Regenerating the Bay

28/02/2024 by Carl Reynolds

I read a report the other day in the online Devon Live (a subsidiary of the Daily Mail Reach group) and was surprised to see that the local council still think that regeneration is about buildings; and not attracting people to come and live in the Bay and use their presence to improve neighbourhood living and life in the bay.

As any social scientist will tell you; attract the artists, then the liberal middle class will follow and then the urban tractor driving classes. Just take a look at Margate and Folkestone… two similarly run down towns. And before you know it you have artisan coffee shops, decent restaurants, more cultural events, refurbished housing, refurbished shops, pop ups and so on. But no. Perhaps scared of the electoral implications…the above is a death wish for conservatives, instead it’s about town centre regeneration. Pouring local taxpayers money into schemes that no one will use or are delusionally aspirational.

The particular article was about the old Pavillion. Until recently in private ownership, Torbay Council will be putting initial funding of around £2 million, into what was estimated in 2021, of its £10 million refurbishment. Asked what the venue would be used for, the Council Leader, Dave Thomas (Con) said that hadn’t been worked out yet.

So.. how much did Torbay Council pay MDL Ltd for taking back the lease (which ran to 2084)?

Why hasn’t Torbay Council got a scooby about what the building will be used for?

And does it really think that the cost of taking back the lease and £10 million plus of local taxpayers money is good value for an asset that has clearly been commercially unviable for 10 plus years?