THE die is cast: the government has announced its options for unitary Devon.

Districts and the county council will cease and instead we will have four unitary councils - three based around Plymouth, Exeter and Torbay and the fourth is whatever’s left over, the rural rump.

When we first heard I had to check it wasn’t April Fools’ Day. It’s the worst possible scenario. Towns split up, historic communities divided and an option the vast majority of Devon’s residents do not want.

There is no other council in the country the size and population of the rural rump with Barnstaple the largest town.

I have never been opposed to local government reorganisation (LGR) in Devon, but this is just wrong on so many levels.

The decision negates many of the benefits we could have seen. How does having two different authorities collecting rubbish from the same town make local service delivery more efficient?

The government seems to have lost the plot. Justification of their decision is based entirely on economic growth and housebuilding.

And yet our service priorities are around waste collection, road maintenance, children’s and adult’s services. Inevitably these will all suffer and take years to get back to where we are now.

The whole flawed exercise will cost around £80 million, all paid for by Devon’s council taxpayers.

We do want good economic growth and the right houses in the right places at the right prices for our local residents.

The way we can support this is by providing the best and most efficient day-to-day services people rely on. That’s our job.

If you neglect these bread-and-butter duties, the strong foundations our county needs, then growth and increased productivity will not happen. Anyway, I thought this strategic role is for a mayor.

Setting up separate unitary councils to prioritise growth misses the point. It exhibits a complete lack of understanding of how local government works and what it does.

Take children’s services, our top priority, at the council. Both the government-appointed commissioner and Ofsted have recognised the progress we are making in our much-needed improvement journey.

The commissioner has explicitly warned that splitting the service is fraught with risk and will lead to deterioration, but the government apparently isn’t interested.

With a new prime minister and a mainly new cabinet, government has the opportunity to come to its senses.

I was impressed with Andy Burnham’s first speech. Here was someone who actually understood the dynamics between local and central government.

He had a vision of genuine devolution, where innovation and efficiency were not stymied by the dead hand of Whitehall. Politicians working more collaboratively across parties and the rejection of yah-boo politics.

It’s how we do it in the South Hams and are working towards the same at Devon County Council.

We know our residents will be better served when we all work together through consensus and compromise.

Now the new prime minister can put his words into actions. Reject the blatantly politically partisan carving up of Devon and instead work with us to develop the best solution.