for the reorganisation with a request to split existing district council areas between the proposed new councils.

The consultation on the reorganisation lasts just seven weeks closing on March 26.