View the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) public engagement event presentation
Local government in England is changing.
A term you are likely to hear regularly is local government reorganisation (also known as LGR). But what is it?
LGR is the process of changing how local councils are organised and what they are responsible for. The Government plans to replace the current system of district and county councils, replacing them with more unitary councils.
A unitary authority is a single council that handles all local services in an area. It can cover a whole county, part of a county, or a large town or city. Torbay Council is already a unitary council and other examples include Cornwall Council and Somerset Council. London boroughs are also unitary authorities.
Torbay Council and Plymouth City Council are already unitary councils. Local government services across the rest of Devon are delivered by either Devon County Council or one of the eight district and borough councils. Reorganisation would see the creation of unitary councils covering all of Devon.
The Government has said in its English Devolution White Paper that they want to create unitary councils that serve at least 500,000 people. However, they have recognised that there may be exceptions to this figure to make sure the new system works well for each area. Each decision will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Devon (including Plymouth and Torbay) has a population of around 1.2 million, meaning – based on the maths - the most likely number is two or three unitary councils.
We do not have a choice about taking part in the re-organisation. Government has committed to it and have invited proposals from areas. Even if we did not to submit a proposal, Government will make decisions about re-organisation of local government in Devon which could include Torbay.
The Government asked areas to submit interim plans in March 2025. As an area, all the Devon councils are expecting to receive feedback on those interim plans in early May. Full proposals then need to be submitted by 28 November 2025.
Timelines for the remainder of the LGR process are subject to the proposals received. However, elections to shadow authorities could be expected in May 2027 following the 2026 consultation, with new unitaries going live in April 2028.
Interim Plan
Torbay Council’s interim plan was submitted to the Government on 21 March 2025. It was developed taking account of discussions with:
The presentation that was shared at our public engagement event on 11 March 2025 is available below.
Torbay Council’s interim plan is available below.
We are expecting feedback from the Government on our interim plan in early May 2025.