Whitchurch Parish Council

Plasterdown Grouped Parish Council is the local authority for the civil parishes of Whitchurch and Sampford Spiney, lying south and east of the market town of Tavistock on the western edge of Dartmoor. The parish stretches from the River Tavy at Double Waters to the historic Dartmoor hamlet of Merrivale, taking in scattered rural settlements, farmland, and access land close to Whitchurch Down. The original village of Whitchurch, centred on the 15th-century granite and elvan St Andrew's Church, was absorbed into the town of Tavistock in 1930, so the council today represents the surrounding rural parish rather than the built-up village; Whitchurch Down itself is managed separately by Tavistock Town Council. The council meets monthly, alternating between Whitchurch Community Hall and Sampford Spiney Church, and handles matters such as planning consultations, local grants, and liaison with Devon County Council, West Devon Borough Council and Dartmoor National Park Authority on issues affecting residents. Cover photograph: St Andrew's Church, Whitchurch, by Sarah Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.