Exeter City Council is the council and local government of the city of

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

History

Proposed unitary authority status

The government proposed that the city should become an independent

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

within Devon, much like neighbouring

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

and

Torbay Torbay is a borough and unitary authority in Devon, south west England. It is governed by Torbay Council and consists of of land, including the resort towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located on east-facing Tor Bay, part of Lyme ...

. The statutory orders to set up the unitary authority were passed in Parliament and a new unitary city council was due to start in Exeter on 1 April 2011. However, following the 2010 general election the new government announced in May 2010 that the reorganisation would be blocked.

Boundaries

The

Local Government Boundary Commission for England The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) is a parliamentary body established by statute to conduct boundary, electoral and structural reviews of local government areas in England. The LGBCE is independent of government and pol ...

published its final recommendations in September 2015 for changes to the wards in Exeter. The aim was to reduce the city's high levels in electoral inequality. The number of wards was reduced to 13; each electing three councillors for a total of 39. Following parliamentary approval, it came into effect at the 2016 election.

Wards and councillors

The

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

s of the city for City Council purposes are listed below. * Alphington - includes the

Marsh Barton Marsh Barton is the largest trading estate in Exeter, covering over . It supports over 500 diverse businesses including one of Europe's largest motoring centres, showrooms, city plumbing, Exeter College's automotive site, builders merchants, a ...

industrial estate *

Duryard Duryard is an ancient area of Exeter in Devon, England. Duryard was once the hunting land of the Anglo-Saxon kings. The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon ''dear'' (deer) and ''geard'' (fold). Today, much of the area is occupied by the University of ...

& St James * Exwick *

Heavitree Heavitree is a historic village and parish situated formerly outside the walls of the City of Exeter in Devon, England, and is today an eastern district of that city. It was formerly the first significant village outside the city on the road to ...

*Mincinglake & Whipton * Newtown & St Leonards *

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Pinhoe Pinhoe is a former village, manor and ecclesiastical parish, now a suburb on the north eastern outskirts of the City of Exeter in the English county of Devon. The 2001 census recorded a population of 6,108 people resident within Pinhoe Ward, o ...

*Priory *St David's *St Loyes * St Thomas * Topsham All city wards return three councillors to the Council. The council holds elections by thirds over a four-year cycle - one third of seats being contested in each of three years, and elections to Devon County Council taking place in the fourth. As of May 2022, the current political control of the council is as follows: The Green Party, Liberal Democrats and one Independent (Jemima Moore, Newtown and St Leonard's) sit as a single Progressive Group on the Council, and they are currently the largest Opposition group, with Cllr. Diana Moore (Green, St David's) and Cllr. Kevin Mitchell (Liberal Democrat, Duryard and St James) acting as co-leaders of the group. Following the May 2022 elections, Cllr. David Harvey (Pinhoe) left the Labour group, and subsequently sits as an Independent.

Premises

The council's main offices are at the Civic Centre, a 1970s building on Paris Street in the city centre. Full council meetings are generally held at the city's

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

at 203 High Street, which was built around 1470.

Summary results of elections

*''See Exeter City Council elections for historic political composition and leadership of the council.

References

External links

Exeter City Council
{{Local authorities in Devon Exeter Non-metropolitan district councils of England Billing authorities in England Local authorities in Devon