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West Devon

Coordinates:50°38′N4°06′W/ 50.633°N 4.100°W/50.633; -4.100
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the district. For the constituency, seeWest Devon (UK Parliament constituency).

West Devon
Borough of West Devon
Non-metropolitan districtandborough
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
(2022)
• Total58,190
• 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 Devonis alocal government districtwithborough statusinDevon,England.Its council is based inTavistock,the borough's largest town. The borough also includes the towns ofHatherleigh,North TawtonandOkehampton,along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas.

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

The neighbouring districts areTorridge,Mid Devon,Teignbridge,South HamsandCornwall.

History

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The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under theLocal 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

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West Devon Borough Council
Logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1974
Leadership
Debo Sellis,
Conservative
since 21 May 2024[4]
Mandy Ewing,
Independent
since 30 May 2023
Andy Bates
since June 2020[5]
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, PL190BZ
Website
www.westdevon.gov.uk

West Devon Borough Council providesdistrict-levelservices.County-levelservices are provided byDevon County Council.[6]The whole borough is also covered bycivil parishes,which form a third tier of local government.[7]

In the parts of the borough within the Dartmoor National Park,town planningis the responsibility of theDartmoor National Park Authority.The borough council appoints two of its councillors to serve on the 19-person National Park Authority.[8]

Political control

[edit]

The council has been underno overall controlsince the2023 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:[9][10]

Party in control Years
Independent 1974–1987
No overall control 1987–1991
Independent 1991–1995
Liberal Democrats 1995–1999
No overall control 1999–2015
Conservative 2015–2020
No overall control 2020–2021
Conservative[11] 2021–2023
No overall control 2023–present

Leadership

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The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in West Devon. Political leadership is instead provided by theleader of the council.The leaders since 2011 have been:[12]

Councillor Party From To
James McInnes Conservative pre-2011 15 May 2012
Philip Sanders Conservative 15 May 2012 5 May 2019
Neil Jory Conservative 21 May 2019 30 May 2023
Mandy Ewing Independent 30 May 2023

Composition

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Following the2023 electionand subsequent by-elections in June 2023 and May 2024, the composition of the council was:[13][14][15]

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.[16]The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

[edit]
See also:West Devon Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2015, the council has comprised 31councillorsrepresenting 18wards,with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[17]

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

The borough straddles the constituencies ofCentral DevonandTorridge and West Devon.[7]

Premises

[edit]

The council is based at Kilworthy Park in Tavistock, being a modern office built on the site of the goods yard of the oldTavistock North railway station.[19]

Towns and parishes

[edit]
See also:List of civil parishes in Devon

The whole borough is divided intocivil parishes.The parishes councils for Hatherleigh, North Tawton, Okehampton and Tavistock take the style "town council". The small parish ofKellyhas aparish meetingrather than a parish council.[20]

Town Twinning

[edit]

West Devon has been twinned withWesseling,Germany since 1983.

Arms

[edit]
Coat of arms of West Devon Borough Council
Notes
Granted 3 December 1975 by the College of Arms.
Crest
On a mount Vert a Dartmoor Pony supporting by the sinister forelef an oak branch all Proper.
Torse
Or Gules and Azure.
Escutcheon
Quarterly Gules and chequy Or and Azure over all a pale wavy Argent charged with a pallet wavy Azure between in the first quarter a fleece Or in the fourth quarter upon a base masoned a tower with portal and window also masoned Proper.
Motto
Crescit Sub Pondere Virtus

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^"The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972",legislation.gov.uk,The National Archives,SI 1972/2039,retrieved30 July2023
  2. ^"The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973",legislation.gov.uk,The National Archives,SI 1973/551,retrieved31 May2023
  3. ^Alteration of areas and status of local authorities 1980–1982(PDF).London: Department of the Environment. 1982.Retrieved3 August2023.
  4. ^Stephenson, Alison (21 May 2024)."New West Devon mayor".Okehampton Today.Retrieved23 May2024.
  5. ^Clark, Daniel (23 April 2020)."South Hams and West Devon councils confirm new Chief Executive appointment".Devon Live.Retrieved31 July2023.
  6. ^"Local Government Act 1972",legislation.gov.uk,The National Archives,1972 c. 70,retrieved31 May2023
  7. ^ab"Election Maps".Ordnance Survey.Retrieved25 July2023.
  8. ^"Who are the members?".Dartmoor National Park Authority.Retrieved31 July2023.
  9. ^"West Devon".BBC News Online.Retrieved9 September2009.
  10. ^"Compositions calculator".The Elections Centre.4 March 2016.Retrieved31 July2023.
  11. ^Churm, Philip (12 December 2021)."West Devon's newest councillor".Plymouth Live.Retrieved29 July2022.
  12. ^"Council minutes".West Devon Borough Council.Retrieved29 July2022.
  13. ^"Local elections 2023: live council results for England".The Guardian.
  14. ^"Independent councillor wins by drawing lots after by-election is dead heat!".Tavistock Times Gazette.23 June 2023.Retrieved3 August2023.
  15. ^Pitt, Sarah (3 May 2024)."West Devon Borough Council by-election: Lib Dem win in Tavistock North Ward".Tavistock Today.Retrieved10 May2024.
  16. ^"Council minutes, 27 June 2023".West Devon Borough Council.Retrieved3 August2023.
  17. ^"The West Devon (Electoral Changes) Order 2015",legislation.gov.uk,The National Archives,SI 2015/1,retrieved3 August2023
  18. ^"EU Referendum Results 2016".West Devon Borough Council.Retrieved10 July2018.
  19. ^"How to find our offices".West Devon Borough Council.Retrieved3 August2023.
  20. ^"Town and Parish Clerks contact details".West Devon Borough Council.Retrieved3 August2023.
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