Torbay Council

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Torbay Council
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Coat of arms
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Council logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1968
Leadership
Barbara Lewis,
Conservative
since 15 May 2025[1]
David Thomas,
Conservative
since 16 May 2023[2]
Anne-Marie Bond
since 2021[3]
Structure
Seats36 councillors
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Political groups
Administration (17)
Page Template:Legend/styles.css has no content.  Conservative (17)
Other parties (19)
Page Template:Legend/styles.css has no content.  Liberal Democrats (15)
Page Template:Legend/styles.css has no content.  Independent (4)
Length of term
Whole council elected every four years
Elections
Plurality-at-large
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
6 May 2027
Motto
Salus et Felicitas (Health and Happiness)
Meeting place
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Town Hall, Castle Circus, Torquay, TQ1 3DR
Website
www.torbay.gov.uk
Constitution
The Constitution of the Council of the Borough of Torbay

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Torbay Council is the local authority for Torbay, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Devon, England. Since 1998 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council; it is independent from Devon County Council.

The council has been under no overall control since 2023, being led by a Conservative minority administration. It is based at the Town Hall in Torquay.

History

The council was created on 1 April 1968 to govern the county borough of Torbay, which replaced the abolished municipal borough of Torquay, urban districts of Brixham and Paignton and civil parish 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.[4]

Six years later local government was reorganised again, under the Local Government Act 1972. Torbay kept the same boundaries, but on 1 April 1974 it became a non-metropolitan district, with Devon County Council once more providing county-level services to the area.[5] 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.[6][7]

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 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".[8][7] Torbay remains part of the ceremonial county of Devon for the purposes of lieutenancy.[9]

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.[10]

Since 2025 the council has been a member of the Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority.[11][12]

Governance

As a unitary authority, Torbay Council has the responsibilities of both a district council and county council 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, waste collection and environmental health. In its capacity as a county council it is a local education authority, and responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal.

Torbay Council appoints two members to the Devon and Somerset Combined Fire Authority[13] and appoints one member to the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Panel.[14] The Torbay Health and Wellbeing Board is made up of representatives from Torbay Council and other local healthcare organisations.[15]

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.[16][17] 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.[18] The Conservatives were therefore able to govern by relying on the Conservative mayor's casting vote.[19] 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.[20]

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:[21][22]

Lower-tier non-metropolitan district

Party in control Years
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Script error: No such module "Party name with color". 1990–1991
Script error: No such module "Party name with color". 1991–1998

Unitary authority

Party in control Years
Script error: No such module "Party name with color". 1998–2000
Script error: No such module "Party name with color". 2000–2003
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Script error: No such module "Party name with color". 2007–2019
Script error: No such module "Party name with color". 2019–2023
Script error: No such module "Party name with color". 2023–2023
Script error: No such module "Party name with color". 2023–present

Leadership

Prior to 2005, political leadership was provided by the leader of the council. The leaders from 1997 to 2005 were:

Councillor Party From To
Ian Fenton[23] Script error: No such module "Party name with color". 13 May 1997 May 1999
Ann Williams[24][25] Script error: No such module "Party name with color". 11 May 1999 May 2000
Richard Cuming[26] Script error: No such module "Party name with color". May 2000 2002
Eileen Salloway[27] Script error: No such module "Party name with color". 2002 May 2003
Chris Harris[28] Script error: No such module "Party name with color". 15 May 2003 23 Oct 2005

Between 2005 and 2019 the council had a directly elected mayor as its political leader. The directly elected mayors were:

Mayor Party From To
Nick Bye[29] Script error: No such module "Party name with color". 24 Oct 2005 8 May 2011
Gordon Oliver[30] Script error: No such module "Party name with color". 9 May 2011 5 May 2019

In 2019 the council reverted to having a leader instead of a directly elected mayor. The leaders since 2019 have been:

Councillor Party From To
Steve Darling[31] Script error: No such module "Party name with color". 28 May 2019 May 2023
David Thomas[32] Script error: No such module "Party name with color". 16 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election,[33][17] and subsequent changes of allegiance and by-elections up to May 2025, the composition of the council was:[18][34][35]

