Local leaders fear Torbay could disappear as government plans reshape council structures and merge areas.
The government wants to simplify local councils. District councils, like South Hams, may vanish, as Larger unitary authorities would handle all services instead.
Torbay is already a unitary authority council. But it’s smaller than what the government wants. Torbay’s borders might grow to include other councils, and its name could change for the first time in 60 years.
The council leader, David Thomas, thinks a name change is possible. A new authority could be bigger than Torbay is now. Government papers suggest 500,000 people per authority, while Torbay only has about 140,000 residents.
Torbay needs a much larger population to qualify. Thomas said they need to get close to 400,000 residents. They may have to include neighboring areas to reach this number.
Torbay, Teignbridge, South Hams, and West Devon have 422,000 people total. Things get more complex because Plymouth also wants land. Plymouth needs more residents to meet the new rules, as Plymouth has about 265,000 residents currently.
Thomas said the changes need to work for all of Devon. He doesn’t think one big Devon council is the solution.
Torbay Council started in 1968. It replaced old districts and parishes then. Local government changed again in 1974, when Torbay became a borough. It kept its borders but gave some jobs to Devon County.
Torbay became independent again in 1998, becoming a unitary authority. They controlled their own services, and they had a mayor, but now have a leader again.