Teignbridge is a local government district in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England. Its council is based in the town of

Newton Abbot Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge, Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its population was 24,029 in 2011, and was estimated at 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in ...

. The district also includes the towns of Ashburton, Buckfastleigh,

Dawlish Dawlish is a seaside resort town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Teignbridge district in Devon, England. It is located on the south coast of England at a distance of from the city of Exeter and a similar distance from the to ...

, Kingsteignton and

Teignmouth Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14 ...

, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Teignbridge contains part of the south Devon coastline, including the Dawlish Warren National Nature Reserve. Some of the inland western parts of the district lie within the Dartmoor National Park. It is named after the old Teignbridge hundred. The neighbouring districts are Torbay, South Hams, West Devon,

Mid Devon Mid Devon is a local government district in Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, t ...

, East Devon and

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

History

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 ...

, covering the whole area of six former districts and part of a seventh, which were all abolished at the same time: * Ashburton Urban District * Buckfastleigh Urban District *

Urban District * Newton Abbot Rural District *

Urban District * St Thomas Rural District (parts south-west of Exeter, rest went to East Devon) *

Urban District The new district was named Teignbridge after the medieval

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

of that name which had covered some of the area. The hundred in turn had been named after the bridge over the River Teign on Exeter Road west of Kingsteignton, where there had been a number of bridges since Roman times.

Governance

Teignbridge District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Devon County Council. The whole district is also covered by

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

es, which form a third tier of local government. In the parts of the district within the Dartmoor National Park, town planning is the responsibility of the Dartmoor National Park Authority. The district council appoints two of its councillors to serve on the 19-person National Park Authority.

Political control

The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since the 2023 election. The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: (Put "Teignbridge" in search box to see specific results.)

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2003 have been:

Composition

Following the 2023 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council was: Ten of the independent councillors form the "Independent Group", the other is not aligned to a group. The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 47

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s representing 24 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

Premises

The council is based at Forde House on Brunel Road in Newton Abbot. The council bought the Forde House estate in 1978 for £60,000. The estate comprised a Tudor mansion and its grounds. A modern office building was built in the grounds to serve as the council's headquarters, being formally opened on 27 April 1987. The new office building now takes the name Forde House, with the old mansion now called Old Forde House.

Parishes and settlements

The district is entirely divided into

es. Some of the smaller parishes have a

parish meeting A parish meeting is a meeting all the electors in a civil parish in England are entitled to attend. In some cases, where a parish or group of parishes has fewer than 200 electors, the parish meeting can take on the role of a parish council, with ...

rather than a parish council. The parish councils for Ashburton, Buckfastleigh, Dawlish, Kingsteignton, Newton Abbot and Teignmouth take the style "town council". Settlements in the district include:

References

External links

{{coord, 50.582, -3.628, display=title, region:GB_scale:50000 Non-metropolitan districts of Devon