Mid Devon

Mid Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in Tiverton.

Mid Devon District
Non-metropolitan district
Mid Devon shown within Devon
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionSouth West England
Non-metropolitan countyDevon
StatusNon-metropolitan district
Admin HQTiverton
Incorporated1 April 1974
Government
 • TypeNon-metropolitan district council
 • BodyMid Devon District Council
 • LeadershipAlternative - Sec.31 (Conservative)
 • MPsNeil Parish
Mel Stride
Area
 • Total222.8 sq mi (577.1 km2)
Area rank36th (of 317)
Population
 (mid-2019 est.)
 • Total82,311
 • Rank285th (of 317)
 • Density370/sq mi (140/km2)
 • Ethnicity
99.2% White
Time zoneUTC0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code18UD (ONS)
E07000042 (GSS)
OS grid referenceSS9523512287
Websitewww.middevon.gov.uk

The district was formed under the Local Government Act 1972, on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the borough of Tiverton and Crediton urban district together with Tiverton Rural District, and Crediton Rural District.[1] It was originally called Tiverton District, but was renamed in 1978 by resolution of the district council.[2]

Geography

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.

Rivers

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

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.[3]

Politics
See also: Mid Devon District Council elections

Elections to Mid Devon council are held every four years. There are 41 councillors representing 23 wards. After the 2019 election, the council is now run by an Liberal Democrat-Independent-Green coalition.

Date Conservative +/- Liberal Democrat +/- UKIP +/- Greens +/- Independent +/- Control
2015[4][5] 29 - 5 -- 2 - 0 - 6 - Conservative
2019 18 -11 12 +7 0 -2 2 +2 10 +4 Lib Dem-Ind-Green

Tourism

Grand Western Canal

The Grand Western Canal stretches from Canal Hill in Tiverton to just outside Greenham in 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.

Exmoor

Exmoor National Park is a national park situated in Mid Devon and Somerset in South West England. The park covers 267 square miles (692 km²) of hilly open moorland. Exmoor is one of the first British National Parks, designated in 1954, and is named after its main river, the River Exe. Several areas of the moor have been declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Devon Railway Centre

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 Working Wool Museum

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.

Major settlements

The major town of the district is Tiverton; other towns include Cullompton and Crediton.

gollark: A god of some sort *could* exist, but there isn't good evidence for them.
gollark: I mean, most of the "gods" we think about are suspiciously humanlike. And human minds are complicated. The universe is complicated, but easier to describe; people have it down onto T-shirts now (described in very dense mathy notation).
gollark: ???
gollark: "Why is there the universe and not nothing?" Sure. But then "why god and not nothing?".
gollark: Saying "god did it" explains nothing. Why god?

See also

References
  1. The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972 (SI 1972/2039)
  2. "No. 47488". The London Gazette. 14 March 1978. p. 3251.
  3. "Devon Libraries Local Studies Shobroke Community Page, 22 February 2005". Archived from the original on 2 March 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
  4. "Declaration of Result of Poll 2015" (PDF). Mid Devon Council. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  5. "Uncontested Election Results 2015" (PDF). Mid Devon Council. Retrieved 29 April 2019.

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