West 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 ...
and
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
in
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 ...
,
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 ...
. Towns and villages in the district include
Chagford
Chagford is a market town and civil parish on the north-east edge of Dartmoor, in Devon, England, close to the River Teign and the A382, 4 miles (6 km) west of Moretonhampstead. The name is derived from ''chag'', meaning gorse or broom, and ...
,
Okehampton
Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is situated at the northern edge of Dartmoor, and had a population of 5,922 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards are based in the town (east and w ...
,
Princetown and
Tavistock
Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13 ...
, where the council is based.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
, as a merger of the previous
municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...
of Okehampton,
Okehampton Rural District, and
Tavistock Rural District. West Devon contains most of
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers .
The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous P ...
.
Politics
Elections to the borough council are held every four years with 31 councillors representing 22 wards.
In 2013, 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 ...
initiated a review of West Devon with the aim of delivering electoral equality amongst voters at local elections, with each councillor representing a similar number of voters and with ward boundaries reflecting the interests and identities of local communities. After a consultation period, the commission recommended that West Devon should continue to be represented by 31 councillors and that certain changes should be made to the wards; they proposed moving from a two-member
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers .
The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous P ...
ward to two single-member wards called Dartmoor and
Mary Tavy; and from a two-member Tamarside ward to two single-member wards,
Tamarside and
Milton Ford
Milton may refer to:
Names
* Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname)
** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet
* Milton (given name)
** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Fre ...
.
In the
EU referendum of 2016, the majority of voters in West Devon voted to leave the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
(18,937 to 16,658, that is 53.2% to 46.8%). The turnout was 81.25%.
In 2020, Cllr Mike Davies left the Conservatives to sit as an independent over the Conservative Government's handling of the Dominic Cummings breaking of lockdown rules during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then a separate independent, Cllr Robin Musgrave has joined the Liberal Democrats. The net result is to leave the number of independents unchanged, the number of Conservatives down one and Liberal Democrats up one, thus denying the Conservatives an overall majority. The Conservatives regained a majority on the council in November 2021 following a by-election in the
Bere Ferrers
Bere Ferrers, sometimes called ''Beerferris'', is a village and civil parish on the Bere peninsula in West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is located to the north of Plymouth, on the west bank of the River Tavy. It has a railway stat ...
ward.
Services
Services provided by West Devon Borough Council to the local community include the administration of council tax and local benefits, the provision of car parking services, the collection of refuse and the recycling of waste, planning and building control, housing services, the provision of sport and leisure facilities, environmental services, business-related services and contingency planning.
Town Twinning
West Devon is twinned with
Wesseling
Wesseling () is an industrial German city on the Rhine bordering Cologne city on the south. With three chemical plants and a petroleum refinery within its city limits, it has an important place in the international petrochemical industry.
Histor ...
, Germany since 1983.
See also
*
Grade I listed buildings in West Devon
*
Grade II* listed buildings in West Devon
*
Exeter to Plymouth railway of the LSWR
The Exeter to Plymouth railway of the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) was the westernmost part of a route competing with that of the Great Western Railway (GWR) and its 'associated companies' from London and Exeter to Plymouth in Devon, ...
References
External links
{{coord, 50, 38, N, 4, 06, W, display=title, region:GB
Non-metropolitan districts of Devon
Boroughs in England