Overview
- Torbay Council approved the submission after an 18–17 party-line vote at an extraordinary meeting on 20 November.
- The plan retains Torbay’s boundaries, expands Plymouth to its Growth Area, creates a new Exeter council, and establishes a Rural Devon Coast and Countryside Authority.
- A summer consultation found 64% of respondents favored keeping Torbay’s current footprint, which shaped the proposal.
- Exeter and Plymouth have put forward alternative maps that would redraw Torbay, while Devon’s districts are finalizing a separate Reimagining Devon plan before the 28 November deadline.
- Council leaders argue the model protects integrated health and children’s services, as opponents warn it could leave rural communities as a weakened remainder.