Liquidators step in as Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust ceases trading

Liquidators brought in to handle the collapse of the trust that looks after some of Torbay’s most treasured landmarks say they are doing all they can to protect its assets.

Two specialist insolvency practitioners have been brought in by PKF Francis Clark following news last month that the Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust (TCCT) had ceased trading.

Its subsidiary company Torbay Coast and Countryside Enterprises has also stopped trading, and all the employees of the trust have been made redundant.

The trust runs Occombe Farm and manages Cockington Country Park, Berry Head and many of the bay’s other well-known natural attractions. Known as the ‘green guardian’ of Torbay, the trust is an independent conservation charity with responsibility for more than 1,700 acres of green space.

The cost of managing those areas is huge. According to the Charity Commission, the trust spent £3.63million in the year up to March 2024, the last year for which figures are available.

This week auctioneers have sold off the entire contents of Occombe Farm, from knives, forks, cups and saucers to the much-loved Fordson tractor which stood outside the front door.

The trust is now in creditors’ voluntary liquidation, which is a process in which directors voluntarily choose to close an insolvent business.

In a statement published on its website, PKF Francis Clark says it is working with the trustees and directors, who are still legally in control of the trust.

The statement goes on: “We are also in touch with Torbay Council about the future of the sites managed by TCCT, including Berry Head National Nature Reserve, Occombe Farm and Cockington Country Park. 

“Both PKF Francis Clark and the trustees are very aware of the sensitive nature of the TCCT properties and activities, and the legitimate public interest in them.

“We have been and are still doing what we can to facilitate the transfer of the TCCT properties as quickly as we can to minimise discontinuity and uncertainty.”

Trust members have had their memberships paused, and will be able to submit claims to the liquidators for any unused periods of membership.