Jim Parker: Time to show Peter G and his kind that we are in a good place and together for the future

Technology, who could do without it? In virtually every walk of life it appears to be taking over the world, mine especially where communications and the media are ever-changing and developing by the day.
But there are some dangers and risks when you open up the wonders of the world-wide web to all and sundry.
Take Tripadvisor, the online platform which allows people to post their reviews and views of hotels, B&B and other holiday accommodation providers and settings. Evidently, it operates in 40 countries with 20 languages, and features approximately one billion reviews and opinions on roughly eight million establishments.
Yet it was one, yep just one comment, that caught my eye the other day which prompted a headline and story that could do potentially lots of damage to the English Riviera.
'Rough' Devon seaside town slammed as UK's worst in savage review' was the headline and it went nationwide.
It was based on a Tripadvisor comment from one Peter G (that is all you get with the ID) who laid into Torquay with an online rant.
The unhappy visitor said the English Riviera 'Makes Blackpool look like heaven', adding: 'Wow! What a dump. And people think Blackpool's bad. Torquay is a dirty, rough, horrible nasty dump full of drug addicts and empty buildings. Undoubtedly the worst seaside town in England. Even the harbour was grotty”.
Thanks for that Peter G. Your timing and that of the headline is impeccable, just as the main holiday season begins with the schools broken up.
Gladly it wasn't all bad news - somewhat strangely, the rest of the article focussed entirely on what a great place Torquay is - with the verdict 'undeniably a tourist hotspot, and with an impressive overall rating on Tripadvisor of 4.5 out of five stars with 685 reviews'. Rather confusing but that's what you get with technology and a website world where some can say pretty much what they want without saying who they are.
The article got me thinking on where Torquay and Torbay generally is at the moment and I honestly believe that it is in a good place, albeit with lots yet to do. Torquay and Paignton still have more than £40 million of government funding to breathe new life into our town centres. Yep, the money has taken an age to spend and regeneration projects a lifetime to deliver and pressure is mounting to see that money spent. Covid, Brexit, the war in Ukraine, cost of living and rising costs all got in the way. But priorities are a lot clearer now. The offer in our towns has to change with less emphasis on retail and more on residential and leisure. Highly-paid and up-skilled jobs especially in our hi-tech sector, better links with health and education, retaining home-draw and attracting new talent, making tourism all year round and a healthier and happier life for all is up there at the top of the wish list along with a couple of 'Big Ticket' ideas which will transform the Bay.
The private sector is there with us. The Fragrance Group with its £140 million worth of new hotels in the Bay and some big names in the world of regeneration showing more than a passing interest in those redevelopment opportunities are proof of that. So, too, are government. Torbay has been selected as only one of 20 local authorities in the UK as a Levelling Up partner. That means we will be getting extra help and attention from Westminster and Whitehall with delivering those game-changing regeneration projects. You never know, we may ge a few extra bob as well.
I fully appreciate we have some way to go and 'elephants in the room' such as the Castle Circus area and other anti-social behaviour hotspots and issues have to be resolved once and for all.
I was fortunate enough and honoured to chair a recent meeting of the Torbay Leadership Board which met with a government official leading the Levelling Up partnership. I can't give too much away but all will become clear in the coming weeks and months. And I am sure our government adviser won't mind me saying that she buys 100 per cent into Torbay, our Torbay Story and what we want to achieve.
So, there you are Peter G. Now is the Time to drive forward together and not let people like you blow us off course. Whoever you are!