Melksham and Devizes covers a broad part of central Wiltshire and is centred on the towns of Melksham and Devizes. Devizes is a historic market town and local service centre, while Melksham is a growing town with strong links toward Bath, Chippenham and Trowbridge. Between and around them are villages, farmland and open countryside. The Kennet and Avon Canal is an important landscape and transport feature through parts of the constituency. Settlement is generally dispersed outside the two main towns, and the surrounding countryside has a predominantly agricultural character. The seat therefore combines two distinct towns with numerous villages and a substantial rural hinterland.
Election data comes from UK Parliament. Turnout percentage is calculated by Project Open Gov from Parliament's turnout and electorate figures.
People and place
A population and household snapshot for Melksham and Devizes, using validated House of Commons Library constituency datasets.
Estimated population95,301
EstimateMid-2024 estimate
Region / nationSouth West
Age profile
0 to 1718.9% · 17,997 people
18 to 245.6% · 5,362 people
25 to 3410.0% · 9,533 people
35 to 4917.1% · 16,311 people
50 to 6422.3% · 21,298 people
65 and over26.0% · 24,800 people
Population figures are mid-2024 estimates from the House of Commons Library. Project Open Gov calculates the estimated population shown above by summing the six published age-band counts. View population source ↗
Home ownership and renting
Housing tenure shows how households in this constituency described their home at the most recent census.
40,463 householdsCensus 2021
Home owners71.1% · 28,759 households
Private renters13.0% · 5,265 households
Social renters14.9% · 6,039 households
Other tenure1.0% · 400 households
“Other tenure” combines shared ownership and households recorded as living rent free.
Housing-tenure figures come from the most recent census: 2021 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 2022 in Scotland. View housing-tenure source ↗
Household composition
A broad view of household types in this constituency. Project Open Gov uses the four broad groups supplied by the Commons Library so the presentation remains consistent across the UK.
40,462 householdsCensus 2021
One-person households29.1% · 11,791 households
Families with dependent children25.3% · 10,234 households
Other single-family households42.7% · 17,294 households
Other household types2.8% · 1,143 households
Household-composition figures come from the Commons Library constituency dataset. The source uses census data and Project Open Gov displays its broad household groups rather than attempting to harmonise the detailed categories itself. View household-composition source ↗
Disability and day-to-day activities
The source records whether day-to-day activities are limited and uses separate person-level tables for England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
93,192 people in the source baseCensus 2021Source comparison: England & Wales
Day-to-day activities limited a lot6.7% · 6,222 people
Day-to-day activities limited a little11.3% · 10,494 people
Not disabled under the Equality Act82.1% · 76,476 people
Comparison note: the workbook uses different source terminology across the UK: England & Wales uses “Disabled under the Equality Act”, while Scotland and Northern Ireland use “Disabled” / “Non-disabled”. Project Open Gov therefore preserves the source categories and does not present them as one single like-for-like UK legal definition.
Disability figures come from the Commons Library constituency workbook. This profile uses the person-level tables only; the workbook also contains separate household-level disability tables which are not used here. View disability source ↗
This constituency in Parliament
A high-confidence subset of current-session parliamentary records from this constituency's current MP where the full constituency name is stated explicitly in the written question, debate title or recorded section.
This is not a complete record of every local issue raised in Parliament. Project Open Gov does not currently infer a constituency connection from the MP relationship alone, speech text, nearby place names or other local entities.
Written question3 June 2026
Civil Servants: Workplace Pensions
Raised by Brian Mathew MP
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants are waiting for payment of a civil service pension in (a) Melksham and Devizes constituency and (b) the UK.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department have made of the impact of delays to Disability Living Allowance decisions on families caring for children with hidden disabilities in (a) Melksham and Devizes and (b) the
Open UK Government and Parliament petitions that have reached at least 10,000 signatures nationally, ranked here by the number of signatures recorded in this constituency.
Petition signatures are not a poll and do not show what the constituency as a whole thinks. A person can also sign more than one petition.
Open petitionCloses 20 November 2026
Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks
Signatures in this constituency550
Signatures nationally134,698
Government response published · Debate scheduled for 16 November 2026
Signature counts come from the official UK Government and Parliament petitions data and may change while a petition remains open. Browse official petitions ↗
Funding and local projects
National Lottery grants awarded to organisations recorded in this parliamentary constituency since 4 July 2024.
The constituency is based on the recipient organisation recorded in the source data. The funded activity may sometimes take place across a wider area.
Grants recorded41
Total awarded£2,828,594
Most recent awards
National Lottery grantAwarded 12 June 2026
Enhancing Wildlife in Colerne
Wild Colerne
£2,876
The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment
About this award
Wild Colerne - Environment - National Lottery Awards for All England
National Lottery grantAwarded 11 June 2026
Opening The Hall Estate: A sensory rose garden for community and wellbeing.
The Alex Moulton Charitable Trust
£16,500
The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment
About this award
The Alex Moulton Charitable Trust - Community - National Lottery Awards for All England
National Lottery grantAwarded 11 June 2026
Animating Change: Creative Intervention for Children's Palliative Care
ForMed Films CIC
£19,550
The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment
About this award
ForMed Films CIC - Community - National Lottery Awards for All England
National Lottery grantAwarded 9 June 2026
Extension 2027-28: Wiltshire Music Centre Trust Ltd
Wiltshire Music Centre Trust Ltd
£110,474
Arts Council England · Arts
About this award
Extension 2027-28: Wiltshire Music Centre Trust Ltd - Music - NPO 2023-26
National Lottery grantAwarded 13 May 2026
MUGA/Tennis court resurfacing and LED floodlighting
Holt Sports And Recreation Committee (HSRC)
£15,000
Sport England · Sport
About this award
This project will upgrade floodlighting and resurface an existing multi-sports games area which will accommodate tennis, walking tennis, pickleball and football.
36 more awards are available.
Source: DCMS National Lottery Grants Database. The figures shown cover awards from 4 July 2024 to 1 July 2026. View official grants data ↗
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