Editing Brixham (section)

==Governance==
{{Infobox legislature|background_color=#214FA5|name=Brixham Town Council|logo_pic=File:Brixham_Town_Council_logo.png|house_type=Civil parish|foundation=1 April 2007|leader1=Michael Roseveare|leader2=Paul Addison|leader1_type=Mayor|party1=[[Independent politician|Independent]]|leader2_type=Deputy Mayor|party2=[[Independent politician|Independent]]|structure1=Brixham Town Council political make up.svg|political_groups1={{legend|#DDDDDD|[[Independent politician|Independents]]: 12 seats}}|term_length=4 years|salary=None|seats=12|voting_system1=[[First-past-the-post voting|First-past-the-post]]|last_election1=4 May 2023 ([[Uncontested election|uncontested]])|next_election1=6 May 2027|session_room=Brixham_Town_Hall,_Market_Hall_and_theatre_(geograph_2591177).jpg|meeting_place=[[Brixham Town Hall]], New Road, Brixham, TQ5{{nbsp}}8TA|website=https://www.brixhamtowncouncil.gov.uk/}}

There are two tiers of local government covering Brixham, at [[civil parish|parish]] (town) and [[Unitary authorities in England|unitary authority]] level: Brixham Town Council and [[Torbay Council]], based in [[Torquay]]. Brixham Town Council is based at the [[Brixham Town Hall|Town Hall]] on New Road.<ref>{{cite web |title=Contact us |url=https://www.brixhamtowncouncil.gov.uk/contact/ |website=Brixham Town Council |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref>

Brixham was an [[ancient parish]]. By the 1860s the parish contained two main settlements, being Lower Brixham around the harbour and Higher Brixham on higher ground to the south around the parish church. The larger settlement of Lower Brixham was made a [[Local board of health|local government district]] in 1862, governed by a local board.<ref>{{cite book |title=Kelly's Directory of Devon and Cornwall |date=1914 |location=London |page=107 |url=https://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p16445coll4/id/302899 |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref> Prior to that the whole parish had been administered by its [[vestry]] in the same way as most rural areas. Higher Brixham and the rural parts of the parish continued to be governed by the vestry until 1894. The local board built itself the Town Hall on New Road in 1886 to serve as its headquarters and as a market hall and public hall.<ref>{{NHLE|desc= Town Hall |num=1298263|access-date=14 July 2021}}</ref>

Local boards were converted into [[Urban district (England and Wales)|urban district councils]] in December 1894, and the Lower Brixham Urban District was enlarged at the same time to cover the whole parish of Brixham.<ref>{{cite book |title=Annual Report of the Local Government Board |date=1895 |location=London |page=245 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gFIwAQAAMAAJ |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref> In recognition of the enlargement, at the second meeting of the urban district council in January 1895 it voted to change its name from Lower Brixham to just Brixham.<ref>{{cite news |title=Brixham Urban District |url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/search-newspapers |access-date=14 August 2023 |work=Western Daily Mercury |date=16 January 1895 |location=Plymouth |page=5}}</ref>

In 1968 the urban districts of Brixham and [[Paignton]], the [[municipal borough]] of [[Torquay]] 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, including the more rural southern part of Brixham being transferred to the parish of [[Kingswear]]. As a county borough, Torbay was administratively independent from [[Devon County Council]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=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>

From 1968 to 2007 Brixham was directly administered by Torbay Borough Council, having no lower-tier authority of its own. On 1 April 2007 a new [[civil parish]] of Brixham was created, with its council declaring the new parish to be a town and adopting the name Brixham Town Council.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Torbay (Parish) Order 2006 |url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20221202003054mp_/https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lgbce/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/12723/the-torbay-parish-order-2006.pdf |website=Local Government Boundary Commission for England |publisher=The National Archives |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref> In 2011 ownership of Brixham Town Hall was transferred from Torbay Council to Brixham Town Council to use as its headquarters.<ref>{{cite web |title=Transfer of Brixham Town Hall to Brixham Town Council |url=https://www.torbay.gov.uk/DemocraticServices/mgIssueHistoryHome.aspx?IId=5097&PlanId=138&RPID=0 |website=Torbay Council | date=November 2011 |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref>

Brixham is part of the UK parliamentary constituency of [[Totnes (UK Parliament constituency)|South Devon]], whose MP has been [[Caroline Voaden]] since 2024.