Devon, Plymouth and Torbay
Devon is the third largest of the English counties and has a
population of 1,109,900. The county town is the cathedral
city of Exeter and the county contains two
independent unitary authorities: Plymouth and Torbay, in addition to
Devon County Council itself.
Plymouth is also the biggest city in Devon.
Much of the county is rural (including national park) land, with a
low population density by English standards. It contains
Dartmoor
954 km2 (368 square miles), the largest open space
in southern England.
The county is home to part of England's only
natural UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Dorset
and East Devon Coast, known as the Jurassic Coast for its geology
and geographical features.
The decline of a number of core industries,
notably fishing, mining and farming in the county qualified Devon
for the European Union Objective 2 status between 2000 –
2006. The County can now benefit from the European Regional
Development Fund Competitiveness programme [link to page] which
runs from 2007-13 and we administer. The major focus for new
European Programmes is innovation, competitiveness and the
development of employment and skills for the European
workforce.
We have been working with the county’s unitary
authorities as well as Devon County Council to identify
some key investments and support to activities, that will help the
long term economic development of the county, including:
Area Director for Devon, Plymouth and Torbay
is Ian Thompson. The team is based at the RDA's Plymouth offices at
North Quay
House.