Cllr. David Thomas: New year will provide exciting opportunities for us to grasp

2024 will be the year of progress.
Happy new year to you all! I hope you saw in the new year how you would have liked.
As we start a fresh year, this is always a time where we set ourselves goals and challenges - and look at what can be achieved over the next 12 months.
At the end of last year I reflected about the progress that had been made in 2023, which as a council was huge. For 2024 the challenge for the whole of the council is to keep this momentum of progress moving forward.
So what will we be working towards over the next 12 months? What would we like to achieve? Again, I’m not going to be able to cover it all here, I need more words! But I hope to give you a flavour of what we would like to achieve.
We have been given a once in a generation opportunity with securing £105 million of additional government funding. This is to be spent on improving the Bay over the next 10 years. We now need to ensure our plans are achievable with the funding we have been given and deliver what is needed for you.
One project that started at the end of last year and will be completed this year is the work happening around the Strand area of Torquay. There are five phases to this work, with the second phase starting now. This project will be completed in the autumn of this year. The work taking place will see improvements made to the area around the harbour, including increasing the area for pedestrians to use. The changes will mean that you will be able to walk up to and sit under the Clocktower.
This is where the commissioned Agatha Christie bench will be placed when it is complete.
I hope you make time to pop down and see the changes happen. The businesses around this work are still open and I am sure they will appreciate your support while these improvements are being made.
The other project in this area of Torquay will also be started this year. This is the work on the old Debenhams site. We have now selected a preferred bidder, Wring Group, and the plan is for the demolition to start in the spring.
We will also be announcing soon which projects our regeneration partner will be working on with us. If you remember, in November last year we announced we will be working with Milligan and Wilmott Dixon who will be bringing their expertise and investment to the Bay to help us deliver more projects to improve our place.
Another significant shift that will be happening at the beginning of this year is around devolution and the deal between Torbay, Devon and the Government. This has been years in the planning, and it will be a real positive step forward.
Our deal is currently with the Government for final comments, but we hope this will be signed off this month.
If you haven’t heard of the proposed devolution deal before, this will transfer powers and money from the Government to Devon and Torbay councils. This will enable us to make decisions locally by those who know their areas best. This will be on things that matter to local people, such as building more affordable homes, improving public transport and investing in new jobs and skills.
Finally, I just wanted to touch on our Residents Discount Scheme that was part of our election manifesto. More information on what will be included in this scheme and how you can sign up will be available later this year. Lots of work is happening behind the scenes to get this ready and as soon as we can, we will share with you how you can sign up and what will be included.
As you can see, 2024 is already shaping up to be a year of progress, moving the Bay forward, which I hope you will see focussed on improving our place for you.