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:


 * 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

The new district was named East Devon, reflecting its position in the wider county.

Governance
East Devon District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Devon County Council. The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

Political control
The council has been under no overall control since 2019. Since the 2023 election the council has 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.

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:

Leadership
The leaders of the council since 2001 have been:

Composition
Following the 2023 election, subsequent changes of allegiance up to June 2024 and a by-election in May 2024, the composition of the council was:

The Liberal Democrats, Greens and eleven of the independent councillors sit together as the "Democratic Alliance Group", which forms the council's administration. Of the other independent councillors, ten form the "Independent Group", one sits with the single Liberal councillor as the "Independent Councillor Group" and the other does not belong to a group. The next election is due in 2027.

Elections
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.

East Devon is covered by three parliamentary constituencies: East Devon, Tiverton and Honiton and Central Devon.

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 Sidmouth which had been the offices of the old Sidmouth Urban District Council since the 1960s, having previously been a hotel.

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
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".