Paignton gets its £13 million shot in arm
Our Page One predicting the funding - Credit: Archant
Business and community leaders have welcomed news that Paignton is to be given a £13 million shot in the arm.
Confirmation that Torbay Council has received £13.36 million in Future High Streets Funding came on Boxing Day – as exclusively predicted by the Torbay Weekly.
Plans to rejuvenate the heart of the town centre include Station Square and regeneration opportunities at Crossways and Victoria Centre.
The council, which initially bid for £14 million with a final application amount of £19.2 million, and its partners have welcomed the funding, which will stimulate matched investment into Paignton town by other private and public investors, totalling in excess of £100 million.
Council leader Steve Darling said: “This is a timely and much-needed boost for Paignton. Our towns and our town centres continue to feel the impact of COVID-19 and we are starting to see its full economic impact. The Future High Streets Funding is vital for Paignton Town Centre as it provides us with the resources to accelerate the regeneration of these key sites. This will support the recovery and repositioning of the town centre improving the long-term sustainability of businesses in Paignton. We know that over 75 per cent of businesses in Paignton town centre are independently owned. They employ local people and provide valued local services. Their success is vital to people and families in Torbay.”
Research shows that every £1 of Future High Streets Funding would secure £7 of further investment. The Council has also shown that, as a result of Future High Streets funding, land values in Paignton town centre would increase by almost £50 million, just under 80 permanent jobs will be created and over 400 homes would be provided.
Other projects that will benefit from the funding are the Paignton Flood Defence Scheme and bringing Paignton Picture House back into use.
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Louise Gilson, Chair of Paignton Town Centre and Preston Community Partnership, said: “We very much welcome this funding to support the ambitions of community and business partnerships in Paignton.”
It is anticipated that work on the first project will begin in the autumn of 202
