East Devon

East Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Honiton, although Exmouth is the largest town. The district also contains the towns of Axminster, Budleigh Salterton, Cranbrook, Ottery St Mary, Seaton and Sidmouth, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas.

The district borders Teignbridge and the City of Exeter to the west, Mid Devon to the north, Somerset to the north-east, and Dorset to the east.

Two parts of the district are designated as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: the Blackdown Hills in the north of the district and the East Devon AONB along the district's coast and adjoining areas. The East Devon coastline from Exmouth to the border with Dorset is also part of the designated World Heritage Site of the Jurassic Coast; the designated area continues into Dorset as far as the Old Harry Rocks near Swanage.

History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the whole area of eight former districts and part of a ninth, which were all abolished at the same time:<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref> Template:Div col

• Axminster Rural District
• Budleigh Salterton Urban District
• Exmouth Urban District
• Honiton Municipal Borough
• Honiton Rural District
• Ottery St Mary Urban District
• St Thomas Rural District (parts north-east of Exeter, rest went to Teignbridge)
• Seaton Urban District
• Sidmouth Urban District

Template:Div col end The new district was named East Devon, reflecting its position in the wider county.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

Governance

East Devon District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Devon County Council.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref> The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.<ref name=electionmaps>Template:Cite web</ref>

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 2019. From May 2020 to May 2023, it was run by a political grouping composed of Liberal Democrats, Greens and Independents. Since the 2023 election the council has again been run by a coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Greens and some of the independent councillors. Paul Arnott was re-appointed leader of the council after the election, this time as a Liberal Democrat, having previously led as a member of the East Devon Alliance, which did not stand any candidates in 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been held by the following parties:<ref name=glance>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web (Put "East Devon" in search box to see specific results.)</ref>

Party in control		Years
Template:Party name with colour	1974–1976
Template:Party name with colour	1976–1995
Template:Party name with colour	1995–1999
Template:Party name with colour	1999–2019
Template:Party name with colour	2019–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2001 have been:

Councillor	Party		From	To
Sara Randall Johnson<ref name=25May2011/>	Template:Party name with colour	2001	May 2011
Paul Diviani<ref name=25May2011>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	25 May 2011	16 May 2018
Ian Thomas<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	16 May 2018	May 2019
Ben Ingham<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	22 May 2019	18 May 2020
Paul Arnott<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	29 May 2020	May 2023
	Template:Party name with colour	May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and subsequent changes of allegiance and by-elections up to May 2025, the composition of the council was:<ref name=Thorncliffe>Template:Cite web</ref>

Party		Councillors
Template:Party name with colour	20
Template:Party name with colour	15
Template:Party name with colour	2
Template:Party name with colour	1
Template:Party name with colour	22
Total		60

The Liberal Democrats, Greens and nine of the independent councillors sit together as the "Democratic Alliance Group", which forms the council's administration. Of the other independent councillors, eight form the "Independent Group", three form the "Cranbrook Voice" group, one sits with the single Liberal councillor as the "Independent Councillor Group", and the other does not belong to a group.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The next election is due in 2027.<ref name=Thorncliffe/>

Elections

Template:Also Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 60 councillors representing 30 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

East Devon is covered by two parliamentary constituencies: Exmouth and Exeter East and Honiton and Sidmouth.<ref name=electionmaps/>

Premises

Knowle, Sidmouth: Council's headquarters until 2019.

In 2019 the council moved to new purpose-built offices called Blackdown House in Honiton. The building was officially opened on 27 February 2019.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Prior to 2019 the council was based at Knowle, a large converted house in Sidmouth which had been the offices of the old Sidmouth Urban District Council since the 1960s, having previously been a hotel.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Transport

Exeter International Airport is located in East Devon. A small stretch of the M5 motorway passes through the district, as does a section of the West of England line.

Towns and parishes

Template:Also East Devon is entirely divided into civil parishes. The parish councils for Axminster, Budleigh Salterton, Cranbrook, Exmouth, Honiton, Ottery St Mary, Seaton and Sidmouth take the style "town council".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• Grade I listed buildings in East Devon
• Grade II* listed buildings in East Devon
• List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Devon

External links

• East Devon Template:Webarchive
• Otter Valley Weather