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Overview

South West · Non-metropolitan district

Torridge

2026/27 view

Torridge · ONS E07000046

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources
COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

58/ 100
COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Mixed

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

164 councils in peer group Rank 63 of 164 High confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated
Reserves cover21
Debt burden85
Liquidity99
Debt direction34
YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.
Net debt £-27.80m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4
£0.00 0.0%
Service expenditure £12.38m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
+£18.0k 0.1%
Unallocated reserves £1.08m 2024/25 vs 2023/24
£0.00 0.0%
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 £12.38m
36.5%
2020/21: £9.07m 2021/22: £9.81m 2022/23: £10.44m 2023/24: £12.36m 2024/25: £12.38m
Net revenue expenditure £11.05m
32.2%
2020/21: £8.36m 2021/22: £8.36m 2022/23: £10.66m 2023/24: £11.60m 2024/25: £11.05m
Council Tax requirement £6.90m
20.8%
2020/21: £5.72m 2021/22: £5.81m 2022/23: £6.11m 2023/24: £6.50m 2024/25: £6.90m
Unallocated reserves £1.08m
0.0%
2020/21: £1.08m 2021/22: £1.08m 2022/23: £1.08m 2023/24: £1.08m 2024/25: £1.08m
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 population69,8412024 estimate
Latest net debt£-27.80m2026/27 Q1 quarter end
WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

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

2024/25
52.6%recycled
Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

0.9 percentage points vs 2023/24
31 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%
Residual waste327.2 kgper household−2.5 kg year on year
Waste collected341.1 kgper resident−8.7 kg year on year
Household waste23,872tonnes collected12,549 tonnes recycled
WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

12,549 t recycled, composted or reused 11,323 t not recycled
RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

52.6%
2015/16: 42.6%2016/17: 42.2%2017/18: 41.2%2018/19: 51.3%2019/20: 54.1%2020/21: 55.2%2021/22: 53.9%2022/23: 52.6%2023/24: 53.5%2024/25: 52.6%
2015/162024/25
Official Defra waste statistics · Annual local-authority return · Figures may not sum exactly because of published rounding.View source
EDUCATION

Schools and education

Schools, pupil numbers and latest education outcomes across Torridge.

2024/25
SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools
36 Open schools
8,421 Pupils
10,412 School places
80.9% Capacity utilisation
ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in Torridge.

Attainment 8
42.9
South West 46.2
England 46.1
3.2 points below England
English & maths grade 5+
44.2%
South West 46.2%
England 45.4%
1.2 percentage points below England
EBacc entry
37.8%
South West 33.0%
England 40.5%
2.7 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

42.7 18/19
46.5 19/20
48.4 20/21
46.5 21/22
43.0 22/23
42.2 23/24
42.9 24/25
Education context

Torridge'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 Torridge, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025
Median house price
£277,500
+ 23.3% over five years
Median resident earnings
£34,425
+ 27.8% over five years
House price to earnings
8.06×
Improved from 8.35× five years ago
PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in Torridge.

£788 / month
+ 2.5% in the last year
July 2026
Torridge
£788
+ 2.5%
South West
£1,236
+ 4.5%
England
£1,451
+ 3.8%
Compared with South West £448 less per month
Compared with England £663 less per month
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

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

Torridge
8.06×
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 received163this quarter+5 vs 2025 Q4
Applications decided123this quarter+3 vs 2025 Q4
Outstanding applications—at quarter end
89.4%approved
Overall approval rate110 granted13 refused+9.4 pts vs previous quarter
DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

92.7%
Rank 141 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

2.3 percentage points lower than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major6100.0%100.0% Minor6782.1%88.1% Other5098.0%98.0%
QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters
2024 Q2: 1912024 Q3: 1582024 Q4: 1682025 Q1: 1952025 Q2: 1602025 Q3: 1532025 Q4: 1582026 Q1: 1632024 Q2: 1722024 Q3: 1842024 Q4: 1582025 Q1: 1312025 Q2: 1812025 Q3: 1302025 Q4: 1202026 Q1: 123
2024 Q2
Received Decided Outstanding
2026 Q1
HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

122%
Required2,212homes over three years
Delivered2,698homes over three years
100% requirement
No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment
CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

Latest police-recorded crime figures for Torridge, excluding fraud.

Year ending Mar 2026
Recorded offences 9,458 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud
Crime rate 55.3 offences per 1,000 residents
Annual change + 0.1% compared with the previous year
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents
Torridge Your council
55.3 + 0.1%
South West Region
73.5 + 1.3%
England National
83.4 − 1.5%

Torridge has a recorded crime rate 24.8% below South West. It is 33.7% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Devon and Cornwall
Violence 4,211
24.6 per 1,000 − 0.2%
Theft 2,275
13.3 per 1,000 + 7.9%
Public order 764
4.5 per 1,000 + 4.1%
Criminal damage 986
5.8 per 1,000 − 10.1%
Shoplifting 940
5.5 per 1,000 + 5.1%
Vehicle offences 188
1.1 per 1,000 + 31.5%
Burglary 310
1.8 per 1,000 − 4.0%
Drug offences 247
1.4 per 1,000 − 31.6%
Crime figures cover the North Devon Community Safety Partnership, including North Devon, Torridge.
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 Torridge.

