Torridge District

50.893°N 4.265°W / 50.893; -4.265

Torridge
Torridge District
Non-metropolitan district
Torridge shown within Devon
Torridge shown within Devon
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionSouth West England
Non-metropolitan countyDevon
StatusNon-metropolitan district
Admin HQBideford
Incorporated1 April 1974
Government
 • TypeNon-metropolitan district council
 • BodyTorridge District Council
 • MPsGeoffrey Cox
Area
 • Total380.4 sq mi (985.3 km2)
 • Rank26th (of 296)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total68,475
 • Rank286th (of 296)
 • Density180/sq mi (69/km2)
 • Ethnicity
99.0% White
Time zoneUTC0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code18UK (ONS)
E07000046 (GSS)
OS grid referenceSS4072412895

Torridge is a local government district in north-west Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Bideford. The district also includes the towns of Great Torrington, Holsworthy and Northam, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. The island of Lundy forms part of the district. The district is named after the River Torridge.

The district's coast is recognised for its natural beauty, forming part of the North Devon Coast, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The South West Coast Path runs through the area.

The neighbouring districts are North Devon, Mid Devon, West Devon and Cornwall.

History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The new district covered the area of six former districts, which were all abolished at the same time, plus Lundy Island:[1]

The new district was named after the River Torridge which flows through the area.[2]

Governance
Torridge District Council
Logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1974
Leadership
Doug Bushby,
Independent
since 26 April 2021[3]
Ken James,
Independent
since 9 December 2019
Steve Hearse
since April 2020[4]
Structure
Seats36 councillors
Political groups
  Independents (16)
  Liberal Democrat (8)
  Conservative (6)
  Green Party (4)
  Labour (2)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
Town Hall, Bridge Street, Bideford, EX39 2HS
Website
torridge.gov.uk

Torridge District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Devon County Council.[5] Most of the district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[6]

Political control

The council has been under no overall 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 took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[7][8]

Party in controlYears
Independent1974–1995
No overall control1995–1999
Independent1999–2007
No overall control2007–2015
Conservative2015–2017
No overall control2017–2022
Independent2022–2023
No overall control2023–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2004 have been:[9]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Pat Ferguson Independentpre-20046 May 2007
James Morrish Conservative21 May 20078 May 2011
Barry Parsons Conservative23 May 201120 May 2013
Philip Collins Independent20 May 201310 May 2015
Jane Whittaker Conservative18 May 20155 May 2019
Anna Dart[10] Independent13 May 2019Dec 2019
Ken James Independent9 Dec 2019

Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:[11]

Party Councillors
Independent 16
Liberal Democrats 8
Conservative 6
Green 4
Labour 2
Total 36

Of the sixteen independent councillors, fourteen form the "Independent Group", and the other two sit with the Greens as the "Green Independents".[12] The next election is due in 2027.

Premises
Riverbank House, Chanters Road, Bideford: Council's main offices

Council meetings are usually held at Bideford Town Hall, which had been built in 1851 for the old Bideford Corporation.[13] The council's main offices are at Riverbank House in Bideford, which had been built c. 1982 as the headquarters of the Western Counties Building Society, before being bought by Torridge District Council in 1988.[14][15]

Elections
See also: Torridge District Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2019, the council has comprised 36 councillors representing 16 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[16]

Towns and parishes
See also: List of civil parishes in Devon

Most of Torridge is covered by civil parishes. The exception is Lundy, which is an unparished area. Some of the smaller parishes have a parish meeting rather than a parish council. The parish councils for Bideford, Great Torrington, Holsworthy and Northam take the style "town council".[17]

Torridge CVS

Torridge CVS is a charitable organisation providing vulnerable people across the Torridge district with day-to-day living assistance. It provides advice, befriending schemes, support for carers, help to older people and help with charitable fund-raising, liaising with voluntary and community groups where necessary. It offers placements for individuals who want to get more involved in their local communities and relies on local volunteers, with over 2000 volunteers registered. It has been in operation since 1988 and is a member of NAVCA, the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action, being largely funded by Devon County Council and Torridge District Council.[18]

See also

References
  1. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 2 August 2023
  2. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 31 May 2023
  3. "Council minutes, 26 April 2021". Torridge District Council. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  4. Clarke, Lewis (9 August 2020). "Council welcomes Steve Hearse as top man at Torridge Council". In Your Area. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  5. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  6. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  7. "England council elections". BBC News Online. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  8. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  9. "Council minutes". Torridge District Council. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  10. Cooper, Joel (5 December 2019). "Mystery surrounds sudden resignation of council leader". Devon Live. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  11. "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  12. "Your councillors by political grouping". Torridge District Council. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  13. Historic England. "Town Hall and Public Library (1200934)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  14. "Contact us". Torridge District Council. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  15. "Planning application 1/0088/2018/LA". Torridge District Council. p. 2, Supporting Statement. Retrieved 2 August 2023. Riverbank House was built circa 1982 as the former Western Counties Building Society head office. In 1988 Torridge District Council took over the premises as a main administration building for the Council.
  16. "The Torridge (Electoral Changes) Order 2017", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2017/1083, retrieved 2 August 2023
  17. "Parish council contact details". Torridge District Council. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  18. "Torridge CVS". Torridge CVS. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
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