Editing Torquay (section)

==Governance==
[[File:Torquay.townhall.arp.750pix.jpg|thumb|left|[[Torquay Town Hall]], Castle Circus, built 1911]]

There is only one tier of local government covering Torquay, being the [[Unitary authorities in England|unitary authority]] of [[Torbay]], which covers a larger area than just Torquay, also including [[Paignton]] and [[Brixham]]. [[Torbay Council]] is based in Torquay, having its headquarters at [[Torquay Town Hall]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Contact us |url=https://www.torbay.gov.uk/council/get-in-touch/contact/ |publisher=Torbay Council |access-date=3 August 2023}}</ref>

[[File:Old Town Hall, Torquay - geograph.org.uk - 1298667.jpg|thumb|[[Old Town Hall, Torquay|Old Town Hall]], Union Street, built 1852]]

Historically, Torquay was in the [[ancient parish]] of Tormoham.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tormoham Ancient Parish / Civil Parish |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10078477 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=3 August 2023}}</ref> Until 1835 the parish was controlled by the landowners and the [[vestry]], in the same way as most rural areas. More urban forms of local government began in 1835 when [[improvement commissioners]] were appointed for the parish.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tormoham (Devon) Improvement (No. 2) Act 1835 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Will4/5-6/108/contents/enacted |website=legislation.gov.uk |publisher=The National Archives |access-date=3 August 2023}}</ref> The unelected commissioners were replaced in 1850 with an elected [[Local board of health|local board]].<ref name=Kelly>{{cite book |title=Kelly's Directory of Devon and Cornwall |date=1914 |location=London |page=766 |url=https://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p16445coll4/id/303558 |access-date=3 August 2023}}</ref> One of the local board's first projects was to build a [[Old Town Hall, Torquay|town hall on Union Street]], which was completed in 1852.<ref>{{NHLE|desc= Old Town Hall, Union Street |num= 1291593 |access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref>

In May 1876 the Tormoham Local Board voted to change its name to the Torquay Local Board, acknowledging that Torquay was by then the more commonly-used name for the town; it was said that having a different official name had been causing confusion.<ref>{{cite news |title=Torquay v. Tormoham |url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/search-newspapers |access-date=3 August 2023 |work=Torquay Times and South Devon Advertiser |date=6 May 1876 |page=5}}<br>- {{cite book |title=Annual Report of the Local Government Board |date=1877 |location=London |page=li |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GxowAQAAMAAJ |access-date=3 August 2023 |via=Google Books}}</ref> In 1892, Torquay was made a [[municipal borough]], governed by a corporate body officially called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Torquay", but generally known as the corporation or the town council.<ref name=Kelly/>

The borough was enlarged in 1900 to take in the neighbouring parish of [[St Marychurch]] and the [[Chelston, Torquay|Chelston]] area from the neighbouring parish of [[Cockington]]. The rest of Cockington was absorbed into the borough in 1928.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cockington Ancient Parish / Civil Parish |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10094987 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=3 August 2023}}</ref> In 1911 a [[Torquay Town Hall|new town hall]] was built at Castle Circus.<ref>{{NHLE|desc= The Town Hall |num=1208247| access-date=11 December 2020}}</ref>

In 1968 the borough of Torquay, the [[Urban district (England and Wales)|urban district]]s of Paignton and Brixham, and the parish of [[Churston Ferrers]] were all abolished. A [[county borough]] called Torbay was created to cover the whole area (with some adjustments of the boundaries to neighbouring parishes at the same time). As a county borough, Torbay was administratively independent from [[Devon County Council]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Smith |first=R. J. D. |title=Torbay Borough starts with a history: Story of the foundation of the new borough |url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/search-newspapers |access-date=3 August 2023 |work=Herald Express |date=1 April 1968 |location=Torquay |page=1968}}</ref> Six years later, in 1974, local government was reformed again, with Torbay becoming a [[non-metropolitan district]] and Devon County Council providing county-level services to the area again.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972|year=1972|number=2039|access-date=30 July 2023}}</ref> Torbay regained its independence from the county council in 1998 when it was made a unitary authority.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Devon (City of Plymouth and Borough of Torbay) Structural Change) Order 1996|year=1996|number=1865|access-date=3 August 2023}}</ref> Torbay remains part of the [[ceremonial county]] of Devon for the purposes of [[Lieutenancy area|lieutenancy]].<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=act|act=Lieutenancies Act 1997|year=1997|chapter=23|access-date=3 August 2023}}</ref>

[[File:TorbayConstituency.svg|right|thumb|Torbay Constituency]]
Torquay (along with part of Paignton) is in the [[Torbay (UK Parliament constituency)|Torbay parliamentary constituency]], created in 1974; previous to that, it was in [[Torquay (UK Parliament constituency)|its own eponymous constituency]]. The constituency elects one Member of Parliament, since 2024 [[Steve Darling]] of the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]].