page_title: Ivybridge
section_title: Governance
hierarchical_section_title: Ivybridge / Governance
caption_attribution_description: Chapel Place the old Chapel
context_page_description: Ivybridge is a small town and civil parish in the South Hams, in Devon, England. It lies about 9 miles east of Plymouth. It is at the southern extremity of Dartmoor, a National Park of England and Wales and lies along the A38 "Devon Expressway" road. There are two electoral wards in Ivybridge East and Ivybridge West with a total population of 11,851.
  Mentioned in documents as early as the 13th century, Ivybridge's early history is marked by its status as an important crossing-point over the River Erme on the Exeter-to-Plymouth route. In the 16th century mills were built using the River Erme's power. The parish of Saint John was formed in 1836. Ivybridge became a civil parish in 1894 and a town in 1977.
  The early urbanisation and development of Ivybridge largely coincided with the Industrial Revolution. Stowford Paper Mill was built in 1787 and rebuilt again in the 1860s with extensive investment. In 1848 the railway arrived on the northern edge of the village [South Devon Railway Company]. The paper mill closed in 2013 after 226 years in Ivybridge and the buildings are being converted to homes and shops.
context_section_description: Ivybridge is represented by five tiers of elected government.
  Ivybridge Town Council forms the lowest tier of local government.  Ivybridge town council consists of sixteen council members who are elected from two wards, Ivybridge East and Ivybridge West.  The council members are elected every four years and a town mayor is elected every year by the town council members. The town council is responsible for the provision of a number of local services including the management of parks, open spaces, cemeteries and allotments. A committee of the town council reviews all planning applications and makes recommendations to the District Council, which is the planning authority for the town. The town council also represents the views of the town on issues such as local transport, policing and the environment. The town council raises its own tax to pay for these services, known as the parish precept, which is collected as part of the Council Tax.
  The next tier is the district council — South Hams District Council. They take care of matters such as local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks and tourism.
  The next tier is Devon County Council, who take care of much larger matter such as: education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, policing and fire service trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning.
  The Parliament of the United Kingdom is responsible for matters such as education, health and justice.
  The highest elected authority is the European Parliament in Brussels.
  It is a town and parish divided into two wards: Ivybridge East (the east of the River Erme) and Ivybridge West (the west of the River Erme). The current mayor is Councillor Dave Gray-Taylor who was appointed in 2015. In 2007 Ivybridge town council won the Aon/NALC (National Association of Local Councils) Council of the Year. There is a town hall which is located close to the centre of the town and the previous town hall – Chapel Place is still in existence and located in the centre of the town close to the Ivy Bridge.
  Before 1894 Ivybridge was made up of four neighbouring parishes: Harford – 2 miles (3.2 km) north; Ugborough – 2.5 miles (4.0 km) east; Ermington – 2 miles (3.2 km) south and Cornwood – 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest. All the parishes' boundaries met at the Ivy Bridge. In 1836 the Parish of Saint John was formed (the name of the church at the time, which was named after John the Evangelist). The parish represented the small central area of Ivybridge known at present. In 1894 St John's parish became a parish church for the newly created parish of Ivybridge. 83 years later the village and civil parish of Ivybridge became a town in 1977. Its local government district has been the South Hams since 1 April 1974 and its county constituency has been South West Devon since 1997.
  The town forms part of the county constituency of South West Devon. Its Member of Parliament is Gary Streeter formerly an SDP politician, but now a member of the Conservative party who held 56.6% of the votes at the 2015 election. The town's two wards are each used for voting at the local elections and general elections.
caption: The old town hall – Chapel Place
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