Borough of Torbay
Geography
Status:	Unitary, Borough
Region:	South West England
Ceremonial County:	Devon
Area: - Total	Ranked 288th 62.88 km²
Admin. HQ:	Torquay
ONS code:	00HH
Demographics
Population: - Total (2005 est.) - Density	Ranked 137th 132,800 2,112 / km²
Ethnicity:	98.8% White
Politics
Torbay Borough Council http://www.torbay.gov.uk/
Leadership:	Mayor & Cabinet
Elected Mayor:	Nicholas Bye (Con)
Executive:	Liberal Democrats
MPs:	Adrian Sanders (LD, Torbay), Anthony Steen (Con, Totnes)

Torbay (IPA: [tɔːˈbeɪ]) is an east-facing bay, at the western most end of Lyme Bay in the south-west of England, situated roughly midway between the cities of Exeter and Plymouth. Historically part of the county of Devon, Torbay was made a unitary authority on April 1, 1998. The tourist authorities call it the English Riviera, probably because of its mild climate. Image File history File links One of the administrative counties of England File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The region, also known as Government Office Region, is currently the highest tier of local government subnational entity of England in the United Kingdom. ... South West England is one of the regions of England. ... Devon is a large county in South West England, bordered by Cornwall to the west, Dorset and Somerset to the east. ... This article explains the meaning of area as a Physical quantity. ... This is a list of districts of England ordered by area. ... To help compare sizes of different geographic regions, we list here areas between 10 km² (1000 hectares) and 100 km² (10,000 hectares). ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... Statistics Population: 62,963 [1] Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SX9165 Administration District: Torbay Region: South West England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Devon Historic county: Devon Services Police force: Devon and Cornwall Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: South Western Post office and telephone Post... The Office for National Statistics coding system is a hierarchical code used in the United Kingdom for tabulating census and other statistical data. ... Density, or volumic mass (ISO 31), is a measure of mass per unit volume. ... This is a list of districts of England ordered by population. ... Image File history File links Torbay-coa. ... The United Kingdom is divided into four parts, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. ... Direct election In 2000 the Labour government led by Tony Blair passed a local government reform which changed this somewhat. ... Nicholas Bye is a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom. ... This is a list of MPs elected in the UK general election, 2005 to the House of Commons for the Fifty-Fourth Parliament of the United Kingdom at the United Kingdom general election, 2005, arranged by constituency. ... Adrian Mark Sanders (born 25 April 1959) is a politician in the United Kingdom. ... Anthony David Steen (born 22 July 1939) is a politician in the United Kingdom. ... For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words see here. ... Lyme Bay shown within Great Britain Lyme Bay is an area of the English Channel situated in the southwest of England between Torbay in the west and Portland in the east. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this articles infobox may require cleanup. ... Plymouth is a city in the southwest of England, or alternatively the Westcountry, and is situated within the traditional county of Devon. ... Devon is a large county in South West England, bordered by Cornwall to the west, Dorset and Somerset to the east. ... A unitary authority is a type of local authority, which has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area. ... April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... The standard tourism poster for Torbay. ...

Geography

There are three main towns around the bay: Torquay in the north, Paignton in the centre, and Brixham in the south. These three have become connected over the years, swallowing up villages and towns such as St Marychurch, Cockington, Marldon, Churston Ferrers and Galmpton. Statistics Population: 62,963 [1] Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SX9165 Administration District: Torbay Region: South West England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Devon Historic county: Devon Services Police force: Devon and Cornwall Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: South Western Post office and telephone Post... Location within the British Isles Paignton seafront in the late evening, at high tide Paignton (pronounced Paynton) is an English coastal town on the English Riviera near Torquay, in the county of Devon. ... Location within the British Isles Brixham is a small town in the county of Devon in the southwest of England. ... St. ... Cockington is a village in Torquay, Devon. ...

Torbay, as an administrative area, was created in 1968 as a County Borough, from the amalgamation of the Boroughs of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham. In October 2005 Torbay became the first area of the South West to have an elected Mayor with Nick Bye being the succesful candidate. County borough was a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom to refer to a borough or a city independent of county administration. ... A borough is an administrative division used in various countries. ...

The southern limit of Torbay is Berry Head, and the northern limit is Hopes Nose, although Torquay itself stretches further north into Babbacombe Bay, where the popular beaches at Oddicombe and Babbacombe can be found; these are noted for their interesting Breccia cliffs. Berry Head is a coastal headland at the southern end of Torbay, to the southeast of Brixham, Devon, England. ... Oddicombe Beach is a popular beach, noted for its interesting Breccia cliffs, below the Babbacombe district of Torbay, Devon. ... Babbacombe can refer to: Babbacombe Downs, Devon, England Babbacombe Cliff Railway John Babbacombe Lee Category: ... Breccia, derived from the Latin word for broken, is a sedimentary rock composed of angular fragments in a matrix that may be of a similar or a different material. ...

