Issues and SWOT: Mid Devon

strength

Keep the new pool lifts ready to use

The lifts are installed and used regularly.

Accessibility depends on working equipment and staff support.

Evidence

strength

Make room for homes people can afford

Average private rent is £878 a month (August 2026) in Mid Devon council area. This is £581 lower than the England average for the same month. Homes rented privately ranged from 10.9% in Taw Vale to 32.7% in Tiverton Castle — a gap of 21.8 percentage points.

Housing costs matter most alongside earnings and the number of affordable homes available. A local average cannot tell us whether a particular household can afford its home.

strength

Bring support closer to people in poor health

4.8% of people reported bad or very bad health in Mid Devon council area (21 March 2021). Across England, the figure was 5.2%. People reporting bad or very bad health ranged from 3.8% in Yeo to 5.9% in Tiverton Castle — a gap of 2.1 percentage points.

This is how residents described their health in the census. It can reveal differences between neighbourhoods, but does not diagnose illness or measure current waiting times. Age profiles differ between places, so these shares do not measure service quality.

weakness

Show when finished homes become occupied homes

Bampton’s August preview came before letting.

Families need usable tenancies, not only completed structures.

Evidence

opportunity

Use suitable small sites for rural housing

Hemyock’s scheme reused garages and parking.

Small schemes can provide homes within existing communities.

Evidence

opportunity

Plan homes and care around an older population

24% of people in Mid Devon council area were aged 65 or over (21 March 2021). People aged 65 or over ranged from 15.7% in Tiverton Lowman to 32.4% in Clare & Shuttern — a gap of 16.7 percentage points.

Age alone does not mean poor health or a need for care. Accessible homes, reliable transport and support close to home matter as people get older.

opportunity

Connect local skills to local opportunities

30.7% of people aged 16 or over had a degree or equivalent (21 March 2021) in Mid Devon council area. Across England, the figure was 33.9%. People aged 16+ with no qualifications ranged from 11.7% in Cadbury to 22.1% in Tiverton Castle — a gap of 10.4 percentage points.

Qualifications show one part of the skills available locally. They do not show whether people have secure jobs or work that uses those skills.

opportunity

Target safety work where problems repeat

Mapped police records are available for neighbourhoods in Mid Devon council area.

Published locations are approximate and some crimes are not mapped. Counts show recorded incidents, not the chance of an individual becoming a victim.

opportunity

Turn published plans into visible progress

4 named local projects or plans have official evidence in this collection.

A published plan makes responsibilities and intentions easier to inspect. It does not prove that funding is secured or that promised benefits have arrived.

opportunity

Target support where disadvantages overlap

Households facing two or more measured disadvantages ranged from 11.9% in Cadbury to 20.7% in Tiverton Westexe — a gap of 8.8 percentage points.

These households met at least two census conditions covering education, employment, health and housing. This is not an income or poverty measure.

threat

Protect local routes while Cullompton’s road is built

Main road works follow the new bridge and open-space land transfer.

Construction can disrupt journeys before the road’s benefits arrive.

Evidence