Voters across Devon could be choosing a powerful new Mayor for the county as early as September 2027.

Cornwall has so far resisted the temptation to join forces in a two-county authority, although the door is being left open for the future.

Confusion surrounds the future of local councils across the country after the government’s decision to ‘pause’ its sweeping plans to abolish district and county councils and replace them with new unitary authorities.

In Devon, the shake-up would have meant Torbay, Plymouth and Exeter expanding from spring 2028, with a fourth new council governing the rest of the county.

But a bombshell announcement from Local Government Secretary Angela Rayner earlier this month – taken after ‘legal advice’ – has put the whole programme on ice. A number of existing councils around the country – including Devon County Council and a number of its districts – had begun the process of setting up a judicial review into the legality of the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) process.

Speaking at a meeting of the Torquay Place Leadership Board, the leader of Torbay Council, David Thomas (Con, Preston), said local authorities had been left in limbo after spending 18 months – and millions of pounds – preparing for a ‘paused’ shake-up that could now be delayed or even scrapped altogether.

“What paused means, we don’t actually know at the moment,” he said. He told the meeting clarification could come after the current political party conference season.

He went on: “What we do know is that the elections next May will be going ahead on the current boundaries that we know and love.”

The earliest time for the new councils to begin could now be April 2029, meaning members could be elected in May 2028 but, said Cllr Thomas, the decision to pause the process meant it was all ‘speculation’.

What is known is that the government is keen to press on with creating Mayoral Strategic Authorities to sit over the new unitary councils, and Devon is already well placed to go ahead.

The county council and Torbay already sit together on a Combined County Authority (CCA) while Plymouth, having rebuffed the idea initially, has now decided to join them.

A formal consultation is under way, and if the government accepts the idea early in the new year, elections for a new Mayor of Devon could take place in a year’s time.

Bringing Cornwall into a new authority alongside Devon under a single powerful Mayor is proving hard to achieve.

“We have tried on numerous occasions to bring Cornwall into the conversation, but there is still resistance there,” said Cllr Thomas. “We need to get on the mayoral bus now with Devon, while leaving the door open for Cornwall. If we don’t get on at this bus stop, we might miss the bus altogether.

“We are so much further advanced than many other places, having been up and running for 18 months already as a CCA. If the government is looking for quick wins, Devon could be one of those.”