Torbay is bordered by the South Hams to the south and west, and by Teignbridge to the north. Nearby towns include Totnes and Dartmouth in the South Hams Newton Abbot and Teignmouth in Teignbridge. Tor Bay itself is a fine natural harbour and home to a host of maritime events year round. South Hams is a local government district on the south coast of Devon, England. ... Teignbridge is a local government district in Devon, England. ... Map sources for Totnes at grid reference SX805605 Arms of Totnes Town Council Totnes (TOTness — emphasis on the first syllable) is a market town in South Devon, England. ... Map sources for Dartmouth, Devon at grid reference SX877514 The town seen from the River Dart Dartmouth is a town in Devon in the south-west of England. ... Location within the British Isles Newton Abbot is a market town in Devon , England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580 (2001 census). ... Location within the British Isles Teignmouth sea front Teignmouth (pronounced Tinmouth) is a town on the east bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign in south Devon, United Kingdom. ...

Because of the mild climate, Torbay Palm trees are a common sight along the coast. However, this 'palm' is in fact a Cabbage Tree (Cordyline australis), originating from New Zealand. These trees may be seen flourishing elsewhere in the UK, at least as far north as Pickering in North Yorkshire. It is suggested that the popularity of Cabbage Trees in Torbay is attributable to their first being introduced to the UK in that region; a street in the old part of Dartmouth named Anzac St suggests an early 20th century initiative to associate the town with New Zealand and Australia. Binomial name Cordyline australis (Forst. ...

The area is host to a large number of European students learning English every summer. This article is about the continent. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

The fishing port of Brixham is home to one of England and Wales most succesful fishing fleets and regularly lands more value than any UK port outside of Scotland.

Transport

Torbay has three stations on the National Rail network: National Rail uses the BR double-arrow logo National Rail is a brand name of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC). ...

• Torre railway station is inland on the road from Torquay to Newton Abbot
• Torquay railway station is close to Torre Abbey Sands.
• Paignton railway station serves that town and links with the heritage railway via the Dart ferry to Kingswear.

These stations are now operated by First Great Western, as are some of the journeys that operates through them since Wessex trains was taken over by the company in 2006. Torre station is a suburban station in Torquay, Devon it is only served by the stopping service between Paignton and Exeter. ... Location within the British Isles Newton Abbot is a market town in Devon , England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580 (2001 census). ... Torquay Railway station serves the town of Torquay, Devon, UK - The station is operated by First Great Western Category: ... Paignton railway station is the railway station serving Paignton in Devon. ... A scene on a heritage railway. ... Kingswear is a village in the South Hams area of South Devon, residing on the east bank of the River Dart. ... First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd,[1] a British train operating company owned by First Group, which operates services in the west and south west of England and South Wales. ...

Torbay lacks direct motorway links and is served by the A380 road from Exeter. Motorway symbol in UK, France and Ireland. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this articles infobox may require cleanup. ...

This road route into Torbay from Newton Abbot is seen as problematic; as, especially in the summer, the comparative bottle-neck effect becomes apparent with congestion, particularly during commuter hours. Plans have continued apace to remedy the situation though no clear alternative have been sought as the current road passes by areas of outstanding natural beauty. ^[1]

The bus franchise is largely operated by Stagecoach Devon of the similarly named group, that operates a large share of the market in Torbay and the neighbouring towns of South Devon.

Famous people

Famous former residents of Torbay include authors Agatha Christie (who set many of her novels in a thinly disguised version of the borough), Charles Kingsley and Rudyard Kipling, the great industrialist and architect of the nearby Atmospheric railway, Isambard Kingdom Brunel and (allegedly) Barry Manilow. Prog-rock band Wishbone Ash, and supermodel Lily Cole also hail from the borough. Agatha Mary Clarissa, Lady Mallowan, DBE (15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976), also known as Dame Agatha Christie, was an English crime fiction writer. ... Charles Kingsley A statue of Charles Kingsley at Bideford, Devon (UK) Charles Kingsley (June 12, 1819 – January 23, 1875) was an English novelist, particularly associated with the West Country. ... Joseph Rudyard Kipling (30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936) was a British author and poet, born in India, and best known today for his childrens books, including The Jungle Book (1894), The Second Jungle Book (1895), Just So Stories (1902), and Puck of Pooks Hill (1906); his novel... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Brunel before the launching of the Great Eastern. ... Barry Manilow (born June 17, 1943[1] in Brooklyn, New York) is an American singer and songwriter best known for his hit recordings I Write The Songs, Mandy and Copacabana (At The Copa). He has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. ... Wishbone Ash are a British Hard rock band, formed in Devon, 1969, forming out of the ashes of the group The Empty Vessels, later Tanglewood. ... Lily Cole (born May 19, 1988) is an English supermodel. ...

As you'd expect for one of the largest UK tourist resorts there is a host of attractions for the young and old from the clubs and pubs on offer in Paignton and Torquay, the growing number of fine restaurants such as "The Elephant", the Princess Theatre, wthe Quaywest water park, Kents Cavern, Paignton Zoo and Living Coasts nature attractions, Babbacombe Model Village and Occombe Farm. There are great nature walks and a host of Blue Flagged beaches to spend a hot summers day on.

References

1. ^ [www.torbay.gov.uk/ltp1_delivery_report_final_document.pdf Impact of the First Local Travel Plan on Torbay]. torbay.gov.uk. Retrieved on 2006-12-02.

2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 2 is the 336th day (337th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Torbay Council
• Torbay council tourist information