Dave Thomas: Big things coming for Brixham

Earlier this month a number of our councillors and officers met with members from Brixham Town Council and Brixham Chamber of Commerce. 

The reason for the visit was to share the emerging design proposals that we have been working on with our Regeneration Partners – Wilmott Dixon and Milligan – to improve Brixham for everyone who uses the town, whether that be for business or pleasure.

The two large projects include the expansion of the commercial port on Oxen Cove and the options to significantly increase the current capacity of central car park.  

The first project that was shared at the meeting was the Brixham Port Infrastructure Project. This is looking at providing 2,550sqm of new space for the fishing industry. 

The expansion of the port would create around 40 new fishing related jobs and will be funded by £9.791 million of government funding which has already been secured.

At the moment, the timeline looks like the planning application will be submitted in October this year, with the hope of starting on site a year later in the Autumn of 2026. The plan is for the project to be completed in the Spring of 2027. 

Three options were shared with those that attended the meeting. All of the options looked at making the most of the usable space and how the buildings would fit into the surrounding area. 

The second project that we shared was about improving Brixham Town Centre car park. 

As some of you will know, the original multi-storey car park was constructed in the early 1960s and it suffered a lot of deterioration because of the marine weathering it received. This led to significant corrosion of the steel frame and despite several phases of structural repair, it was demolished in 2005. 

Again, three options were shared with those that attended the meeting. The options ranged from providing around 320 spaces to just over 510 spaces. Currently the car park has 163 spaces, so even the first option would double what is already there. 

The options also looked at including toilets, a Tourist Information space and how the car park can be better linked to Middle Street and Fore Street. The plans also show how the area can be made more welcoming for those visiting Brixham and for those of us who like to visit the town. 

The plan at the moment is for the planning application for this site is to be submitted in February next year, with starting on site in the Spring of 2027. It will take a year to complete the project. 

I am glad to say that the proposals were warmly received by all those that were there. It was agreed to meet again in early September this year to look at the further development of the designs. 

The council will then work up a preferred option for each site and this is when you will be able to have your say on the plans and the designs. Once the proposals are ready to share I will let you know here. 

Can I take this opportunity to say a thank you to those of you who have already taken the time to complete the Local Government Reorganisation survey we put out at the beginning of the month. It is great to see that 500 of you have already logged on and answered the questions. 

This consultation is still open and will be for a further four weeks, closing date is Sunday August 10. You can find the survey online by looking at our dedicated webpages at www.torbay.gov.uk/lgr. If you prefer to read through a paper copy and complete a paper survey, you can find copies at all four of the libraries across the Bay.