# Torbay Council

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.
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. 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 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 ceremonial county 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.

## 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 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:
Lower-tier non-metropolitan district
| Party in control | Years |
| Conservative | 1974–1990 |
| No overall control | 1990–1991 |
| Liberal Democrats | 1991–1998 |
Unitary authority
| Party in control | Years |
| Liberal Democrats | 1998–2000 |
| Conservative | 2000–2003 |
| Liberal Democrats | 2003–2007 |
| Conservative | 2007–2019 |
| No overall control | 2019–2023 |
| Conservative | 2023–2023 |
| No overall control | 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 | Liberal Democrats | 13 May 1997 | May 1999 |
| Ann Williams | Liberal Democrats | 11 May 1999 | May 2000 |
| Richard Cuming | Conservative | May 2000 | 2002 |
| Eileen Salloway | Conservative | 2002 | May 2003 |
| Chris Harris | Liberal Democrats | 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 | Party | From | To |
| Nick Bye | | Conservative | 24 Oct 2005 | 8 May 2011 |
| Gordon Oliver | | Conservative | 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 | Party | From | To |
| Steve Darling | | Liberal Democrats | 28 May 2019 | May 2023 |
| David Thomas | | Conservative | 16 May 2023 | |

### Composition

Following the 2023 election, two subsequent changes of allegiance in October 2023, and a by-election in June 2024, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Conservative | 18 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 15 |
| | Independent | 3 |
| Total | Total | 36 |
Two of the independent councillors sit together as the "Independent 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 councillors representing 16 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.