Torbay faces potential elimination in council restructuring. New authorities may replace it, changing its identity after 60 years.
Torbay is already a unitary authority, but smaller than what the government wants. Its area might grow into other district areas, and its name could change soon, for the first time in 60 years.
David Thomas says the new authority could be bigger than Torbay, as the government wants each authority to have 500,000 people. Torbay only has about 140,000 residents currently.
To qualify, Torbay needs more people, specifically 350,000 to 450,000 residents, according to Thomas. This requires including Teignbridge, South Hams or West Devon which, together with Torbay, have about 422,000 people now.
Alternatively, South Hams might join with Plymouth, which also needs more residents. Plymouth has approximately 265,000 people and may also have to include neighboring areas.
Thomas says changes must work for everyone, including North Devon, Torridge and East Devon. He does not think one council for all of Devon is right.
Torbay Council started in 1968, replacing earlier local areas like Torquay. In 1974, local areas changed again, and Torbay became a borough council.
It kept its borders but gave some duties to Devon County Council. Torbay became independent in 1998, becoming a unitary authority again and controlling its own services. It had an elected mayor until 2019, and now has a leader and cabinet again.