Plymouth City Council has withdrawn from a proposed devolution deal after its leader branded it ‘unreasonable and unrealistic’.
The proposals would have seen Devon CC, Plymouth City Council and Torbay Council form a combined authority without a directly-elected leader as a level two deal.
But Tudor Evans, who leads the Labour administration, claimed the deal would ‘take away existing powers from Plymouth’.
He added: ‘The final deal on the table would have been a step backwards, given that 25 years ago Plymouth became a unitary authority and took back responsibility for key areas such as education and transport.’
Devon and Torbay have said they will progress with talks and have assurances from the Government that the deal can proceed without Plymouth.
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