Government have today confirmed that it will adopt Plymouth and Exeter’s joint proposal for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) across Devon.

This means that Torbay will be served by a new council which will cover the three towns of Brixham, Paignton and Torquay along with 21 parishes from the current Teignbridge and South Hams District Councils that surround the current Torbay boundaries. 

Across the rest of Devon there will now be four unitary authorities with the other three covering:

• An expanded area around Plymouth and surrounding areas.
• The city of Exeter and its natural catchment
• The rest of Devon, with a focus on rural and coastal areas.

Currently across Devon, services are split between three different types of councils with most of the county operating under a two-tier system.

Devon County Council is responsible for major services such as education, transport, libraries and social care. District councils deliver local services including environmental health, licensing, housing, planning, sports centres, parks, waste collection and recycling.

Torbay and Plymouth operate separately as unitary authorities, each providing the full range of local government services within their own boundaries.

As part of its wider plan to replace all two-tier structures with unitary councils, the Government asked all existing authorities in Devon to develop proposals for how future services could be organised. Council leaders and officers across Devon worked together to prepare options, which were supported by extensive engagement with communities. Five proposals for Devon were submitted to Government for their consideration.

Leader of Torbay Council, Cllr David Thomas, said: “Our submission to Government was for Torbay to stay the same, sticking with our current boundaries. This isn’t the result we wanted but I recognise that Government has made their decision and here in Torbay we will embrace this change.

“I want to reassure our residents at this time that there will be no immediate changes to our council services, and we will continue to deliver as normal. Our priority is a safe and stable transition and we will share, clear, timely updates as plans develop over the next 18 months.

“I look forward to continuing to work with the Leaders and Councillors from the areas we are joining and will ensure the voice of Torbay residents’ is heard loud and clear as we work through this transition.

“As the new councils are set up across Devon, I will also ensure that we continue to work together and collaborate on strategic issues such as transport, skills, housing and economic development.”

The new council will not take on legal powers until April 2028 and elections to a shadow authority will take place in May 2027. The Shadow Authority will oversee the detailed planning for the new arrangements.