36 schools
Open schools 36
Pupils 8,421
School places 10,412
Capacity used 80.9%
Primary 28 schools
4,415 pupils
Other / specialist 4 schools
895 pupils
Secondary 4 schools
3,111 pupils
CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information
Renewed framework 4
11.1% of open schools
Previous full framework 17
47.2% of open schools
Ungraded inspection 12
33.3% of open schools
No Ofsted record 3
8.3% of open schools
RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

4 schools assessed
Achievement 4 assessed
Expected standard 4
Attendance & behaviour 4 assessed
Expected standard 2
Needs attention 1
Strong standard 1
Curriculum & teaching 4 assessed
Expected standard 4
Inclusion 4 assessed
Strong standard 2
Expected standard 1
Needs attention 1
Leadership & governance 4 assessed
Expected standard 3
Needs attention 1
Personal development 4 assessed
Expected standard 3
Strong standard 1
Safeguarding 4 assessed
Met 4
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.

Good 9
Requires improvement 4
Not judged 4
LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools
School Phase Pupils Capacity Latest Ofsted position
Appledore School URN 113125 · EX39 1PF Primary 244 210 Good
Ashwater Primary School URN 113126 · EX21 5EW Primary 42 56 Ungraded inspection
Beaford Community Primary & Nursery School URN 149090 · EX19 8LJ Primary 118 105 Not judged
Black Torrington Church of England Primary School URN 145341 · EX21 5PU Primary 3 53 Requires improvement
Bradford Primary School URN 145346 · EX22 7AB Primary 24 70 Good
Bradworthy Primary Academy URN 136492 · EX22 7RT Primary 185 210 Requires improvement
Bridgerule Church of England Primary School URN 145342 · EX22 7EN Primary 62 70 Ungraded inspection
Buckland Brewer Primary School URN 113141 · EX39 5LX Primary 49 49 Requires improvement
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 69,841 2024
South West region 5,889,695
Torridge represents 1.19% of the region's population
Five-year population change
+2,004 residents ↑ 3.0%
2019: 67,837 residents2020: 67,631 residents2021: 68,444 residents2022: 68,696 residents2023: 69,291 residents2024: 69,841 residents
Torridge +3.0%
South West +4.4%
England +4.3%
Growth context

Torridge's population grew over five years. Its change was 1.4 percentage points below the South West and 1.3 percentage points below 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 Torridge?

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

DWP · May 2026
PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 7,471 10.7% of the 2024 resident population May 2026
CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +6.9% +479 people
LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE 0.0% -1 since April 2026
LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026
Torridge LOCAL AUTHORITY
10.7%
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
7,472 6,827 6,182
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
Register accessNot assessedNo register record available
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
£12.38m 2024/25 actual outturn
Net revenue expenditure
£11.05m 2024/25 actual outturn
Council Tax requirement
£6.90m 2024/25 actual outturn
Unallocated reserves
£1.08m 2024/25 actual outturn
Service expenditure per resident £177
Median for councils of the same type £166 7.1% 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 £7.17m · Income £2.43m
£4.74m
Central services Gross £20.00m · Income £16.55m
£3.45m
Planning and development Gross £4.21m · Income £2.25m
£1.96m
Culture and related services Gross £2.56m · Income £909.0k
£1.65m
Housing Gross £2.43m · Income £1.05m
£1.38m
Highways and transport Gross £1.35m · Income £2.15m
£-794.0k
CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£6.90m
Retained business rates£5.60m
Revenue Support Grant£331.0k
UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £1.08m
Closing £1.08m
£0.00 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
£203.0k 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Investments and cash
£28.00m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt
£-27.80m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end
Net debt per resident
£-398 Per resident using latest population
This council's net debt per resident £-398
Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 518.0% lower than the peer median
QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£0.00 no quarterly change
2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1
Latest quarterly movement +£0.00 +0.0%
Change across the series −£16.62m Net debt since 2020/21 Q1
What changed?

Net debt was unchanged during the latest quarter.

BORROWING COMPOSITION

Where the borrowing sits

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

2026/27 Q1
Public Works Loan Board£191.0k
Other longer-term borrowing£12.0k
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
£6.98m Total outstanding at financial year-end
Collection rate
96.27% Collected against the in-year debit
Council tax written off
£243,000 Written off during the financial year
Council tax collected
£64.71m 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
£6.98m
CHANGE SINCE 2021/22
+ 105.3%
+ £3.58m
ENGLAND CHANGE
+49.5%
£3.40m 2021/22 £3.88m 2022/23 £4.73m 2023/24 £5.74m 2024/25 £6.98m 2025/26

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.

£6.98m outstanding
CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £2.54m

36.3% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £4.45m

63.7% 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 96.27%

England average: 95.60%  ·  0.67 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
ContractSupplierStatusEnd dateOriginal value
SUPPLIERS

Largest supplier exposure

Dated transactions
SupplierPaymentsPublished expenditure
PROVENANCE

Source documents

39 imported
DocumentDatasetPeriodStatusOfficial source
Housing Delivery Test 2025 results — Torridgemhclg housing delivery testHDT 2025–HDT 2025importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — Torridgemhclg planning ps21979 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — Torridgemhclg planning ps11996 Q2–2026 Q1importedOpen
Defra local authority waste statistics — Torridge District Councildefra local authority waste2010/11–2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — Torridgemhclg revenue outturn rsx2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — Torridgemhclg revenue outturn rs2023/24importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — Torridgemhclg revenue outturn rsx2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — Torridgemhclg revenue outturn rs2022/23importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — Torridgemhclg revenue outturn rsx2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — Torridgemhclg revenue outturn rs2021/22importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — Torridgemhclg revenue outturn rsx2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — Torridgemhclg revenue outturn rs2020/21importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2025/26 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2024/25 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2023/24 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2022/23 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2021/22 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q4importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q3importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q2importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2020/21 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — Torridgemhclg borrowing investment2026/27 Q1importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — Torridgemhclg revenue outturn rsx2024/25importedOpen
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — Torridgemhclg revenue outturn rs2024/25importedOpen
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.