South West · Non-metropolitan district

West Devon

2026/27 view

West Devon · ONS E07000047

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources

COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

47/ 100

COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Under pressure

Compared only with non-metropolitan district councils using central government returns.

164 councils in peer group Rank 92 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated

Reserves cover44

Debt burden58

Liquidity70

Debt direction1

YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.

Net debt £1.28m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4

+£663.0k 107.8%

Service expenditure £11.10m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

+£1.34m 13.7%

Unallocated reserves £1.82m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

+£102.0k 5.9%

FIVE-YEAR FINANCIAL TREND

How this council's finances have changed

Official annual outturn. Each line uses its own scale so direction remains easy to read.

Through 2024/25

Service expenditure £11.10m

13.6%

Net revenue expenditure £9.61m

19.5%

Council Tax requirement £7.90m

22.7%

Unallocated reserves £1.82m

56.8%

COUNCILMETRICS COMMUNITY SCORE Share your experience 0 of 25 responses collected before results are published

Score this council

Political controlNot yet recordedAdministration not identified

Council leaderNot identifiedParty not identified

Resident population58,9232024 estimate

Latest net debt£1.28m2026/27 Q1 quarter end

WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

Official Defra measures for West Devon, with like-for-like comparison against collection authorities.

2024/25

53.8%recycled

Household recycling rate

More waste recycled

0.1 percentage points vs 2023/24

25 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%

Residual waste298.9 kgper household−6.9 kg year on year

Waste collected300.6 kgper resident−3.5 kg year on year

Household waste17,770tonnes collected9,559 tonnes recycled

WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

9,559 t recycled, composted or reused 8,211 t not recycled

RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

53.8%

2015/162024/25

EDUCATION

Schools and education

Schools, pupil numbers and latest education outcomes across West Devon.

2024/25

SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools

37 Open schools

6,412 Pupils

8,883 School places

72.2% Capacity utilisation

ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in West Devon.

Attainment 8

44.5

South West 46.2

England 46.1

1.6 points below England

English & maths grade 5+

41.5%

South West 46.2%

England 45.4%

3.9 percentage points below England

EBacc entry

35.7%

South West 33.0%

England 40.5%

4.8 percentage points below England

PROGRESS

Progress 8

-0.16

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.

TREND

Attainment 8 over time

47.2 18/19

51.7 19/20

53.0 20/21

48.1 21/22

46.4 22/23

44.1 23/24

44.5 24/25

Education context

West Devon's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes show a mixed picture when compared with South West and England.

Department for Education · Key Stage 4 performance · Pupil residency

HOUSING & AFFORDABILITY

Housing costs and local earnings

House prices and affordability for West Devon, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025

Median house price

£302,248

+ 16.2% over five years

Median resident earnings

£38,638

+ 45.8% over five years

House price to earnings

7.82×

Improved from 9.81× five years ago

PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in West Devon.

£840 / month

+ 2.1% in the last year

July 2026

West Devon

£840

+ 2.1%

South West

£1,236

+ 4.5%

England

£1,451

+ 3.8%

Compared with South West £396 less per month

Compared with England £611 less per month

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

Median house price as a multiple of median resident earnings. Lower is more affordable.

West Devon

7.82×

South West

8.26×

England

7.64×

Compared with South West More affordable

Compared with England Less affordable

Source: Office for National Statistics · Housing affordability in England and Wales · House prices year ending September · Residence-based earnings

PLANNING & HOUSING DELIVERY

Is development moving through the system?

Quarterly planning decisions and the government's latest three-year Housing Delivery Test.

2026 Q1

Applications received79this quarter−26 vs 2025 Q4

Applications decided90this quarter+11 vs 2025 Q4

Outstanding applications—at quarter end

94.4%approved

Overall approval rate85 granted5 refused+5.8 pts vs previous quarter

DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

93.3%

Rank 131 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

0.3 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major4100.0%75.0% Minor3691.7%91.7% Other5096.0%96.0%

QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters

HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

87%

Required4,191homes over three years

Delivered3,638homes over three years

100% requirement

Action planHDT 2025 government assessment

CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

Latest police-recorded crime figures for West Devon, excluding fraud.

Year ending Mar 2026

Recorded offences 13,406 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud

Crime rate 46.3 offences per 1,000 residents

Annual change + 1.7% compared with the previous year

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents

West Devon Your council

46.3 + 1.7%

South West Region

73.5 + 1.3%

England National

83.4 − 1.5%

West Devon has a recorded crime rate 37.0% below South West. It is 44.5% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Devon and Cornwall

Violence 6,300

21.8 per 1,000 + 8.7%

Theft 3,044

10.5 per 1,000 − 0.3%

Public order 986

3.4 per 1,000 + 14.4%

Criminal damage 1,417

4.9 per 1,000 − 16.3%

Shoplifting 882

3.0 per 1,000 + 14.2%

Vehicle offences 365

1.3 per 1,000 − 5.7%

Burglary 487

1.7 per 1,000 − 21.2%

Drug offences 303

1.0 per 1,000 − 34.6%

Crime figures cover the South Devon and Dartmoor Community Safety Partnership, including South Hams, Teignbridge, West Devon.

