A Devon council has decided to carry on handing some of its assets over to its towns and parishes despite fears that some of them can’t afford them.
Teignbridge Council has moved to hand over a number of assets including play parks and public toilets to local community councils, saying it is the best way to protect them for the future.
They fear that under the forthcoming local government reorganisation (LGR) – whatever form it takes – the larger unitary councils that take over the running of Devon will not be able to maintain the most local assets and services.
Town and parish councils will be better placed to keep them open for the future.
But Cllr Stuart Rogers (Con, Ashburton) argued that some communities would not be able to afford to take on the assets, and those that did could end up passing on the cost to local council tax payers. He called for a pause in the assets handover.
Dartmoor towns and parishes are particularly vulnerable, he said. Because planning permissions were harder to come by inside the national park, he maintained, the local councils had no access to the money developers are obliged to pay in return for consent to build.
“We are living with a cost-of-living crisis, and we have to accept that,” said Cllr Rogers. “A one-size-fits-all policy is not the answer for asset transfers. There are some wards that simply can’t afford it, and we should be looking for another way.”
Cllr Chris Clarance (Ind, Shaldon and Stokeinteignhead) said that Shaldon residents had faced an increase in Band D council tax from £64 to £120 as a result of taking over toilets from Teignbridge.
“There are a lot of people in Shaldon who are not wealthy,” he said. “They are very upset about this and want to know why it is happening.”
But Cllr David Cox (Lib Dem, Teignmouth Central) said a pause would be like ‘kicking the can down the road’ and urged the council to press on.
And council leader Richard Keeling (Lib Dem, Chudleigh) said no parishes were being ‘press-ganged’ into taking on assets.
“Some parishes want to take on assets, and they want to do it now,” he said. “LGR is coming, and we need to wake up.
“Some of the parishes are willing partners to take on assets, because sometimes they can manage them better and more cheaply than we can.”
Cllr Rogers’ motion calling for a pause was defeated by 19 votes to 16.
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