Equality Scheme: 2025-2029

Housing

The average house price in Torridge across all types of properties is £285,792 (as of January 2024). This is nine times the average residential earnings.

There is currently a county-wide Housing Crisis in Devon, and this is felt particularly in our district, especially in rural wards where housing supply is further limited. There have been significant changes impacting the private rented sector reducing their supply and causing a sharp rise in rents.

The Housing Crisis has caused a substantial increase in those seeking temporary accommodation. The Councils expenditure on TA prior to the pandemic was around £200,00 per annum, between 2022/2023 this reached around £1.2m.

Low Wage Economy

Torridge as a district is one of the lowest performing in terms of average weekly earnings. The gross weekly pay for full-time workers is £619.60, compared to £663.70 for the South West, and £682.60 for the rest of the UK.

Health Inequalities

Mental Health is a particular issue for the district. Our suicide rate and emergency hospital admission rate for intentional self-harm are higher than the English average.

Despite having a higher than average percentage of physically active adults than the rest of England, 65% of residents are classified as overweight or obese (in 2021/2022). This is higher than the English average of 63.8% for the same period.

Deprivation

According to the 2021 census, Torridge is a deprived area, with 54% of households experiencing deprivation in at least one of the following areas: exam attainment, unemployment, long-term health problems, overcrowding and lack of central heating.
Deprivation is often higher in more remote areas with smaller populations and limited access to services. Torridge is an example of such an area.

Rurality

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs defines Torridge as part of its 'Rural 80' classification. This means that over 80% of the population reside in rural areas or large market towns.

This poses particular impacts on travel, as public transport is limited. The average time taken to reach key services by public transport/walking is 41 minutes, which is significantly higher than the English average.

Internet connectivity is also a significant barrier, with 85% having access to superfast broadband in Torridge, compared to an English total of 98% coverage. 9% of premises are unable to get decent broadband coverage, this is significantly higher than the English total of 0.1%.

Fuel Poverty

A household is said to be in fuel poverty if they have required domestic fuel costs that are above the national median level and, if they were to spend that amount, they would be left with a residual income below the official poverty line. 15.7% of homes in Torridge are in fuel poverty, up by 3% in the last 3 years.