ONS / Home Office · Police-recorded crime · Community Safety Partnership data

SCHOOLS & OFSTED

Schools and inspection outcomes

Open schools, pupil numbers and the latest published Ofsted inspection position for West Devon.

37 schools

Open schools 37

Pupils 6,412

School places 8,883

Capacity used 72.2%

Primary 29 schools

3,435 pupils

Other / specialist 6 schools

711 pupils

Secondary 2 schools

2,266 pupils

CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information

Renewed framework 2

5.4% of open schools

Previous full framework 19

51.4% of open schools

Ungraded inspection 10

27.0% of open schools

No Ofsted record 5

13.5% of open schools

No published outcome 1

2.7% of open schools

RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

2 schools assessed

Achievement 2 assessed

Expected standard 1

Needs attention 1

Attendance & behaviour 2 assessed

Expected standard 1

Needs attention 1

Curriculum & teaching 2 assessed

Needs attention 2

Inclusion 2 assessed

Needs attention 2

Leadership & governance 2 assessed

Expected standard 1

Needs attention 1

Personal development 2 assessed

Expected standard 2

Safeguarding 2 assessed

Met 2

PREVIOUS FRAMEWORK

Legacy Ofsted ratings

These ratings apply only to schools whose latest full inspection remains under the previous Ofsted framework. Schools assessed under the renewed framework are shown separately above.

Outstanding 1

Good 15

Requires improvement 1

Not judged 2

LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools

School	Phase	Pupils	Capacity	Latest Ofsted position
Bere Alston Primary Academy URN 147639 · PL20 7AU	Primary	106	210	Good
Boasley Cross Community Primary School URN 145330 · EX20 4JH	Primary	39	70	Ungraded inspection
Bridestowe Primary School URN 145331 · EX20 4EL	Primary	86	86	Good
Chagford Church of England Primary School URN 145338 · TQ13 8BZ	Primary	137	210	Good
Exbourne Church of England Primary School URN 145339 · EX20 3SQ	Primary	25	82	Ungraded inspection
Gulworthy Primary Academy URN 149729 · PL19 8JA	Primary	90	98	Not judged
Hatherleigh Community Primary School URN 113251 · EX20 3JB	Primary	178	210	Good
Highampton Community Primary School URN 146248 · EX21 5LE	Primary	33	53	Good

School information: Get Information about Schools (GIAS). Inspection information: Ofsted monthly management information. Inspection frameworks differ over time, so renewed-framework standards and previous overall effectiveness grades are shown separately.

Published expenditure£0.00No spending file imported

Revenue budget£0.00Not imported

Reported overspend£0.00Not imported outturn

Contracts00 active

Identified suppliers0Normalised entities

PEOPLE AND PLACE

Population snapshot

View full People profile

Population 58,923 2024

South West region 5,889,695

Five-year population change

+3,058 residents ↑ 5.5%

West Devon +5.5%

South West +4.4%

England +4.3%

Growth context

West Devon's population grew over five years. Its change was 1.1 percentage points above the South West and 1.2 percentage points above England.

2019–2024 ONS mid-year estimates

Population estimates and labour-market measures from ONS/Nomis.Official profile

BENEFITS & FINANCIAL PRESSURE

How is Universal Credit changing in West Devon?

People receiving Universal Credit and how the caseload has changed over the latest 24 months.

DWP · May 2026

PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 4,851 8.2% of the 2024 resident population May 2026

CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +7.3% +331 people

LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.4% +20 since April 2026

LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026

West Devon LOCAL AUTHORITY

8.2%

South West REGION

10.0%

England COUNTRY

12.3%

Percentage of the resident population receiving Universal Credit. This is not an unemployment rate.

24-MONTH TREND

People receiving Universal Credit

Monthly caseload recorded on the DWP Universal Credit system.

June 2024 May 2026

4,851 4,404 3,957

June 2024 May 2026

What does this measure?

Universal Credit provides financial support to people who are on a low income or out of work. These figures count people receiving Universal Credit, not households and not the number of people who are unemployed.

DWP Stat-Xplore

HOUSING LICENSING

HMOs and property licensing

Coverage not assessedNational HMO explorer

Licensed HMOsAwaiting registerOnly licensed properties will be counted

Identifiable HMO expenditureNot identifiableNot separately described in published transactions

Inspection and enforcement dataAwaiting dataNo activity source imported yet

Coverage note

A licensed HMO register has not yet been located for this council. CouncilMetrics does not estimate HMO expenditure from broad housing or social-care descriptions.

FINANCE

How this council raises and spends money

Comparable official outturn for 2024/25, reported to central government.

