South Hams District Council

South Hams District Council is the local authority for the southern edge of Dartmoor, including Ivybridge and South Brent, two of the principal gateway towns on that side of the moor, as well as Totnes, where its headquarters is based, and a wider area stretching south to the coast around Salcombe and Dartmouth. On the Dartmoor side of its area, the council's core work includes household waste and recycling collections, garden waste services, and management of planning applications, conservation areas and listed buildings across its many historic villages. It administers council tax and business rates, provides housing advice and homelessness support, and runs licensing for alcohol, entertainment and animal-related activities. The council also has a role in protecting the district's landscape, managing tree preservation orders and responding to ash dieback in its woodlands. South Hams shares a joint online consultation portal with West Devon Borough Council. Cover photograph: photo by David Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.