Torbay Council is the

local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

for

Torbay Torbay is a unitary authority with a borough status in the ceremonial county of Devon, England. It is governed by Torbay Council, based in the town of Torquay, and also includes the towns of Paignton and Brixham. The borough consists of ...

, a local government district in the

ceremonial county Ceremonial counties, formally known as ''counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'', are areas of England to which lord-lieutenant, lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch's repres ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England. Since 1998 the council has been a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

, being a district council which also performs the functions of a

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

; it is independent from

Devon County Council Devon County Council is the county council administering the English county of Devon. The council is based at Devon County Hall in the city of Exeter. The area administered by the county council is termed the non-metropolitan county, which is ...

. The council has been under

no overall control In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom no overall control (NOC; ) is a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats, comparable to a hung parliament. Of the 248 councils who had members up for elec ...

since 2023, being led by a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

minority administration. It is based at the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...

History

The council was created on 1 April 1968 to govern the county borough of Torbay, which replaced the abolished

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

of Torquay, urban districts of

Brixham Brixham is a coastal town and civil parish in the borough of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. As of the 2021 census, Brixham had a population of 16,825. It is one of the main three centres of the borough, along with ...

and Paignton and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Churston Ferrers. The council's formal title on creation in 1968 was the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Torbay", informally known as the corporation or borough council. As a county borough, the council provided all local government services for the area. Six years later local government was reorganised again, under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

. Torbay kept the same boundaries, but on 1 April 1974 it became a

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''s ...

, with

once more providing county-level services to the area. Torbay retained borough status, allowing the council to take the name "Torbay Borough Council" and letting the chair of the council take the title of mayor, continuing Torbay's series of mayors which had started in 1968. Torbay regained its independence from the county council on 1 April 1998. The way this change was implemented was to create a new

non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a subdivision of England used for local government. The non-metropolitan counties were originally created in 1974 as part of a reform of local government in England and Wales, and ...

of Torbay matching the borough, but with no separate county council. Instead, the existing borough council took on county council functions, making it a unitary authority. Since 1998 the council has styled itself "Torbay Council". Torbay remains part of the

of Devon for the purposes of lieutenancy. Between 2005 and 2019 the council had a directly elected mayor. Since 2019 political leadership has instead been provided by a

leader of the council Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

. Since 2025 the council has been a member of the

Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority The Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority (DTCCA) is a non-mayoral combined county authority covering the majority of the ceremonial county of Devon. History Since the Local Government Act 1972, the entirety of Devon had been governed by ...

Governance

As a unitary authority, Torbay Council has the responsibilities of both a district council and

combined. In its capacity as a district council it is a billing authority collecting Council Tax and business rates, and its responsibilities include town planning,

housing Housing refers to a property containing one or more Shelter (building), shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and right to ...

, waste collection and environmental health. In its capacity as a county council it is a

local education authority Local education authorities (LEAs) were defined in England and Wales as the local councils responsible for education within their jurisdictions. The term was introduced by the Education Act 1902, which transferred education powers from school bo ...

, and responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal. Torbay Council appoints two members to the Devon and Somerset Combined Fire Authority and appoints one member to the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Panel. The Torbay Health and Wellbeing Board is made up of representatives from Torbay Council and other local healthcare organisations.

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 2023. Following the May 2023 elections the Conservatives had a majority of the seats, but they lost their majority in October that year when two Conservative members left the party to form a new group, Prosper Torbay. The Conservatives won a by-election in June 2024, giving them exactly half the seats on the council, so one seat short of an overall majority. The Conservatives were therefore able to govern by relying on the Conservative mayor's casting vote. When it came to appoint a new mayor in May 2024 there was a two-month delay to the appointment as the Conservatives tried to block the appointment of a Liberal Democrat as mayor, eventually succeeding in July 2024 with a Conservative being given the role instead. Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: (Put "Torbay" in search box to see specific results.) Lower-tier non-metropolitan district Unitary authority

Leadership

Prior to 2005, political leadership was provided by the

. The leaders from 1997 to 2005 were: Between 2005 and 2019 the council had a directly elected mayor as its political leader. The directly elected mayors were: In 2019 the council reverted to having a leader instead of a directly elected mayor. The leaders since 2019 have been:

Composition

Following the 2023 election, and subsequent changes of allegiance and by-elections up to May 2025, the composition of the council was: Three of the independent councillors sit together as the "Independent Group" and the other is not aligned to a group. The next election is due in 2027 where all seats will be contested.

Premises

The council is based at Torquay Town Hall on Castle Circus, which had been completed in 1911 for the former Torquay Town Council. On its creation in 1968 the council also inherited the former Paignton Urban District Council's headquarters at Oldway Mansion and the former Brixham Urban District Council's headquarters at Brixham Town Hall. Oldway Mansion was used as additional office space for the council until 2013. Brixham Town Hall was transferred to Brixham Town Council in 2011.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 36

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s representing 16 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Unitary authority councils of England Local education authorities in England Local authorities in Devon Local authorities in England with elected mayor Billing authorities in England 1974 establishments in England Torbay