Dave Thomas: Ensuring the Bay is moving in the right direction

I mentioned in last week’s letter that as soon as we received the letter from the Government about our next steps with Local Government Reorganisation I would let you know.

Unfortunately, as of last Friday when I wrote this column, we are still waiting for the letter to arrive, so I have no new news to share with you. 

As soon as we do hear from the Government we will share this. One way to stay up to date with our news is to sign up to our One Torbay eNewsletter or follow us on social media as we will share there first what will be happening next.

While on the subject of LGR, back in February this year, I wrote to the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution requesting a meeting. This was to enable the Chief Executive and I to have a frank conversation regarding the Council’s position and fully understand the question of the numbers that have been flowing around. 

We have recently heard back and have been invited to meet in-person with Baroness Sharon Taylor, the Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.in the first week of June. 

At this meeting we will be reminding the Under Secretary that even though we are a small unitary authority we are mighty and have achieved a lot, while continuing to deliver good services. 

As a reminder, we have been a unitary authority since 1998 and are the second largest conurbation in Devon with a population of 139,300. Annually, we have 3.8 million visitors, which increases our population significantly.

Our Children’s Services are rated by Ofsted as Good and our groundbreaking partnership with the NHS has been delivering joined up health and adult social care for almost 20 years. We operate Brixham Harbour which is the largest commercial fishing port in England, Wales and Northern Ireland when measured by value of catch landed.

Through careful financial management, we are in a secure financial position. In recent years, we have agreed our budgets with no significant changes to services. Not only that, but we have also been able to invest in our Children’s Services, adult social care and place-based services. 

Our Financial Sustainability Plans are helping to ensure that our high-cost budget items remain on track and that innovative solutions are explored and delivered. All to ensure that we provide the best outcomes within our financial envelope.

Ensuring we are making the most of our cultural heritage is also very important to us. And I wanted to share with you an update on the work that has been taking place around the Pavilion. 

If you remember, we regained full control of the Pavilion in October 2024 and over the last six months we've been assembling a team of heritage experts to restore this important local building.  

I am glad to say that the work we have already carried out has prevented further water ingress damage and that the building is drying out. 

We will soon be removing any modern fixings to external areas of the building and taking it back to its original façade. This includes wires, old festoon lighting and kitchen ventilation systems.  

Over the next year, work will be happening to fully understand the building. The outcome of this work will provide us with detailed information on what we need to do to fully restore and conserve the Pavilion for the long term.  

We will be keeping you updated during every step of the restoration project and have been producing regular videos, giving you an insight into the building and the work that is happening. So far, we have produced four videos for you to watch, including the introduction of 'Dudley' the Harris Hawk. You can find all of these videos on our YouTube page.

Over the summer we'll be sharing more information on social media and in our newsletters on how you can get involved in the restoration project.