East Devon is a local government district 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 ...

. Its council has been based in Honiton since February 2019, and the largest town is

Exmouth Exmouth is a port town, 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 5th most populous settlement in Devon. Hi ...

(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 Honiton 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) (his ...

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 Ottery St Mary, known as "Ottery", is a town and civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England, on the River Otter, about east of Exeter on the B3174. At the 2001 census, the parish, which includes the villages of Metcombe, Fai ...

, 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 h ...

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 Ax ...

Rural District, Honiton Rural District and part of

St Thomas Rural District St. Thomas was a rural district, in the County of Devon, England from 1894 to 1974. The offices were in Southernhay East, inside the City of Exeter, but outside the County of Devon. It was created by the Local Government Act 1894 based on the S ...

. 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 polit ...

, East Devon, Tiverton and Honiton and Central Devon. 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,

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 prev ...

and Mel Stride 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. Covering an area of , ...

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 , lor ...

. 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 ...

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 wi ...

. AONBs have the same level of protection as National parks of England and Wales 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 ...

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-Decembe ...

; the designated area itself continues up to Old Harry Rocks 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 civi ...

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 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 Honiton. 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