East Devon is a

local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...

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. Devon is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Its council has been based in

Honiton Honiton ( or ) is a market town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. Honiton has a population estimated at 11,822 (based on mid-year estimates for the two Honiton Ward ...

since February 2019, and the largest town is

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of town ...

(with a population of 34,432 at the time of the 2011 census). The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the borough of

with the

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

s of

Budleigh Salterton Budleigh Salterton is a seaside town on the coast in East Devon, England, south-east of Exeter. It lies within the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and forms much of the electoral ward of Budleigh, whose ward population at t ...

, Ottery St. Mary, Seaton,

Sidmouth Sidmouth () is a town on the English Channel in Devon, South West England, southeast of Exeter. With a population of 12,569 in 2011, it is a tourist resort and a gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. A large part of the town has ...

along with

Axminster Axminster is a market town and civil parish on the eastern border of the county of Devon in England. It is from the county town of Exeter. The town is built on a hill overlooking the River Axe which heads towards the English Channel at Axmou ...

Rural District, Honiton Rural District and part of St Thomas Rural District. East Devon is covered by three

Parliamentary constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

East Devon East Devon is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Devon, England. Its council has been based in Honiton since February 2019, and the largest town is Exmouth (with a population of 34,432 at the time of the 2011 census). ...

, Tiverton and Honiton and

Central Devon Central Devon is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Mel Stride, a Conservative. History The constituency was created for the 2010 general election, following a review of parliamentary repr ...

. All were retained in the 2019 general election by the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, were represented by

Simon Jupp Simon James Jupp (born 8 September 1985) is a British Conservative Party politician who was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for East Devon at the 2019 general election. Early life and career Jupp was born in Plymouth at Freedom Fields Hos ...

Neil Parish Neil Quentin Gordon Parish (born 26 May 1956) is a British farmer and former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Tiverton and Honiton from 2010 until his resignation in 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he was previo ...

and

Mel Stride Melvyn John Stride (born 30 September 1961) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions since October 2022. He previously served in the May Government as Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster ...

respectively until Parish’s resignation in 2022. In the 2001 census it was found that a third of East Devon's population were over 60. The average for England was 24%. East Devon also had a higher number of people living in "Medical and Care Establishments" at 1.6% compared to the England average of 0.9%. The council area covers the area of

furthest to east, stretching all the way from

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 ...

to the county border with

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

and

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. A large amount of East Devon is made up of two

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of thei ...

(AONB),

East Devon AONB East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) covers over of the East Devon countryside (England). This countryside includes eighteen miles (29 km) of Heritage coastline. The designated area covers: twenty-nine parishes and borders the c ...

and the

Blackdown Hills The Blackdown Hills are a range of hills along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England, which were designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1991. The plateau is dominated by hard chert bands of Upper Greensand wit ...

. AONBs have the same level of protection as

National parks of England and Wales National parks of the United Kingdom ( cy, parciau cenedlaethol; gd, pàircean nàiseanta) are areas of relatively undeveloped and scenic landscape across the country. Despite their name, they are quite different from national parks in many ot ...

which restricts new developments, which protects the natural beauty of this district. The entire East Devon coastline from Exmouth to the border with

is part of the designated

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

called the

Jurassic Coast The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. It stretches from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset, a distance of about , and was inscribed on the World Heritage List in mid-December ...

; the designated area itself continues up to

Old Harry Rocks Old Harry Rocks are three chalk formations, including a stack and a stump, located at Handfast Point, on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, southern England. They mark the most eastern point of the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. L ...

near

Swanage Swanage () is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck and one of its two towns, approximately south of Poole and east of Dorchester. In the 2011 census the civil ...

Politics

From May 2019, East Devon District Council contains 60 Councillors representing 30 wards. Since the 2019 election, the majority (31/60) of the councillors do not belong to a national political party. Most of these Independents became part of either the East Devon Alliance or the Independent Group. In March 2020, councillors from the East Devon Alliance, Liberal Democrats, Green Party, and one Independent, formed a group called the Democratic Alliance. Comprising 24 councillors, they became the largest group in the council. In May 2020, eight councillors left the ruling Independent Group. One joined the East Devon Alliance, and seven formed their own group called the Independent Progressive Group. This new group formed a coalition partnership with the Democratic Alliance, and this coalition formed a new majority administration with 31/60 seats.

Elected Councillors

Current Groupings

*The Democratic Alliance comprises the Liberal Democrats, Green Party, East Devon Alliance, Labour, and some independent councillors.

Transport

Exeter International Airport Exeter Airport , formerly ''Exeter International Airport'', is an international airport located at Clyst Honiton in East Devon, close to the city of Exeter and within the county of Devon, South West England. Exeter has a CAA Public Use Aerodr ...

is located in East Devon. A small stretch of the M5 passes through the district.

Premises

In 2019 the council moved to new purpose-built offices called Blackdown House in

. The building was officially opened on 27 February 2019. Prior to 2019 the council was based at Knowle, a large converted house in

References

External links

East Devon

Otter Valley Weather
{{Devon Non-metropolitan districts of Devon