Sally Allen: And the new chair of the Civic Society is...

Did you know the first Civic Society was set up in the 1940s?

Across the country there are hundreds of Civic Societies; all of which are fiercely independent organisations aiming to work with local people and authorities to better the places we live, shop and work in. They champion the history and heritage of the places they represent, while working to improve life there. Some maintain local archives and most have a blue plaque scheme to honour notable locals and their achievements through history. They give a voice to the people and work with the local authorities. This is the Civic Movement.

The role of the Society is to stimulate public interest in the town, promote high standards of planning and architecture and to secure the preservation, protection, development and improvement of features of historic, environmental or public interest in this area. Importantly the Civic Society is non-political, non-sectarian and non-profit-making.

Sheila Hardaway, who died in 2020, will long be remembered for her work and passion as a local resident willing to stand up for the survival of Torquay’s built heritage, especially her beloved Wellswood area, which eventually led to the formation of the Torbay Civic Society. 

In the early 1970s Sheila established The Friends of the Pavilion, whilst also being part of the steering committee of the Meadfoot-Wellswood and Area Resident’s Association which she chaired when it was formally established in 1972. She was a formidable adversary of the Council due to her support of many historic properties in and around her immediate area including the Pavilion.

Then by joining forces with the Livermead and Cockington Resident’s Association, Sheila and the Friends of the Pavilion group and others formed a ‘watchdog committee’ to monitor all future building developments within these areas. This new grouping of the various amenity associations eventually ensured that Sheila set up an all-encompassing group in 1976 which she called the Torbay Civic Society (TCS), which in 1977 was officially turned into a Registered Charity.

The main mission of the TCS is to promote public interest in Civic Design in Torbay by stimulating public consciousness and appreciation of the beauty, history and character of Torbay and its surroundings.  To also encourage the preservation, development and improvement of features which enhance the attractiveness of the three towns of Torbay.

Now after 24 years of taking over the reins from Sheila, and a lot of very hard work, Ian Handford has decided to step down as chair of TCS. Obviously, he is a hard act to follow with his energy, deep knowledge and undying enthusiasm for promoting Civic pride in Torbay.

So it was with some surprise, and much trepidation, that during an extraordinary general meeting of members on Friday 25th July, I was unanimously voted in as the new chair. 

I am delighted to say that Ian will stay on as President, as he does have rather large shoes to fill, and mine are only a size 3! He is also an unlimited resource of information and knowledge.

I am also extremely pleased that the Executive Committee of Pat Handford, Margaret English, Jo Tucker and Vince Green, will continue with their invaluable support and knowledge, so that the changeover should be as seamless as possible. 

Those of you who know me well, will know that my husband is not in the best of health and needs to be my first priority in everything I do, which is why I have been extremely lucky that Katya Maddison and David Redman have very kindly agreed to join me to enable us to do the best job possible for the Society. So, on taking over as chair of the Civic Society, I am delighted to say that the TCS have got three for the price of one.

Our aim going forward is to grow the membership numbers across all age groups, and hopefully those of you reading this, can help us do that by encouraging friends and family to join up.

We hope to build on the authority the Civic Society already has, to present a strong voice on good design with regard to building and town planning, and to raise the level of aspiration in those who make decisions which affect our Bay.

We intend to build on the very secure and impressive strong financial position that Ian has created and maintained for the Society by looking at developing new streams of income to ensure its future.

To encourage new members to join, we intend to develop events and bring in expert speakers from lots of different, but relevant, walks of life.

When David, Katya and myself first introduced ourselves to the TCS, David mentioned introducing horticulture as an area of interest to bring under the Civic Society umbrella - and the membership embraced that idea, so we will be developing that. David is already forging important relationships with organisations like the National Garden Scheme, whose patron is HRH King Charles and president is Alan Titchmarsh.

We will also reach out to other organisations in the Bay interested in heritage, culture, gardens, design, social and economic improvement to enable us to speak with a stronger and unified voice.

As soon as we can, we plan to develop a vibrant social media presence, business relationships and those within the Council.

We believe it is important for us to develop relationships with schools to educate and encourage young people’s interest in our Bay’s heritage, and in turn grow membership from younger generations. As with most organisations like this, the membership tends to be ‘vintage’ and so it is important to harvest new ideas and enthusiasms.

The aim is to have satisfaction and pride when you support the Civic Society and so we need everyone to be involved. We welcome and need thoughts, ideas and feedback from the public and, no doubt from time to time, a few volunteers.

If you love Torbay as I do, then I am sure you will want to be part of its safeguarding and development now and in the future. Please get in contact if you would like to join us and be a little MAD and Make A Difference!