West Devon
Borough of West Devon
Non-metropolitan district and borough
West Devon shown within Devon
West Devon shown within Devon
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionSouth West England
Non-metropolitan countyDevon
StatusNon-metropolitan district
Admin HQTavistock
Formed1 April 1974
Government
 • TypeNon-metropolitan district council
 • BodyWest Devon Borough Council
 • MPsGeoffrey Cox
Mel Stride
Area
 • Total448.3 sq mi (1,161.1 km2)
 • Rank21st (of 296)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total57,488
 • Rank292nd (of 296)
 • Density130/sq mi (50/km2)
 • Ethnicity
99.1% White
Time zoneUTC0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code18UL (ONS)
E07000047 (GSS)
OS grid referenceSX5150683684

West Devon is a local government district with borough status in Devon, England. Its council is based in Tavistock, the borough's largest town. The borough also includes the towns of Hatherleigh, North Tawton and Okehampton, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas.

A large area in the south-east of the borough lies within the Dartmoor National Park, and part of the south-west of the borough lies within the Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The neighbouring districts are Torridge, Mid Devon, Teignbridge, South Hams and Cornwall.

History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of three former districts which were all abolished at the same time:[1]

The new district was named West Devon, reflecting its location within the wider county.[2]

On 27 April 1982 the district was awarded borough status, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[3]

Governance

West Devon Borough Council
Logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1974
Leadership
Lynn Daniel,
Green
since 30 May 2023
Mandy Ewing,
Independent
since 30 May 2023
Andy Bates
since June 2020[4]
Structure
Seats31 councillors
Political groups
Administration (20)
  Independent (11)
  Green (4)
  Liberal Democrats (4)
  Labour (1)
Opposition (11)
  Conservative (11)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
Kilworthy Park, Drake Road, Tavistock, PL19 0BZ
Website
www.westdevon.gov.uk

West Devon Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Devon County Council.[5] The whole borough is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[6]

In the parts of the borough within the Dartmoor National Park, town planning is the responsibility of the Dartmoor National Park Authority. The borough council appoints two of its councillors to serve on the 19-person National Park Authority.[7]

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election, being led by a coalition of the independent councillors, Greens, Liberal Democrats and Labour.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[8][9]

Party in controlYears
Independent1974–1987
No overall control1987–1991
Independent1991–1995
Liberal Democrats1995–1999
No overall control1999–2015
Conservative2015–2020
No overall control2020–2021
Conservative[10]2021–2023
No overall control2023–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in West Devon. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2011 have been:[11]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
James McInnes Conservativepre-201115 May 2012
Philip Sanders Conservative15 May 20125 May 2019
Neil Jory Conservative21 May 201930 May 2023
Mandy Ewing Independent30 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election and a subsequent by-election in June 2023, the composition of the council was:[12][13]

Party Councillors
Conservative 11
Independent 11
Green 4
Liberal Democrats 4
Labour 1
Total 31

The independent councillors, Greens, Liberal Democrats and Labour sit together as the "West Devon Alliance" group, which forms the council's administration.[14] The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2015, the council has comprised 31 councillors representing 18 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[15]

In the EU referendum of 2016, the majority of voters in West Devon voted to leave the European Union (18,937 to 16,658, that is 53.2% to 46.8%). The turnout was 81.25%.[16]

The borough straddles the constituencies of Central Devon and Torridge and West Devon.[6]

Premises

The council is based at Kilworthy Park in Tavistock, being a modern office built on the site of the goods yard of the old Tavistock North railway station.[17]

Towns and parishes

The whole borough is divided into civil parishes. The parishes councils for Hatherleigh, North Tawton, Okehampton and Tavistock take the style "town council". The small parish of Kelly has a parish meeting rather than a parish council.[18]

Town Twinning

West Devon has been twinned with Germany Wesseling, Germany since 1983.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 30 July 2023
  2. ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 31 May 2023
  3. ↑ Alteration of areas and status of local authorities 1980–1982 (PDF). London: Department of the Environment. 1982. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  4. ↑ Clark, Daniel (23 April 2020). "South Hams and West Devon councils confirm new Chief Executive appointment". Devon Live. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  5. ↑ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  6. 1 2 "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  7. ↑ "Who are the members?". Dartmoor National Park Authority. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  8. ↑ "West Devon". BBC News Online. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
  9. ↑ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  10. ↑ Churm, Philip (12 December 2021). "West Devon's newest councillor". Plymouth Live. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  11. ↑ "Council minutes". West Devon Borough Council. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  12. ↑ "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  13. ↑ "Independent councillor wins by drawing lots after by-election is dead heat!". Tavistock Times Gazette. 23 June 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  14. ↑ "Council minutes, 27 June 2023". West Devon Borough Council. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  15. ↑ "The West Devon (Electoral Changes) Order 2015", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2015/1, retrieved 3 August 2023
  16. ↑ "EU Referendum Results 2016". West Devon Borough Council. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  17. ↑ "How to find our offices". West Devon Borough Council. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  18. ↑ "Town and Parish Clerks contact details". West Devon Borough Council. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
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