Thousands of pounds are being spent by cash-strapped Devon councils on consultants as  they rush to put together a solid option for local government reorganisation ahead of the end of November deadline.

The county’s 11 councils are expected to reach some kind of consensus about how they see Devon carved up under the shake up which aims to simplify local government with fewer but larger councils who have responsibility for all local services.

At the moment the system of county, district and unitaries all in the mix in Devon is too confusing for residents, says the government, but there are fears that what comes next might mean less representation at a local level if councillors have to cover huge areas.

Designed to save money ultimately, the shake up is currently costing councils in Devon money to put together proposals and they are already working with reduced budgets from years of austerity.

North Devon Council is considering spending £150,000 on working up a Northern Devon unitary council option to submit to government in a bid to keep its identity and not be swallowed up by Exeter or the south. Torridge District Council recently decided it needed professional help, at the cost to itself of more than £40,000, as the time officers were spending on local government reorganisation was having an impact on other resources.

The 1-4-5 option, described this week as the “best worst option” by Torridge leader Ken James for the future local government in Devon, and favoured by many other districts, involves Plymouth remaining as a stand alone unitary authority with extended boundaries (1), South Hams, Teignbridge, West Devon and Torbay (4) forming another unitary council and East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon, Torridge, and Exeter (5) the third council.

Councils are sharing the costs of working up the 1-4-5 plan but many feel it should be funded by central government.

Initial ideas  about how Devon could look were submitted to the government in March and firm proposals need to be in by November 28. Local authorities have raised concerns about the tight timeline.

Some Torridge District Councillors believe “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” . This week council leader Cllr Ken James (Ind, Milton and Tamarside) said Torridge would rather be left alone but it wasn’t an option

His view is that it is “better to be in the tent and partially ignored than totally ignored” which he says is what would happen if the council resisted the government’s big plan.

He told councillors that Devon County Council was presenting its own option for local government reorganisation. Exeter is also making an independent bid to become a stand alone unitary authority.

Cllr Huw Thomas (Green, Bideford East) said Torridge might be a “snowflake in the fireplace” but it did not mean they should not make a stand.

“I feel being we are being bounced down a route none of us particularly want. We are heading towards this November deadline and I never understood the justifications for it anyway. The only people making money out of it are the consultancy firms, we need to speak out, maybe no one will listen to us but at the very least we can record our feelings to what’s going on and our opposition to it.”

Much of the work being done is collating data around adult social care and children’s services which are the most costly parts of local government and how it will impact different areas under a new system. These responsibilities have fallen to Devon County Council and unitary councils in Torbay and Plymouth in the past and not district councils, of which there are currently eight in Devon.

Cllr Teresa Tinsley (Lib Dem, Bideford North) said she understood that one of the possibilities was to have neighbourhood committees in the new structure but was told the government had not issued any information about how these would work or what their powers would be.

Council chairman Cllr Doug Bushby (Ind, Bideford North) told members that  whatever Torridge said would not count for very much as the Labour government had got such a huge majority “they can bulldoze through what they want”.

Formal proposals will go before the secretary of state for approval before going out to public consultation. There will be several other processes to follow but new unitary authorities are expected to go live in April 2028.