The first preparatory steps for a possible legal challenge against government attempts to carve up Devon are underway.

Devon’s biggest council is expected in the coming days to submit Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to the government department that has overseen the overhaul of local government.

Councillor Julian Brazil (Liberal Democrat, Kingsbridge), the leader of Devon County Council, said council officers were preparing the requests to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) that has led to the once-in-a-generation overhaul of how councils work.

“After those, we have to submit a pre-action letter that outlines our intention before the end of July, and then we have a cabinet meeting in September , and that’s when we will take a formal decision about the Judicial Review,” Cllr Brazil said.

“We have until 16 October to make the decision and formally launch the Judicial Review; if we haven’t done anything by then, we would be out of time.”

The development comes as Green Party councillors on Torridge District Council have also urged for there to be a Judicial Review given they believe the outcome of LGR for Devon “treats rural communities with contempt”.

“This is the worst of all worlds for Devon’s small towns, villages and rural communities,” a joint statement from the district’s Green councillors said.

“The government either just doesn’t care about rural communities or simply doesn’t understand that the challenges they face differ from urban areas.

“The cities do nicely out of this. They’ve snatched parishes from surrounding areas for housebuilding and other expansion.

“Meanwhile, the left-over small towns and rural communities have all been dumped into a huge and unwieldy authority with 455,000 residents but a geography that makes no sense.”

The Green Party members said because the mooted Coast and Country council would stretch from Hartland to Axminster and Combe Martin to Salcombe, with no major towns, it would create significant challenges.

“To drive across this new authority would take well over two hours even if you assume no delays and no roadworks. That’s as long as it takes to get from Westminster to Bristol,” the statement added.

Cllr Brazil said he hoped to gain support for the Judicial Review from all councillors on Devon County Council,, which is facing abolition as part of the local government reorganisation plans.

Councillor Michael Fife Cook (Reform UK, Yelverton Rural), said that he was “on the same page” as Cllr Brazil on this issue.

“From day one I thought [LGR] was a ludicrous idea and we all know why Labour has embarked on it, and that’s because Labour is still frightened of the Tory shires even though they don’t really exist,” he said.

“This LGR outcome for Devon is all political to help Exeter and Plymouth, although I think Labour will lose Plymouth to Reform UK at the next elections anyway.

“To me, I became a councillor to make things better for people and to try and work with everyone, but LGR cuts across politics. It is damaging to Devon and for how we can provide services for young and old, and the cost [of the reorganisation process] will be an absolute fortune.”

Cllr Brazil hoped the Judicial Review would not be needed, because of faith that the new prime minister, Andy Burnham, would put the brakes on the council overhaul in Devon.

Last week saw Steve Reed MP tell Parliament that Devon’s 11 councils would be scrapped in favour of four new large unitary councils.

The proposal states that Exeter, Plymouth and Torbay will subsume parts of existing neighbouring districts, while the remainder of the county would be comprised of a so-called coast and country council.

Critics have claimed the proposed changes benefit the Labour-led cities of Exeter and Plymouth, with fears the ‘rest of Devon’ council, which will be around 110 miles from north to south, will struggle to survive without an obvious economic centre coupled with a sparse and rural population.

Supporters claim the changes will boost economic growth, that having one council covering all services in its administrative boundary will be simpler than the two-tier system where district and county authorities oversee different services in the same area, and that it will mean power closer to the electorate.

Cllr Brazil has previously said that given the estimated cost of reorganising Devon’s councils – which has been put at between £50 million – £70 million – the cost of a Judicial Review would be value for money.

He also stated that he had the delegated authority to order a Judicial Review even if there wasn’t widespread support for such a move.

However, while most county councillors acknowledge the two-tier system isn’t perfect, many have expressed displeasure with the way the reorganisation has been handled by Westminster.