Lewdown Parish Profile

Housing

  • Average property prices of £487,500 within Lewdown in 2022, increasing by 59.8% from £305,000 in 2021.
  • The village of Lewdown is dissected into 3 different parishes. The largest proportion of the village sits within the parish of Lewtrenchard, which the following data relates to.
  • 3.8% of homes are 1 bedroom properties, 23.7% are 2 bedrooms, 35.9% are 3 bedrooms, 36.6% are 4 or more (which is higher than the 21.1% average for England and Wales). 
  • Occupancy ratings for bedrooms:
    • 52.7% have 2 or more spare bedrooms
    • 29% have 1 spare bedroom
    • 16.8% have the right amount of bedrooms for their households
    • 1.5% are lacking 1 bedroom
  • Of the households in the parish, 41.2% own their home outright, 15.3% own with a mortgage or shared ownership, and 43.5% live in private rented accommodation or live rent free.

Renting in Lewdown

  • Average 2 bed rental prices of £795 per calendar month between 2020 and 2022 (median).
  • The maximum Local Housing Allowance is £533.52 per month for a 2 bed property in this area. 
  • In the EX20 postcode area, there has been a 35.3%decrease in demand for rental properties, whilst there has been a 20.8% decrease in available listings, in the period between Oct 22 and Oct 23.
  • During the same period, there has been a 7% increase in the asking price on Rental Properties in the EX20 postcode area.

Affordable housing

  • There are no affordable/social rented homes within the village that would be available to rent from a Housing Association.

Devon Home Choice

  • 5 applicants registered with a local connection through residence. A further 5 have a local connection through employment or family connection.
  • The average income of households registered on Devon Home Choice with a local connection to Lewdown is £14,000 annually (median).

Lew Trenchard Church of England Primary School

  • Lew Trenchard Church of England Primary School provides for children aged 2 years until 11 years.
  • The number of children enrolled at the school has fluctuated in recent years, but overall, has experienced a slight decline in school roll.
  • The number of pupils enrolled in 2023 remains below the school’s capacity of 102. The percentage of children eligible for Free School Meals has also fluctuated within the same period, but decreased overall. This is an indicator of income and affordability of essential provisions.

Sites in Lewdown

  • There are allocated sites within Lewdown that are earmarked for the delivery of housing, which would include some affordable units for people with a local connection to the parish.
  • The Joint Local Plan identified Lewdown as a thriving village, and so it is identified as being able to accommodate around 30 dwellings during the period of 2014 to 2034.

Disposals

  • At present, there has been 1 known property marked for disposal by Live West within the parish within the last 2 years. 
  • This property was a 2 bed, end terrace house, with adaptations in the form of grab rails within the property.
  • These properties will be or have been sold on the open market.

From the census

  • 11% travel less than 10km to their work place. 41.1% work mainly from home.
  • 58.8% of the parish population are economically active and in employment, 1.1% are unemployed. 40.1% are economically inactive.
  • 23.3% of households in the parish are single person households. 40.3% are two people households, which is above the average for England. 18.6% are three person households, and 17.8% are four or more person households.
  • 87%  provide no unpaid care. 3.5% provide 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week. 1.3% provide 20 to 49 hours a week, and 8.2% provide 19 hours or less a week.
  • 47.7% of households are not deprived in any dimension. 40% are deprived in one dimension, and 10% deprived in two dimensions.