Situated in the south west, at the mouth of the River Sid, it is surrounded by the East DevonArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is on the Jurassic Coastworld heritage site and the South West Coast Path, a long distance footpath that skirts almost the entire coast in the West Country of England. The principal income of the town is from tourism. The town is also popular as a retirement community, with about 60% of the population being over retirement age.

Erosion remains a serious concern east of the mouth of the River Sid. The cliffs have been heavily eroded, threatening cliff top homes and the coastal footpath.

A wide esplanade has been a seafront feature since Regency times. A series of southwesterly storms in the 1980s washed away much of the shingle beach protecting the masonry, and a series of artificial rock islands were constructed to protect the sea front and tonnes of pebbles were trucked in to replace the beach.

Sidmouth Folk Week is an annual folk festival in early August attracting musicians and visitors from around the world. After 2005 all commercial sponsors pulled out of the festival. To continue the tradition of the festival, individuals grouped together to form Sidmouth Folk Week Productions, a limited company. Since the change of format, the event has been held on a relatively smaller scale, with no arena at the Knowle. However, Folk Week is still going strong and the 2008 event is already being planned.

Key Stats

• The population for the market town area has risen by around 8% since 1991 which is quite low compared to the district and county. The rate of growth in the remaining parishes is over twice that of Sidmouth parish. The population is around 13,800.
• The level of households occupied by individuals in the market town area as a whole is 33% and higher than the district, county and national averages. Single person occupancy is higher again in the urban centre.
• Economic activity as a whole within the market town area is slightly below the Devon and national averages. Selfemployment levels outside Sidmouth parish are significantly above those for the urban centre.
• Claim rates for Income Support are noticeably lower in the remaining parishes than in Sidmouth parish. Claim rates for both benefits are significantly below the national average in all areas.
• The highest proportion of people who are employed work in the wholesale and retail sector, health & social work, hotels and catering and real estate. These account for more than 50% of the workforce.
• Children living in Sidmouth parish achieve slightly better results at Key Stage 2 in all subjects compared to those that live in the remaining parishes. Rates in all three subjects are better than the county and national averages.
• Achievement rates for GSCEs at grades A* to C are marginally better for children living in the surrounding hinterlands, to the centre parish.
• Select here for more statistics about Sidmouth and surrounding area. (851KB - pdf help)