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SWISCo to the rescue after financial collapse of Torbay's green guardians?
Desire to see Occombe Farm 'thriving again' and not replaced by homes
Occombe Farm
Reporter:
Guy Henderson LDRS and Jim Parker
29 Oct 2025 9:28 AM
Email:
jim.parker@clearskypublishing.co.uk
It looks like SWISCo to the rescue and an eventual plan to breathe new life into Occombe Farm in the wake of the shock collapse of the green 'guardians' looking after some the Bay's most cherished and precious green spaces
It looks like SWISCo to the rescue and an eventual plan to breathe new life into Occombe Farm in the wake of the shock collapse of the green 'guardians' looking after some the Bay's most cherished and precious green spaces.
Trustees decided to put the Torbay Coast and Countryside into liquidation after mounting financial pressures.
It meant the closure of the Trust as a business, putting a question mark over jobs, the future of huge chunks of land it manages for Torbay Council and its Occombe Farm attraction at Preston, on the Torbay Ring Road.
Talks are being held between Torbay Council and the liquidators over the future of the countryside ‘crown jewels’ including including Berry Head, Cockington Country Park, Elberry Cove and more than 40 miles of coast paths and bridleways as well as Occombe.
Around 70 staff will be affected by the decision. The Trust decided the financial pressures on the organisation had become too much to handle.
Council leader Dave Thomas said talks with the liquidator would begin almost immediately.
“We’ll be able to understand how we can move forward from there,” he said.
The Trust has managed 27 separate woodlands, parks and open spaces for the council since being set up more than 25 years ago and is paid an annual fee.
The council owns the freehold to almost all of the land. Cllr Thomas said it would not be a straightforward matter of it all being handed straight back to the local authority,
It is believed, however, that one option on the table may be to hand over the land management to SWISCo who currently provide an array of public services for the council ranging from waste collection and disposal to the maintenance of the Bay's parks and beaches.
Cllr Thomas said: "The liquidator will decide which direction they’re going to move. Clearly one of the options, in my view the simplest option, is to talk to the council about having the land back, and hopefully that’s the way it will be. “But the liquidator may decide to look for another organisation to lease the land off the council. There needs to be a conversation about how that works and how that stacks up for the residents of Torbay. There’s a lot to play out over the coming days.”
Within hours of the news breaking about the Trust's liquidation came speculation that houses could end up being built on some land as the council struggles to meet government new homes targets.
Cllr Thomas said: "We have a housing commitment – of course we do – but most of the land is not even on any of our radars with the local plan.
“I saw a Facebook post that said the only reason Occombe was closing was because the council was going to build houses on that site. The reality is that there are two fields further down the road that already have planning permission for 51 units on either side of the road. That definitely is a case of two and two coming together and making 57."
He said Occombe, its farm, café and play areas was an asset. "It is a building that’s had about £1.8 million in improvements and a group of people who use it regularly. There is an asset there that needs to be used and will be used. It is not just going to be demolished to build houses. Why would you?” he asked.
He was adamant: "We want to see Occombe alive and thriving again."
It is believed there have been conversations between the council and Trust several times in the past about funding and there was the offer of more money from the council to help it over its latest financial hurdle. There could, however, be no guarantees that the Trust would not have to come back asking for more so liquidation was the only option for trustees
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