Coordinates: 50°38′N 4°06′W / 50.633°N 4.100°W / 50.633; -4.100

West Devon

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This article is about the district. For the constituency, see West Devon (UK Parliament constituency).

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
Rebecca Smith
Mel Stride
Area
 • Total
448.3 sq mi (1,161.1 km2)
 • Rank21st (of 296)
Population
 (2024)
 • Total
58,923
 • Rank292nd (of 296)
 • Density131.44/sq mi (50.748/km2)
 • Ethnicity
97.8% White (94.9% White British)
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

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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]

The district was originally planned to also cover Holsworthy Rural District. It was then decided to split another new district and make them 2 districts (North Devon and Torridge) and extract Holsworthy from West Devon.[3]

On 27 April 1982 the district was awarded borough status, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[4]

Governance

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West Devon Borough Council
Logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1974
Leadership
Paul Vachon,
Independent
since 20 May 2025[5]
Mandy Ewings,
Independent
since 30 May 2023
Andy Bates
since June 2020[6]
Structure
Seats31 councillors
Political groups
Administration (21)
  Liberal Democrats (6)
  Green (3)
  Labour (1)
  Independent (11)
Opposition (10)
  Conservative (10)
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
Constitution
The Constitution of West Devon Borough Council

West Devon Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Devon County Council.[7] The whole borough is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[8]

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.[9]

Political control

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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.[10]

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:[11][12]

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[13] 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 the leader of the council. The leaders since 2012 have been:

Councillor Party From To
James McInnes[14] Conservative May 2012
Philip Sanders[14][15] Conservative 15 May 2012 May 2019
Neil Jory[16][17] Conservative 21 May 2019 May 2023
Mandy Ewings[18][10] Independent 30 May 2023

Composition

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Following the 2023 election,[19] and subsequent by-elections in June 2023, May 2024 and May 2025, the composition of the council was:[20][21][22]

Party Councillors
Conservative 11
Liberal Democrats 5
Green 4
Labour 1
Independent 10
Total 31

The independent councillors, Greens, Liberal Democrats and Labour sit together as the "West Devon Alliance" group, which forms the council's administration.[23] The next election is due in 2027.[24]

Elections

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See also: West Devon Borough Council 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.[25]

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%.[26]

The borough straddles the constituencies of Central Devon, South West Devon and Torridge and Tavistock.[8]

Premises

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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.[27]

Towns and parishes

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See also: List of civil parishes in Devon

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.[28]

Town Twinning

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

Arms

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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

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