West Devon District | |
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Non-metropolitan district | |
![]() West Devon shown within Devon |
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Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Region | South West England |
Non-metropolitan county | Devon |
Status | Non-metropolitan district |
Admin HQ | |
Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
Government | |
• Type | Non-metropolitan district council |
• Body | West Devon District Council |
• Leadership | Alternative - Sec.31 (Conservative) |
• MPs |
Geoffrey Cox Gary Streeter |
Area | |
• Total | 448.3 sq mi (1,161.1 km2) |
Area rank | 21st (of 326) |
Population (mid-2014 est.) | |
• Total | 54,260 |
• Rank | 316th (of 326) |
• Density | 120/sq mi (47/km2) |
• Ethnicity | 99.1% White |
Time zone | GMT (UTC0) |
• Summer (DST) | BST (UTC+1) |
ONS code | 18UL (ONS) E07000047 (GSS) |
OS grid reference | SX5150683684 |
Website | www |
West Devon is a local government district and borough in Devon, England. Towns in the district include Chagford, Okehampton, Princetown, and , where the council is based.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the previous municipal borough of Okehampton, Okehampton Rural District, and . West Devon contains most of Dartmoor.
The administrative area of the West Devon Borough Council was formed on 1 April 1974 from the merger of pre-existing areas in Devon when the Local Government Act 1972 came into force. The council main office is in Tavistock, and the council can be contacted by telephone, online, by email, in writing or in person.
In 2013, the Local Government Boundary Commission for England 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 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.
In the EU referendum of 2016, the majority of voters in West Devon voted to leave the European Union (18,937 to 16,658). The turnout was 81.25%.
Services provided by West Devon Borough Council to the local community include the administration of council tax and local benefits, transportation services, road maintenance, 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, libraries, schools and colleges, social care and health, environmental services, business-related services and contingency planning.