Leader Column: Exeter’s voice must be heard in Devon Devolution Deal
Published: 26 September 2024
It’s been a busy time as ever for Exeter since my last column and there’s a lot to update on.
The announcement last week of progress on the Devon Devolution Deal is an important one for the city. This involves Devon County Council and Torbay Council, together with the district councils in Devon including Exeter, creating a Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority (CCA).
This should bring more funding to Devon on a strategic level for priorities such as jobs and skills, housing and the environment.
This agreement does not involve any local government reorganisation or the need for an elected mayor, as some other devolution deals have nationally.
The most important thing for me is to ensure that Exeter plays a key role in those discussions. Exeter is an urban centre for growth for the whole of the county, and it is very important that our voice is heard clearly.
I have already called on Devon County Council to exercise new powers to bring back the buses, particularly in Exeter, under their control, to allow wider public engagement in our services.
I have also made representations to the county leader regarding the poor state of our highways, in particular weeds, for which we are not funded correctly by the county.
And I’ve also raised the issue of the many potholes we have in Exeter that need fixing. Although not a City Council function, it is one that impacts on all our residents.
You may have read about the proposals to relocate our office space from the Civic Centre to a number of locations already owed by the Council, including the Guildhall Shopping Centre.
The Civic Centre is too big for our needs and this would allow the site to be freed up for much-needed residential housing.
Relocation to the Guildhall shopping centre allows us to support the city centre while providing an accessible location for people to contact us. And of course, we would be moving to a facility where we don’t pay rent because we already own it - surely that makes sense. But I would emphasise that it is currently only a plan, and nothing has yet been decided.
I recently attended an event at RAMM organised by Exeter City of Literature which revealed that Lord of the Rings is Exeter’s favourite book following a public vote. It was an excellent event and a reminder that culture is very important to our city and our UNESCO City of Literature status is something that we should all be very proud of.
I also recently attended Dr Todd Gray’s excellent talk at the Guildhall on Exeter’s role in the British Empire. It was very informative, and I learnt a lot of about Exeter’s past and the role the city played during different periods of history.
Preparations are now well underway to get ready for Exeter being a host city in the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2025. There’s now just under a year to go. Group matches and the quarter finals will be played at Sandy Park, and this really is a great opportunity for Exeter.
This week tickets go on general sale and organisers are expecting sell-out crowds to pack stadiums for this prestigious event. I’m sure this will happen in Exeter.
The Rugby World Cup is definitely something to look forward to next year, and between now and then we will work hard to ensure that the city enjoys the full benefits the tournament will bring.
Talking of rugby, the new Premiership season got underway at the weekend. Unfortunately the Chiefs slipped to a narrow defeat at home to Leicester, but it won’t be long before they return to winning ways and I know the whole city will join me in wishing them all the very best for the season.