Party Councillors
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Total 36

Three of the independent councillors sit together as the "Independent Group" and the other is not aligned to a group.[36] The next election is due in 2027 where all seats will be contested.[35]

Premises

The council is based at Torquay Town Hall on Castle Circus, which had been completed in 1911 for the former Torquay Town Council.[37][38]

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.[39] Brixham Town Hall was transferred to Brixham Town Council in 2011.[40]

Elections

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File:Torbay Council wards.svg
Torbay Council wards

Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 36 councillors representing 16 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[41]

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Council minutes, 15 May 2025". Torbay Council. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Council minutes, 16 May 2023". Torbay Council. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Council formally confirms Anne-Marie Bond as new Chief Executive". Torbay Council. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Smith, R. J. D. (1 April 1968). "Torbay Borough starts with a history: Story of the foundation of the new borough". Herald Express. Torquay. p. 1968. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  7. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Council History - Torbay Council". torbay.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 26 December 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Devon (City of Plymouth and Borough of Torbay) Structural Change) Order 1996: Article 6", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1996/1865 (art. 6), retrieved 23 July 2024
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Lieutenancies Act 1997", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1997 c. 23, retrieved 11 August 2023
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Torbay mayor and cabinet system scrapped in referendum". BBC News. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority Regulations 2025", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2025/115, retrieved 7 June 2025
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Does the Devon and Torbay devolution deal make any sense now?". Crediton Courier. 17 February 2025. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority".
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Council, Torbay (17 June 2019). "Outside bodies – Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Panel". Government of the United Kingdom.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Torbay Health and Wellbeing Board created | Torquay Herald Express". www.torquayheraldexpress.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Councillors quit Tory party and form new group". BBC News. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  17. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Boothroyd, David (29 October 2023). "The home of lost causes and forsaken beliefs". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  18. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Davis, Miles (15 April 2024). "Conservatives win key Torbay Council by-election". BBC News. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Henderson, Guy (7 June 2024). "Tories back in control of Torbay Council". Radio Exe Devon. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Henderson, Guy (22 July 2024). "Torbay selects a new mayor - at last". Devon Air Radio. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 26 November 2024. (Put "Torbay" in search box to see specific results.)
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Torbay". BBC News Online. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Team to take bay into home rule era". Herald Express. Torquay. 8 May 1997. p. 3. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ann takes over Lib Dem hot seat: Handshake as Williams beats Fenton". Herald Express. Torquay. 22 April 1999. p. 2. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  25. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.de Bruxelles, Simon (5 May 2000). "Torbay becomes Tory-bay once again". The Times. London. p. 4.
  26. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Watt, Nicholas; White, Michael (5 May 2000). "Tories back on the map after heartland wins". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  27. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.de Bruxelles, Simon (2 May 2003). "Lib Dems send Tories packing from Torbay". The Times. London. p. 14.
  28. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Council minutes, 15 May 2003" (PDF). Torbay Council. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  29. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Torbay Mayor Nick Bye loses local Conservative support". BBC News. 26 November 2010. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  30. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Gordon Oliver remains Torbay Mayor". ITV News. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  31. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Council minutes, 28 May 2019". Torbay Council. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  32. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Council minutes, 16 May 2023". Torbay Council. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  33. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Voce, Antonio; Leach, Anna; Hoog, Niels de; Torpey, Paul; Clarke, Seán (9 May 2023). "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  34. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Tory defection changes balance at Torbay Council". BBC News. 4 June 2025. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  35. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Torbay". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  36. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Your councillors". Torbay Council. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  37. ^ Script error: No such module "Template wrapper".
  38. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Contact us". Torbay Council. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  39. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Oldfield, Edward (28 January 2019). "Rescue plan drawn up to secure future of Oldway Mansion". Devon Live. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  40. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Transfer of Brixham Town Hall to Brixham Town Council". Torbay Council. November 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  41. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Torbay (Electoral Changes) Order 2018", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2018/740, retrieved 15 August 2023

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