A meeting of Devon County Council cabinet is now scheduled to take place on 19 December. Although the agenda has yet to be published the Society understands the ‘Deal’ is to be discussed and the public consultation strategy revealed.
The meeting is to be live streamed and can be viewed here, while for those who don’t know it’s noticeable the Cabinet comprises:
• Councillor Roger Croad (Conservative: Ivybridge)
• Councillor Andrea Davis (Conservative: Combe Martin Rural)
• Councillor Rufus Gilbert (Conservative: Salcombe)
• Councillor John Hart (Chair; Conservative: Bickleigh & Wembury)
• Councillor Stuart Hughes (Conservative: East Devon)
• Councillor Andrew Leadbetter (Conservative: Wearside & Topsham)
• Councillor James McInnes (Vice-Chair; Conservative: Hatherleigh & Chagford)
• Councillor Lois Samuel (Conservative: Okehampton Rural)
• Councillor Andrew Saywell (Conservative: Torrington Rural)
• Councillor Phillip Twiss (Conservative: Feniton & Honiton)
hardly representative, you might think, of the current political make-up of our District Council here in the South Hams!
So it would be unfortunate, and no doubt incorrect, were anyone to presuppose that party politics could play any part in promoting what is being proposed, even though the Labour leader of Plymouth City Council Tudor Evans has already opted out of the ‘Deal’, branding it ‘unreasonable and unrealistic’ according to the BBC.
That would appear to leave Devon County Council chair John Hart and the Conservative Leader of Torbay Council Councillor David Thomas as the most enthusiast proponents of the ‘Deal’. The views of our own elected representatives here in the South Hams are currently unknown, and it seems highly unlikely that any will have any say in either the timing or the composition of the forthcoming public consultation.
Our concerns about the ‘Deal’, and in particular the timing, are spelt out in more detail here and here.
And should you share those concerns you can email Cllrs Croad, Gilbert and Hart here, here and here respectively.
