Exeter has Victorian terraces in St Thomas and Heavitree, post-war suburbs at Whipton and Pinhoe, and new estates at Cranbrook. Plymouth’s city centre was rebuilt after the war, and estates such as Efford and Whitleigh date from the same era. Mutley and Stoke are Victorian terraces, and Sherford is a large new community. Torquay and Paignton have Victorian villas, many flats and plenty of bungalows. On the coast, salt air means coastal-rated fixings. Barnstaple and Bideford in the north mix old centres with newer estates.
Planning goes through Plymouth City Council, Torbay Council or the district council, such as Exeter, East Devon or Teignbridge. Dartmoor National Park has its own planning authority, and Exmoor reaches into north Devon. Several National Landscapes cover the coast, and the Jurassic Coast and the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape are World Heritage Sites. The network operator is National Grid Electricity Distribution. Moorland villages are on long rural lines, where a battery with backup is worth asking about. Devon is more than 90 minutes from Ferndown, so the first survey is usually a video call.