Mid Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. The council is based in the district's largest town of Tiverton. The district also contains the towns of Bampton, Bradninch, Crediton and Cullompton, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Part of the district lies within the Blackdown Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The neighbouring districts are East Devon, Teignbridge, West Devon, Torridge, North Devon and Somerset.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of four former districts which were all abolished at the same time:[1]
The new district was initially named Tiverton, after its largest town.[2] The district was renamed Mid Devon with effect from 6 February 1978 by resolution of the district council.[3]
Mid Devon shares borders with several other Devon districts as well as the county of Somerset. Neighbouring districts include Exeter, East Devon, North Devon, Teignbridge, West Devon and Torridge. The area of Mid Devon, according to the Office for National Statistics Census table KS101EW is 91293.48 hectares, or 912.9348 sq kilometres, or 352.5 square miles.[4]
The Exe, the Culm, the Yeo, the Dalch, the Little Dart, the Taw, the Dart, the Brockley, the Creedy and the Spratford Stream flow through the district.
Raddon Top (772 ft.) is the highest point of the Raddon Hills. Excavations at the summit in 1994 uncovered traces of Early Iron Age settlement.[5]
| Mid Devon District Council | |
| Logo Pic: | Mid Devon District Council logo.svg |
| Logo Res: | 100px |
| House Type: | Non-metropolitan district |
| Leader1 Type: | Chair |
| Leader1: | Frank Letch |
| Party1: | Liberal Democrat |
| Election1: | 24 May 2023 |
| Leader2 Type: | Leader |
| Leader2: | Luke Taylor |
| Party2: | Liberal Democrat |
| Election2: | 24 May 2023 |
| Leader3 Type: | Chief Executive |
| Leader3: | Stephen Walford[6] |
| Election3: | 2016 |
| Members: | 42 councillors |
| Structure1 Res: | 280 |
| Political Groups1: |
|
| Last Election1: | 4 May 2023 |
| Next Election1: | 6 May 2027 |
| Session Room: | Tiverton, Phoenix House - geograph.org.uk - 2750487.jpg |
| Meeting Place: | Phoenix House, Phoenix Lane, Tiverton, EX166PP |
Mid Devon District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Devon County Council.[7] The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[8]
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 until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[9] [10]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| 1974–1995 | ||
| 1995–1999 | ||
| 1999–2023 | ||
| 2023–present | ||
The leaders of the council since 2013 have been:[11]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Hare-Scott | pre-2013 | 29 Oct 2014 | ||
| Clive Eginton | 29 Oct 2014 | 22 May 2019 | ||
| Bob Deed | 22 May 2019 | 22 Feb 2023 | ||
| Barry Warren[12] | 22 Feb 2023 | 7 May 2023 | ||
| Luke Taylor | 24 May 2023 | |||
Following the 2023 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to July 2024, the composition of the council was:[13] [14]
| Party | Councillors | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 1 | |||
| Total | 42 | ||
See also: Mid Devon District Council elections. Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 42 councillors, representing 22 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[15]
Since January 2004 the council has been based at a modern office building called Phoenix House on Phoenix Lane in Tiverton.[16] [17]
The Grand Western Canal stretches from Canal Hill in Tiverton to just before the county boundary, near to Greenham, Somerset. It no longer operates for trade purposes, but is a popular tourist location. Visitors are able to walk along its banks or take a trip down the canal in a horse drawn barge. A static barge at the Canal Hill end of the canal offers refreshments. The site is one of two tourism spots owned by Devon County Council.
The Devon Railway Centre is located at Bickleigh in Mid Devon, in a restored Victorian railway station on the closed Great Western Railway branch from Exeter to Dulverton. The centre operates a 2 ft (610mm) gauge passenger railway and has a large collection of narrow gauge rolling stock, a miniature railway and a collection of model railways.
Coldharbour Mill is a Grade II* listed Georgian mill complex in Uffculme, close to junction 27 (Tiverton turnoff) of the M5. The mill has the largest working waterwheel in the south west, and steams up its stationary steam engines most Bank Holidays. It has a number of other collections, such as dolls' houses, a large tapestry showing five local parishes, and a wide range of worsted wool spinning and weaving machines.
See also: List of civil parishes in Devon. Mid Devon is entirely divided into civil parishes. Some of the smaller parishes have a parish meeting rather than a parish council, whilst the three parishes of Clayhanger, Hockworthy and Huntsham share a grouped parish council called Borden Gate Parish Council. The parish councils for Bampton, Bradninch, Crediton, Cullompton and Tiverton take the style "town council".[18]