Unitary eyes creation of town councils to relieve budgetary pressures

Torbay Council is due this week to debate the creation of town councils in its area in a bid to relieve its stricken finances.

A report put to councillors by chief executive Steve Parrock said that town councils have the power to raise precepts and these could then be spent on matters devolved to them, so taking pressure off the main council’s budget.

He suggested that public conveniences and public realm maintenance were among services that might be devolved.

Mr Parrock did not propose any specific boundaries for the town councils but recommended a community governance review costing £50,000 be held to determine these.

“It should also be recognised that the creation of town councils, whilst raising income through the precept mechanism, will not avoid the necessity for Torbay Council to make further savings”, Mr Parrock said.

Councillors in the summer instructed him to explore local government reorganisation as potential way out of unitary Torbay’s financial plight.

But Mr Parrock’s report noted that the government’s policy was not to impose reorganisation where it was not wanted, and no council in neighbouring Devon was prepared to entertain the idea.

Torbay’s other option of raising its council tax rate to a level comparable with neighbouring councils in Devon would require a referendum as this would exceed the increase permitted by the government.

Mr Parrock’s report said Torbay faced “significant challenges over the sustainability and resilience of its future delivery of services” with savings of £14.7m needed by 2021-22 “to deliver the range and depth of services currently provided”.

In August he imposed a moratorium on new contracts or spending of more than £5,000, though stopped short of issuing a section 114 notice to restrain spending.

Torbay broke away from Devon to become a unitary in 1998 and in 2005 set up an elected mayoralty following a referendum.

A later referendum overturned this and the mayoralty is to be abolished from May 2019.

The only referendum ever to sanction a council tax increase was by the former Bedfordshire police and crime commissioner Olly Martins in 2015, which was heavily defeated.

Mark Smulian