North Devon
Encyclopedia : N : NO : NOR : North Devon
 Shown within Devon | |
| Geography | |
| Status | District |
|---|---|
| Admin. County | Devon |
| Area - Total | Ranked 19th 1,085.90 km² |
| Region | South West England |
| Admin. HQ | Barnstaple |
| ONS code | 18UE |
| Demographics | |
| Population: - Total () - Density | Ranked {{EnglishDistrictRank / km² |
| Ethnicity | 99.0% White |
| Politics | |
| North Devon District Council http://www.northdevon.gov.uk/ | |
| Leadership | Leader and Cabinet |
| Executive | Liberal Democrats |
| MP | Nick Harvey |
North Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in Barnstaple. Other towns and villages in the North Devon district include Braunton, Fremington, Ilfracombe, Instow, South Molton, Lynton and Lynmouth.
The district was formed on April 1, 1974 as a merger of the Barnstaple municipal borough, the Ilfracombe and Lynton urban districts, and Barnstaple Rural District and South Molton Rural District.
Retirees
The area is popular with retirees. In the main town and service centre, Barnstaple, 1 in 3 people are over the age of 60.Transport
The region is served by a 5 A roads, the two most important of these are the A39 which comes in from Somerset to Lynton, then through Barnstaple and out towards Bideford, the A361 which heads North West from the M5 motorway, past South Molton, through Barnstaple and north to Ilfracombe. The other two A roads are the A3125, a route through Barnstaple which effectively cuts the corner between the A361 through the town centre and the A39 heading to Bideford. The A3125 along Sticklepath Hill through Barnstaple is the most congested stretch of road in North Devon, regularly handling 25,000 vehicle movements a day, which results in severe peak time delays. The A399 is a minor local route between Ilfracombe and South Molton, and the A377, which is the old main road between Barnstaple and the county town of Devon, Exeter. Due to significant peak time traffic delays in Barnstaple, coupled with severe congestion at both peak and non-peak times in the summer when tourist traffic is at its busiest, the Barnstaple Western Bypass is under construction, due for completion in summer 2007.Economy
Due to the agricultural nature of the economy, many areas of North Devon are considered deprived. The average income for the district is 70.1% of the average for the United Kingdom as a whole. Unemployment levels remain high at around 8%, well above the national average. It is hoped that the construction of the bypass will bring new investment to the region, primarily to Barnstaple, to help create new jobs. The largest employers in the area are the National Health Service, mainly through North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple, and the Ministry of Defence, at RMB Chivenor, on the A361 between Barnstaple and Braunton
Barnstaple
Barnstaple is on the river Taw estuary, and functions both as the main sevice centre and the administrative centre for North Devon District Council. The population of 33,000 excludes the exurbs of Bickington, Landkey, Ashford and Sherwell, suburban villages outside of the main urban area of Barnstaple itself but that are dependant on the main settlement for services and employment.Ethnicity
The region is one of the most homogenous in England, with 99.0% of the population putting their race on the 2001 census as White. This means North Devon is ranked 318 out of 354 where rank 1 has the lowest percentage of white people and rank 354 has the highest percentage of white people.
| Districts of South West England |
|
| Bath and North East Somerset | Bournemouth | Bristol | Caradon | Carrick | Cheltenham | Christchurch | Cotswold | East Devon | East Dorset | Exeter | Forest of Dean | Gloucester | Isles of Scilly | Kennet | Kerrier | Mendip | Mid Devon | North Cornwall | North Devon | North Dorset | North Somerset | North Wiltshire | Penwith | Plymouth | Poole | Purbeck | Restormel | Salisbury | Sedgemoor | South Gloucestershire | South Hams | South Somerset | Stroud | Swindon | Taunton Deane | Teignbridge | Tewkesbury | Torbay | Torridge | West Devon | West Dorset | West Somerset | West Wiltshire | Weymouth and Portland | |
|
Counties with multiple districts: Cornwall - Devon - Dorset - Gloucestershire - Somerset - Wiltshire |
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