Dave Thomas: Torbay's once in a generation opportunity

They say that buses, like many things in life, tend to ‘come in threes’.

The saying reflects the common experience of waiting for a bus that takes forever to arrive, only to have two or three show up in a cluster. It’s a classic example of Murphy's Law and can feel like a funny or frustrating truth for public transport users everywhere.

Well, it certainly feels like that at the council this week. However I am now able to share at least two big items of news.

Let me start with the Pavilion lease being returned to the council – this is something that I had negotiated with the leaseholder back in December of last year. It was agreed that the deal would complete on the last day of September. However, like many property transactions there can often be a ‘hiccup’ at the final hurdle. This has certainly been the case and I did feel the disappointment across the whole of the bay when I had to announce we were still working to get the document signed.

Great news. The leaseholder has now paid a fee for the early return of the lease of the Pavilion and the council will allocate those funds, together with other monies from the Town Deal fund, towards essential repairs to prevent further decay.

Although there isn’t yet a complete budget for the entire restoration, these initial funds provide a solid foundation for the work to begin. The council also plans to collaborate with organisations like English Heritage as we aim to preserve and ultimately restore the Pavilion as a community and historical asset.

Staying with the good news, I’m delighted to provide an update on our one-year anniversary of working with Willmott Dixon and Milligan - our innovative and forward-thinking partnership.

Over the past 12-months, our public and private sector partnership has made significant strides forward in reviewing, developing and evaluating the viability of bay-wide transformational schemes that will revolutionise how Torbay’s town centres work in the future.

Union Square

One of the most exciting projects in the portfolio is the redevelopment of Union Square Shopping Centre in Torquay. From today, people will see for the first time the preferred design option that will be taken forward for full planning consent, anticipated to be in the first half of 2025. The design captures the needs and aspirations of local people by creating a town centre hub that is fit for the future, provides much needed affordable housing for sale and rent and diversifies the local economy. Redevelopment of Union Square will see the existing multi-storey car park retained using £11 million of Town Deal funding.

The Strand, Torquay’s Harbourside

At Torquay’s harbourside, work is ongoing to bring forward a revised scheme at the Strand. Design options are being worked through that will see a mixed-used scheme stretch from 7-14 the Strand with links to The Terrace from the harbourside, complementing and enhancing the wider public realm works.

Victoria Shopping Centre
In Paignton town centre, the redevelopment of Victoria Shopping Centre and the adjoining multi-storey car park is about to enter the enabling phase. Demolition work gets underway in early 2025 to make way for a scheme that will ultimately provide housing, rejuvenate the area and attract businesses back into the town.

Across Torbay, we’ve been talking with a range of stakeholders. Feedback has been listened to and captured to help develop a framework of opportunities and priorities that reflect the true aspirations and needs of Torbay and the local economy.

The Torbay Place Leadership board, chaired by Jim Parker, has been instrumental in promoting investment opportunities in the bay through the Torbay Story programme.

The power of the Torbay Story was the driving force behind securing the regeneration partnership at UKREiiF (UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum) in 2023 and we were back at UKREiiF for a second time in May 2024 with a focus on attracting investors and developers.

Positive conversations with investors are moving forward and are hoped to be concluded over the coming months, marking yet another significant milestone in Torbay’s ambitious regeneration programme.

Our work over the last 18 months has shown that Torbay is a great place to invest, live, visit and have fun in.

Bringing in the experience of Willmott Dixon and Milligan has enabled us to move forward with our ambitious plans for key sites.

The work carried out since we went into partnership one-year ago has put us in a strong position to deliver schemes that will deliver a multitude of benefits to anyone that lives in or visits Torbay.

This really is a once in a generation opportunity for Torbay. We hope the community shares our enthusiasm and excitement for the changes on the not-too-distant horizon.