Photo: Rodw · Public domainThe Liberal Democrats hold a majority on South Hams District Council
Salcombe is run by South Hams District Council and Devon County Council, with Salcombe parish council for local matters. The Liberal Democrats have a majority on South Hams District Council. No party holds a majority on Devon County Council. Its MP is Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat), member for South Devon.
£2,596
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Salcombe’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on South Hams District Council
The Liberal Democrats hold a majority on South Hams District Council: 19 of its 31 seats as elected. The Conservatives hold 7, the Greens 3, Labour 1 and independents 1. Who’s in charge ↓
Devon changed hands in 2025
Devon County Council, which runs schools, social care and roads, went from a Conservative majority (39 of 60 seats in 2021) to no overall control at the May 2025 election: the Liberal Democrats won 27 of 60 seats. Devon ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Salcombe is £2,596 for 2026–27; South Hams District Council keeps 8% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 57% in ten years, against England’s 56%. Council money ↓
Written from the data on this page: Democracy Club results since May 2021, the UK Parliament Members API and MHCLG council tax.
Who holds the seats on Salcombe’s councils
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 16 of South Hams’s 31 or 31 of Devon’s 60 seats to run the council alone.
- Liberal Democrat19
- Conservative7
- Green3
- Independent1
- Labour1
Latest election: May 2023.
- Liberal Democrat27+18
- Reform UK18+18
- Conservative7−32
- Green6+4
- Independent2−1
- Labour0−7
Change against the council before the 1 May 2025 election.
Seats are counted from election results: each ward’s most recent winners until its seats are filled. Councillors who have since changed party or resigned aren’t reflected, and which parties lead the council, and who is leader, comes from the council itself.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), elections since May 2021; seats per ward from its EveryElection.
Two tiers of council, and a parish tier
Salcombe has two tiers of council: the county runs the big services, the district the local ones.
Local matters: allotments, play areas, halls, footpaths and benches; it is consulted on planning and adds a precept to the council tax bill. A town council is a parish council by another name.
100% of Salcombe’s residents · Band D precept £90
Bins and recycling, planning, housing, environmental health, leisure, and collecting council tax.
Website ↗Schools, social care, roads and transport, libraries and waste disposal.
Website ↗Transport, skills and regeneration across several council areas.
Who to ask
From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: in two-tier areas the district or borough runs local services and the county the big ones.
Councils from ONS lookups (wards and councils May 2026, parishes 2025), names and websites from GOV.UK’s local council finder; parish councils from MHCLG’s 2026–27 list of precepting parishes.
From the parish to Westminster
Every elected tier that speaks for Salcombe, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierSalcombe parish council
- 2South Hams District Council1 ward · 2 councillorsMark Leonard Christopher LongSamantha Dennis
- 3Devon County Council1 division · 1 councillorLouise Wainwright
- 4Police and crime commissionerDevon & Cornwall Police · elected May 2024Alison Hernandez
- 5House of CommonsSouth Devon
Party colours are neutral on purpose: they tell parties apart and aren’t the parties’ own. Tap an MP’s name for their contact page on parliament.uk.
2 councillors for 1 ward
Wards with at least 2% of the town’s residents, or half their own inside it. Each shows who won its most recent elections, newest first, until its seats are filled.
- Mark Leonard Christopher LongIndependent · May 2023
- Samantha DennisConservative · May 2023
Show as a table, with Devon County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salcombe & Thurlestone32% in Salcombe · 1,583 residents2 seats · May 2023 | 2 | Mark Leonard Christopher LongSamantha Dennis | May 2023 |
Devon County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salcombe ED10% in Salcombe · 1,583 residents1 seat · May 2025 | 1 | Louise Wainwright | May 2025 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. South Hams District Council’s website lists who sits now.
Results from Democracy Club’s candidates database (CC BY 4.0; elections since May 2021) and ward seats from its EveryElection, matched to ONS wards (May 2026) and county divisions (May 2025).
South Hams council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Salcombe, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
1 ward voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Salcombe’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗3,223 votes for candidates · 2 seats, so 2 votes each
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Salcombe is in South Devon constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Salcombe).
49,004 votes for candidates · majority 7,127
Liberal Democrat, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 49,004 votes from 72,261 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 7,127 of 49,004 votes (14.5%): wider than in 52% of England’s 543 constituencies.
MPs and results: UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0); constituencies from ONS (2024 boundaries). Percentages are of valid votes; turnout is votes cast over the electorate.
Salcombe’s Band D council tax is £2,596 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
South Hams District Council keeps £202.54 of a Band D bill (8%); the rest goes to the Salcombe parish council, Devon County Council, the Devon & Cornwall police and crime commissioner and the Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority.
Band D since 1993
South Hams’s Band D bill has risen 57% in ten years, from £1,660.73 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £492.75 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Salcombe, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
Devon’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,300.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with Devon
| South Hams + Devon | Salcombe’s councils | Devon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £503 | £505 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £274 | £309 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £59 | £55 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £24 | £37 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £162 | £128 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £25 | £47 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £53 | £31 | £26 |
| Public health | £46 | £59 | £78 |
| Running the council | £53 | £67 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £2 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,198 | £1,238 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: South Hams per its residents plus Devon per the county’s. Schools are left out: academies are paid for directly by government, so council school budgets depend on how many schools have converted. Devon and England: all their councils together. Police, fire and transport authorities aren’t included.
Band D: MHCLG Band D council tax 2026–27 (each authority’s own figure, excluding parish precepts) and Council Tax statistics for town and parish councils 2026–27; since 1993–94, MHCLG’s area averages including parishes.
Having a say in how Salcombe is run
It takes about five minutes online; the deadline is 12 working days before a poll.
gov.uk ↗Type a postcode to write to each of its councillors and its MP.
WriteToThem ↗GOV.UK sends the report to the council that looks after the road.
gov.uk ↗Council and committee meetings are open to the public, with agendas and minutes online.
southhams.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
southhams.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Salcombe is run
Which council runs Salcombe?
Salcombe is run by South Hams District Council and Devon County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Salcombe have a town council?
Yes: Salcombe has its own parish-tier council (Salcombe parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £90 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Salcombe?
Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat) is the MP for South Devon, which covers Salcombe.
How many councillors does Salcombe have?
2 ward councillors represent Salcombe’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Salcombe?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Salcombe’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Salcombe?
Band D council tax in Salcombe is £2,596 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls South Hams District Council?
The Liberal Democrats have a majority: 19 of 31 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls Devon County Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Liberal Democrat 27 · Reform UK 18 · Conservative 7 · Green 6 · Independent 2 of 60 seats; a majority needs 31.
Who won the 2023 council election in Salcombe?
In Salcombe’s wards on 4 May 2023, Independent 1 · Conservative 1 of the 2 seats up. Independents had the largest share of votes, 49.8%.
Sources: ONS ward, county division, parish, constituency lookups (Census 2021 output areas; Open Government Licence v3.0) · GOV.UK local council finder · Democracy Club candidates (CC BY 4.0) and EveryElection · UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0) · MHCLG Band D council tax, parish precepts and Revenue Account budgets 2026–27 (OGL v3.0) · ONS mid-2025 population estimates. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.