This week we had some news about the Averies site. The Environment Agency is going to remove the licences that allowed the company to operate. I welcome the support we have received from the town’s MPs – Robert Buckland and Justin Tomlinson – in lobbying this national agency to exercise its regulatory authority. My hope now is that the company’s owner behaves in a responsible fashion and accepts the costs of cleaning up the site as readily as the company made profits from its operations there.

This whole incident highlights the ongoing debate about what devolution should look like in the wake of the Scottish referendum vote. Just as the Civic Office flies three flags, those of the United Kingdom, England, and the borough, so we need a three-way re-distribution of power.

In the first instance, there is a pressing need to make the system developed by the last Government fair to the majority of Britons, who live in England and therefore have no government or assembly to find English solutions to English problems. At the same time, we need to move accountability out of Whitehall and the semi-independent executive agencies to local councils, where it belongs. After all, many residents thought that the council was responsible for licensing and managing waste site like Averies in the first place. It wasn’t.

There are many advantages if the Government gives councils the resources and the authority to monitor and regulate such sites.

In the first instance, we can see any problems more speedily and proper inspections can be carried out. These sites are on our doorstep, whereas for any agency, a visual inspection is a costly and, hence, rare exercise.

Ward councillors are more likely to see or hear of issues as a matter of routine.

In addition, residents are more likely to see problems and alert councillors.

If we look at the Averies fire, it was the locally elected representatives from St Margaret and South Marston ward – where the site is located – and Covingham and Dorcan ward – which was affected by the smoke – who invited me to a site visit.

Of course, there are aspects that cross local authority boundaries and where a national agency provides good value. For example, the Environment Agency has a vital role to play in carrying out work to build flood defences or stop pollutants from being carried downstream. That is where it can bring its distinctive contribution; but it isn’t a “one size fits all” solution.