The Leader Plymouth City Council has been answering critics of the local government shake up which would see a large part of the South Hams around Ivybridge and Wembury join a new authority called Greater Plymouth

In a statement released by Plymouth Labour, Councillor Evans reassured residents that the reorganisation was about changing council structures rather than altering the identity of towns and villages. “Local Government Reorganisation is about changing how councils are organised,” he said.

“It is not about wiping communities off the map.

“The Government's proposal is to replace the current patchwork of county, district and unitary councils with a smaller number of unitary authorities delivering services through a single organisation.”

Most of the rest of the South Hams will become Devon Coast and Country styled “Rural Rump Devon” by some politicians and northern parts of Bridgetown will join Torbay.

Cllr Evans said: “Whether you support that direction or oppose it, let's at least debate what is actually being proposed.

“Because Plymouth will still be Plymouth, Ivybridge will still be Ivybridge. Dartmouth will still be Dartmouth.

“These places are defined by their history, character and communities, not by the logo on the side of a council building.”

Councillor Evans also criticised South West Devon MP Rebecca Smith, who has been one of the most vocal opponents of the Greater Plymouth proposal.

“Rebecca Smith has opposed the Greater Plymouth proposal from the outset,” he said.

“She is perfectly entitled to that position.

“What she is not entitled to do is frighten residents with claims that simply do not stand up to scrutiny.

“She claims local communities are being ‘absorbed’”.

“They are not.

“A new unitary authority is exactly that – a new authority – not the expansion of an existing one. Parish councils are not being abolished.

“Villages are not losing their identity.

“Local communities will continue to have their own representatives and their own voice.

Cllr Evans also wanted to clarify the situation regarding parish precepts saying they already exist wherever parish councils operate.

They fund local amenities and services decided by those communities themselves.

Residents across the new authority will elect an entirely new council next year.

Those councillors will establish the shadow authority, make the key decisions about implementation and set the first budget for the new organisation.

Cllr Evans is especially irked by accusations of a "land grab":

“Nobody's land is being seized.

“Nobody's property rights are changing.

“Planning decisions will continue to be governed by exactly the same statutory planning process as they are today”

Cllr Evans said some councillors may lose out: “It may also mean the loss of one of the allowances they currently receive for serving on two separate authorities.

“That understandably makes the debate personal for some.

“But this conversation cannot be driven by personal interests or political point scoring.

“It must be driven by what delivers the best outcomes for residents.

“Healthy democracy depends upon robust debate.

“But robust debate must still be rooted in evidence, not exaggeration.

Under the changes confirmed by Parliament, Plymouth will subsume 13 parishes currently in the South Hams, while Exeter will get 15 from Teignbridge, 28 from East Devon and six from Mid Devon as part of a new expanded council, Torbay will expand its boundary to take on 22 parishes in total from Teignbridge District Council and the South Hams.