MHCLG official outturn

Total service expenditure

£11.10m 2024/25 actual outturn

Net revenue expenditure

£9.61m 2024/25 actual outturn

Council Tax requirement

£7.90m 2024/25 actual outturn

Unallocated reserves

£1.82m 2024/25 actual outturn

Service expenditure per resident £188

Median for councils of the same type £166 13.8% above peer median

2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn

Environmental and regulatory services Gross £6.25m · Income £1.73m

£4.52m

Central services Gross £3.01m · Income £409.0k

£2.60m

Planning and development Gross £3.51m · Income £1.38m

£2.13m

Housing Gross £3.15m · Income £1.15m

£2.00m

Culture and related services Gross £673.0k · Income £360.0k

£313.0k

Other services Gross £3.0k · Income £0.00

£3.0k

Highways and transport Gross £767.0k · Income £1.23m

£-461.0k

CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£7.90m

Retained business rates£2.41m

Revenue Support Grant£94.0k

UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £1.72m

Closing £1.82m

£102.0k increase during 2024/25

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government · Revenue Outturn RS and RSX · values shown in pounds Official dataset

BORROWING AND INVESTMENTS

Balance-sheet position

A point-in-time view of debt and liquid investments at the end of 2026/27 Q1.

MHCLG quarterly return

Outstanding borrowing

£25.63m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Investments and cash

£24.35m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt

£1.28m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt per resident

£22 Per resident using latest population

This council's net debt per resident £22

Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 77.2% lower than the peer median

QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£663.0k quarterly increase

2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1

Latest quarterly movement +£663.0k +107.8%

Change across the series −£7.98m Net debt since 2020/21 Q1

What changed?

Net debt increased despite borrowing not rising because investments and cash fell during the quarter.

BORROWING COMPOSITION

Where the borrowing sits

PWLB, other longer-term borrowing and short-term borrowing.

2026/27 Q1

Public Works Loan Board£25.63m

MHCLG Borrowing and Investment live table · 2026/27 Q1 · values shown in pounds Official dataset

COUNCIL TAX & COLLECTION

How much council tax remains unpaid?

Council tax collection, outstanding arrears and write-offs reported to central government.

MHCLG 2025/26

Outstanding arrears

£5.27m Total outstanding at financial year-end

Collection rate

98.13% Collected against the in-year debit

Council tax written off

£111,000 Written off during the financial year

Council tax collected

£57.78m Receipts relating to the financial year

FIVE-YEAR TREND

How has unpaid council tax changed?

Outstanding arrears at each financial year-end.

2021/22–2025/26

OUTSTANDING ARREARS 2025/26

£5.27m

CHANGE SINCE 2021/22

+ 8.4%

+ £407,000

ENGLAND CHANGE

+49.5%

Figures represent total outstanding council tax balances, including arrears carried forward from earlier years. Changes in council boundaries can affect historical comparisons.

OUTSTANDING ARREARS

Where does the unpaid council tax come from?

Breakdown of outstanding balances at the end of 2025/26.

£5.27m outstanding

CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £1.14m

21.5% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £4.14m

78.5% of outstanding arrears

Current-year arrears Earlier-years arrears

Earlier-years arrears represent unpaid council tax carried forward from previous financial years. These figures do not identify individual households or establish whether balances are recoverable.

COLLECTION PERFORMANCE

How does this council compare?

England 2025/26

In-year collection rate 98.13%

England average: 95.60% · 2.53 percentage points above England

Outstanding arrears include unpaid balances from earlier financial years and are not the same as council tax uncollected during 2025/26. Monetary values are rounded for display. Official MHCLG source

SPENDING

Published directorate expenditure

Explore all 0 records

CONTRACTS

Largest contracts

Explore all 0 contracts

Contract	Supplier	Status	End date	Original value

SUPPLIERS

Largest supplier exposure

Dated transactions

Supplier	Payments	Published expenditure

PROVENANCE

Source documents

39 imported

Document	Dataset	Period	Status	Official source
Housing Delivery Test 2025 results — West Devon	mhclg housing delivery test	HDT 2025–HDT 2025	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — West Devon	mhclg planning ps2	1979 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — West Devon	mhclg planning ps1	1996 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
Defra local authority waste statistics — West Devon Borough Council	defra local authority waste	2010/11–2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — West Devon	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — West Devon	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — West Devon	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — West Devon	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — West Devon	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — West Devon	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — West Devon	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — West Devon	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — West Devon	mhclg borrowing investment	2026/27 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — West Devon	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — West Devon	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2024/25	imported	Open

How to read these figures and the Financial Health Score

Budget summaries and financial positions retain the reporting year and assurance status of their original source. Draft or unaudited values are labelled separately from audited outturn figures. The Financial Health Score uses reserves cover, net debt per resident, liquidity and quarterly debt direction from central MHCLG returns. Each component is converted to a percentile among councils of the same authority type; available components are weighted 35%, 30%, 20% and 15% respectively. A score is published only when at least three components covering 65% of the weighting are available. It is a comparative financial indicator, not an assessment of service quality or political performance.