Committee Information

The committees which make up West Devon Borough Council and how they operate.

You can see the committees which make up West Devon Borough Council and how they operate under the headings below.

Councillors also serve on external bodies and forums, and these are listed below.

West Devon Committees

Full Council

Meetings of Full Council consist of all 31 Borough Councillors representing the eighteen wards of West Devon Borough Council.

A full list of scheduled meetings can be found here. You can also find reports, and minutes of previous meetings on this page.

Recordings of previous meetings can be viewed on our YouTube Channel.

The full list of Council functions and responsibilities can be found in Part 3b of the Constitution Delegation Scheme (See 'Our Constitution'). The main responsibilities are to agree the annual budget, agree new policies and changes to existing ones, and to determine the Council's priorities.

Full Council

Hub Committee

Hub Committee is a group of elected Councillors at West Devon Borough Council. Each member of Hub Committee has a specific area of responsibility to lead on.

Hub Committee meetings are live streamed on the internet. 

The Leader of the Council is also the Chairman of the Hub Committee and the Deputy Leader of Council is the Vice Chairman. The Leader, Deputy Leader and remaining Hub Committee Members are appointed annually by Full Council.

Hub Committee meetings are open to the public. If you would like to ask a question or speak at the meeting, please see this page for details about the procedure.

Hub Committee

Overview and Scrutiny Panel

The Scrutiny Committee has 15 Members which support the work of the Hub Committee and the Council as a whole.

Reports and recommendations are put by the Committee to the Hub Committee and the Council to advise on policy, budget and service delivery.

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee also monitors the decisions of the Hub Committee. They have the ability to 'call-in' decisions made by the Hub Committee which are still to be implemented. This enables the Scrutiny Committee to consider whether the decision made was appropriate. The Committee can then decide if it should recommend that the Hub Committee or Full Council reconsider the decision. 

Scrutiny Committee

Audit and Governance Committee

Meetings of the Audit Committee consist of seven Borough Councillors who are appointed annually by full Council.

The Committee meets five times per year, but there is provision to hold additional meetings should the need arise.

What does the Audit Committee do?

The full list of functions and procedure rules for the Audit and Governance Committee can be found in Part 3b of the Constitution Delegation Scheme (see Our Constitution).

Audit and Governance (Hearing) Sub Committee

The Audit and Governance (Hearing) Sub Committee meets on an ad hoc basis to consider complaints against Borough, Town and Parish Councillors.

Meetings of the Sub Committee consist of three members of the Audit and Governance Committee, all of whom have received specialist training from the Council's monitoring Officer.

The Hearing Sub Committee meets as and when required. It is convened to consider complaints which relate to alleged breaches of the Member's Code of Conduct by West Devon Borough Councillors and/or Town and Parish Councillors in West Devon.

For more information about complaints under the Code of Conduct or to see the Code itself, please see the Standards Complaints page.

Audit and Governance Committee

Development Management and Licensing Committee

Meetings of the Development Management and Licensing Committee consist of ten Borough Councillors. They are held approximately every four weeks on a Tuesday.

What does the Committee do?

The full list of functions and procedure rules for Development Management and Licensing Committee can be found in part 3b of the Constitution Delegation Scheme (see Our Constitution). One function of the committee is to decide planning applications.

The Committee also reviews Licensing policies and determines whether to grant or refuse Licences for Alcohol, Premises, Hackney Carriage Drivers and Street Trading.

Development Management and Licensing Committee

Council Tax Setting Committee

The Full Council has given authority for the Council Tax Setting Committee to set out the Council Tax each year.

The committee set the Council Tax for the Borough, having taken into account the precepts provided to them by Devon County Council, Devon and Cornwall Police Authority, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service and the Local Town and Parish Councils.

For more information about Council Tax, including what percentage each authority receives, please see How is my Council Tax Spent.

The Council Tax Setting Committee consists of Four Borough Councillors:

Council Tax Setting Committee

Governance Boards and Panels

Other groups and panels within West Devon Borough Council, and the Members who serve on them.

Board Councillors
Devon Building Control Partnership Cllr Ric Cheadle
Cllr Terry Southcott
Discretionary Business Rates and Rate Relief Panel Leader of the Council
Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Mayor of West Devon
Lead Hub Committee Member for Economy
Frontline Services (Waste Procurement) Project Board Cllr Ric Cheadle
Cllr Caroline Mott
Joint Local Plan Steering Group Cllr Isabel Saxby
Tamar Valley National Landscapes Committee Leader of the Council
Deputy Leader of the Council
Lead Hub Committee Member for Built Environment
Lead Hub Committee Member for Communications and Accessibility
Lead Hub Committee Member for Natural Environment
Leader of the Opposition Group
Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Vice Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Membership of Outside Bodies

Representatives for West Devon Borough Council on outside bodies and forums 2023 -2024

Organisation Representative
Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site Partnership Cllr Caroline Mott
Dartmoor National Park - Joint Advisory Committee on Housing Cllr Jane Elliott
Cllr Mark Renders
Devon Audit Partnership Committee Cllr George Dexter
Cllr Robert Oxborough
Devon Authorities Strategic Waste Committee Cllr Lynn Daniel
Devon County Locality Committee Cllr Adam Bridgewater
Cllr Anne Johnson
Devon Districts Forum Leader of the Council
Devon Rail Forum Cllr Kevin Ball
District Councils' Network Leader of the Council
Highways and Traffic Orders Committee Cllr Anne Johnson
Cllr Terry Southcott
Local Action for Greater Dartmoor (LEAF) Cllr Jane Elliott
Local Government Association
District Council Network
General Assembly
South West Branch		 Leader of the Council
Okehampton Rail Forum Cllr George Dexter
PATROL Adjudication Joint Committee Cllr Adam Bridgewater
Police and Crime Commissioner's Scrutiny Panel Cllr Mandy Ewings
South Devon and Dartmoor Community Safety Partnership Cllr Mandy Ewings
South West Councils Leader of the Council
SPARSE Rural Cllr Steve Guthrie
Tamar Estuary Consultative Forum Cllr Angela Blackman
Tamar Valley National Landscapes Committee Cllr Isabel Saxby
Tavistock College Endowment Fund Trustees Cllr Adam Bridgewater
Tavistock Rail Group Cllr Jeff Moody
Tavistock Townscape Heritage Partnership Cllr Jeff Moody
UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Partnership Cllr Patrick Kimber

Hub Advisory Groups

Hub advisory groups are not formal Committees, and so are not open to the public or live-streamed.

The primary role and function of each Advisory Group is to:

  • advise and support the lead Hub Committee Member with the delivery of targets within the adopted 'A Plan for West Devon; and
  • look forward and horizon scan in order to identify future issues and challenges that relate to the thematic area, generate new ideas and solutions and to plan ahead over the longer-term.

The Councillors in West Devon Council's Hub Advisory Groups are as follows:

Built Environment

Communications and Accessibility

Economy

Housing

Leisure and Wellbeing

Natural Environment

People and Community

Resources