Exactly a year ago, as the debate around local government reorganisation was taking off, we were asking the question: Who will manage what? As District and County Councils merge in ‘unitarisation’, we need to ask: How much ‘transfer of assets and responsibilities’ should there be? And as a final and perhaps more fundamental question, as we look at council debt, and council spending: What are the ‘core tasks’ of the council?
As the excellent Sidmouth Nature Project Website points out, Glen Goyle is a piece of formally-neglected Victorian parkland owned by the District Council – which has its List of East Devon’s main green spaces it is responsible for. This list also includes the very prestigious Connaught Gardens on Peak Hill and Blackmore Gardens in town.
The question, then, is what will happen to these green spaces if and when the East Devon District Council disappears?
It is not simply a matter of ‘handing over a bit of land’, however.
After the District Council left its former HQ at the Knowle Hotel in Sidmouth, there were protracted negotiations over the remaining parkland – as the Town Council were keen to take it on, but wanted some of the running costs to be forwarded. And so, two years ago, it was formally announced that hopes to return the former Sidmouth gardens and amphitheatre areas to their former glory at the Knowle had been revived.
And now, under the auspices of the Town Council, there is the Friends of The Knowle group of volunteers which, like FOGG and Friends of the Byes, works regularly on the parkland, to restore some ecological balance to a once-neglected area. The question is, though, to what extent the Knowle example of asset transfer can be a model for other green spaces in the Sid Valley.
Whereas parkland is in fact a liability, in terms of money going in and out, beach huts can be a cash cow. So, when back in 2019 there was discussion of transferring assets to parish and town councils, Beer Town Council did rather well.
And a year later, when there was further consideration of the District Council giving responsibilities to the Town Council, whether beach huts or car parks or railings, the then-chair of the Town Council said: “We keep saying that we would be very happy to take on responsibilities for certain assets but at the same time we would want assets to pay for it in the future. Railings that need painting every year is not an asset, it is a liability. We will consider any offer that comes forward but it would have to be fair. They can’t just give is a liability without something that is going to help us manage and pay for it in the future, otherwise, it wouldn’t be responsible for us to take it on.”
And it just so happened that last summer, new beach huts were proposed as ‘a long-term investment in Sidmouth’s seafront’ by the District Council, as repairs or replacement couldn’t last much longer.
Finally, whereas transfer of beach huts and other such buildings is one thing [and see: Drill Hall: of public shelters and public toilets], the transfer of land is another. Some green spaces such as Glen Goyle should be relatively simple – and ideas such as assets of community value might provide a way forward. However, other green spaces such as Sidmouth and Sidbury Cemeteries, which are owned by the District Council [unlike in other parts of East Devon…], might prove more complicated as their management regime is not straightforward [see the Cherishing Sidmouth Cemeteries annual report 2025]
So, lots to consider in 2026!