Sally Allen: How have Fragrance Group wriggled out of Palace Hotel plans?

Shocked, disappointed and very angry! I frankly cannot believe that the Fragrance Group is reneging on its plans to build the proposed five-star Palace Hotel in Torquay.

This is a dramatic turn of events for the Bay. It needs to bring into focus the tactics on both sides of this so-called agreement.

How this has been allowed to happen is beyond comprehension and I am not alone in my fury as social media is currently ablaze with the local community as angry as I am about this proposed outcome.

This is a very serious issue with massive repercussions for the Bay.

I thought that the planning permission for 30 houses on the former tennis courts land was only granted on the basis of a much-needed, five-star hotel being erected to replace the faded, but much loved, Palace Hotel.

So, how have the Fragrance Group been allowed to Houdini itself out of the plans to build another 67 houses instead of the hotel?

This is Torbay’s prime site and therefore hugely valuable and should never ever be turned into affordable housing when a five-star hotel could offer numerous jobs and a massive influx of tourists with money, who will only be attracted by a five-star facility, to spend in the town.

This makes no sense whatsoever at any level.

Even worse, according to our MP, Kevin Foster, this has supposedly been agreed by our council in 'secret' meetings over the last few months. If so, when, why and how was this agreed?

We need a totally full and transparent response from the council. The council is not a secret society and after all, we do pay their salaries – much to my chagrin as I don’t believe that we get value for money in any case.

In short, they should be and are answerable to us – but they never answer! The council must be forced to give the public a chapter and verse explanation.

If not, they are not fit for purpose.

Initially, this initiative was shouted from the rooftops as being the most important investment Torquay had received and a marker for future investment.

The Bay will not attract big money into the tourist industry if the first company in over 100 years to build a quality, five-star hotel has decided that it is a better investment to go with the alternative of a much cheaper option, which is a more lucrative and quick profit return for them.

Even with a D-minus in business studies, this gives the strong impression that, best case scenario the council are shockingly naive and worst case they haven’t a clue what they are doing.

There needs to be a thorough investigation going back to the initial agreement.

This is a massive cock-up on a monumental level. I have to ask, was this already planned at the outset? Was it agreed that the contract could be 'adjusted' going forward?

Of course, this change of direction does mean that the Fragrance Group has ended up with a very cheap building plot! What are we to think when all that is currently public is a press release just saying that the hotel has been axed?

This takes me to yet another ridiculous cock-up, The Pavilion. How on earth did MDL manage to have a lease agreement that wasn’t a fully repairing one? I haven’t even heard of that option before.

It is, therefore, little wonder that the Pavilion is now in chronic disrepair.

So, who was culpable for this?

We really do deserve better and frankly with the local elections coming up, let’s hope that a few more commercial brains will be standing. In local government, I strongly believe that it should never be political parties that are voted for, only the individual standing as there is no place for local politics at ground level.

It should be the community first not a political party. Please remember this when you cast your vote and go for quality and experience rather than the colour of their rosette.