‘You’re selling off Torbay’s family silver!’: Councillors clash over sale of three council buildings
The opposition says the council is selling off its assets, while the leader says the money could help unlock more than £3 million to bring the Torre Abbey chapel back
Feuding Torbay councillors have fallen out over the ‘family silver’.
Opposition members accused the Conservative administration of desperation during a debate on the disposal of three council properties.
One of them is a lodge building at the entrance to Torre Abbey, and opposition leader Cllr Swithin Long (Lib Dem, Barton with Watcombe) said: “You’re selling off Torbay’s family silver!
“This is selling off Torbay’s assets in a desperate attempt to get enough funds to progress at least one of this administration’s regeneration projects.”
But he was told that the buildings were all a burden on the council, and the money raised could be used elsewhere.
Council leader David Thomas (Con, Preston) told him the sales would unlock funding for projects which would include a £3.5million repair project at the currently-closed chapel at Torre Abbey.
And Cllr Alan Tyerman (Con, Churston with Galmpton) told a cabinet meeting: “This has got to be the right thing to do.”
The three buildings to be sold are the Lodge at Torre Abbey, St Kilda Cottage in Brixham and Halswell House in Paignton. All have fallen into disrepair but could be renovated by a private buyer.
Cllr Chris Lewis (Con, Preston) said the sale was a ‘positive and practical’ way of dealing with empty properties that were costing the council money. Some of the money raised could go towards much-needed new housing in the bay.
“This is about turning unused assets into opportunities,” he added.
But Cllr Long said the sale flew in the face of the council’s own heritage strategy, which was adopted during the same meeting.
“Selling off bits of the Torre Abbey estate to fund Torre Abbey is not protecting our heritage,” he said.
Cllr Adam Billings (Con, Churston with Galmpton) said ‘family silver’ was normally a reference to an asset rather than a decaying and derelict building, while Cllr Thomas said the money raised could be crucial.
“We don’t have any money hiding down the back of the sofa,” he said. “But we do have a few buildings. They are not going to bring us millions, but the money raised could unlock more than £3million to bring the chapel back.
“We can’t save every old building but we can use our surplus assets on the heritage buildings that we are committed to saving.”
Earlier in the meeting the cabinet and opposition had argued over the heritage strategy, with Cllr Long saying the administration’s actions were at odds with it and Cllr Lewis insisting that the council was investing heavily in it.
Cllr Tyerman summed up: “Heritage would be best served by properties like this being bought by somebody who really wants to buy them, who will care for them, love them and make them their own – and bring them back to being a property that meets our heritage requirements.”
The cabinet voted unanimously to go ahead with the sell-off.