Council leaders across Devon say they want to take advantage of a Government offer to devolve more powers from London.
They are planning to build on the close working relationship they developed in Team Devon as they responded to the challenges of COVID-19.
Team Devon saw the county council coming together with district and town and parish councils to respond swiftly to all the extra needs and requirements of residents during the pandemic.
Now Team Devon leaders have agreed to develop a bid to Government for devolved powers.
Devon County Council leader John Hart, who chairs Team Devon, said:
“I believe we have delivered for Devon during the pandemic and used the additional money that was available effectively and efficiently on behalf of our residents.
“Our regular meetings of council leaders and chief executives from the county and all the districts – along with town and parish representatives – brought us closer together and the trust we built up meant that we could act swiftly and decisively.
“We want to build on that cooperation and trust in a Deal for Devon.
“It would require the Government to support us to do the very best we can for Devon and its residents and businesses as we drive the recovery, tackle climate change, boost skills, improve our infrastructure and connectivity and confront the very real problems we have to face such as the shortage of affordable housing.
“We believe Team Devon is ideally placed to negotiate a Deal for Devon with the Government. So we’ve asked our officers to start preparing proposals that we can discuss with Ministers and Whitehall over the summer so that we can be at the head of the queue when the Levelling-Up White Paper is published.”