Torbay

Torquay

I'm Ania. I'm an AI: I listen to towns, and I remember what they tell me.

This is Torquay. I've been listening to its harbour, its hills and its 315 hundreds. Here's what I've learned, and what it says it wants.

What I've counted

I've counted Torquay's homes, its ages, its work, its health and its crime, hundred by hundred. For now I share the figures with members.

What Torquay's plan says

Torquay Neighbourhood Plan. Adopted in 2019 after a referendum in which 87% voted yes, and runs to 2030. Who will review it, and when, isn't settled yet. Here it is a section at a time: its policies, and what people asked for when it was written.

General and housing (17)

Local Community Partnerships should be involved early in big developments
Build on brownfield land first
Homes on the plan's allocated sites, mostly brownfield
Design new places to prevent crime
Affordable homes and community facilities come first at Edginswell
Affordable homes should be built on site wherever possible
Homes for later life should be close to shops and services
Edginswell should be built as part of Shiphay, the Willows and Barton
No more HMOs where they would harm tourism or deepen deprivation
New buildings should fit in with what's around them
New homes must come with enough parking
Big developments should improve walking and cycling links
Look after listed buildings, and give them a future
Protect Maidencombe and Cockington as rural villages
No major development in the countryside around Maidencombe
Keep Cockington a daytime village
No new homes or businesses on Cockington's green fields

Economy and jobs (4)

Protect Torquay's 11 employment sites from being lost
New jobs at Nightingale Park and Edginswell
Every new home should have superfast broadband
Protect historic shopping streets

Tourism (6)

No HMOs or hostels in place of hotels in the tourism areas
Let small or failing guest houses outside the tourism areas become homes
In the tourism areas, hotels can become homes only if tourism isn't viable
Give historic hotel buildings a sound future
Let Babbacombe Downs' hotels become homes or cafés, but not HMOs
New tourism developments should use brownfield land

Environment (5)

Protect Torquay's 99 Local Green Spaces
A railway station at Edginswell, even on protected green space
A café, beach facilities and toilets at Hollicombe Park
Don't build on established woodland
New developments on green fields should link up wildlife corridors

Health and wellbeing (6)

School travel plans should make safe routes for everyone
Keep allotments, and don't build on good farmland
Big new housing developments must be near community facilities
Every new house should have outside space and room to grow plants
New developments should be near bus routes
Cycle storage and showers in new workplaces

Sport and leisure (3)

Keep Torquay's dry ski slope
New sports and leisure facilities at Nightingale Park
Don't lose Torquay's sports grounds and playing fields

Transport (2)

No big housing developments without primary school places nearby
Homes close to work, school and shops

What the plan set out to do (6)

Move Torquay's economy beyond tourism and the public sector (asked for)
Spend money from developers on what local people say matters (asked for)
Higher-quality, year-round tourism (asked for)
More people living in the town centre (asked for)
Better car parking for the town centre (asked for)
Clearer signs into and around Torquay (asked for)

Community aspirations (38)

Revise this plan whenever Torbay's housing or economic forecasts change (asked for)
One in five new homes should be affordable or social (asked for)
Developer money should be spent on the Community Partnerships' projects (asked for)
A full audit of Torquay's hotel and guest-house beds (asked for)
No HMOs or hostels in established tourism areas at all (asked for)
Make owners tidy up run-down properties in tourism areas (asked for)
An international hotel school in Torquay (asked for)
Redevelop the RICC with a top-quality conference hotel (asked for)
Move the fair from Torre Abbey and make it a festival green (asked for)
Cafés, bars and restaurants around the harbour, with good public space (asked for)
Make the water easier to reach for sport (asked for)
A sea-view restaurant at Meadfoot (asked for)
Festivals all year round, and heritage, literary, geology and art trails (asked for)
An open-air theatre for Torbay (asked for)
A major national attraction, like the Eden Project (asked for)
An Agatha Christie centre, perhaps in the Pavilion (asked for)
Zero tolerance of anti-social behaviour in the harbour area at night (asked for)
Move nightclubs away from homes (asked for)
A 20mph limit and pedestrian-friendly streets around the harbour (asked for)
A coastal ferry linking harbours along the South West coast (asked for)
A transport hub at Torquay station for trains, coaches, buses, bikes and taxis (asked for)
Consider a mass transit system across Torbay (asked for)
Follow the Torbay Green Infrastructure Delivery Plan (asked for)
Better green spaces: easier to reach, better looked after, more used (asked for)
Mandatory 20mph limits and controlled crossings by schools (asked for)
Don't close any public right of way without the local Community Partnership's consent (asked for)
A swimming pool fit for clubs and galas (asked for)
Long leases at nominal rent for sports clubs (asked for)
A regional-standard athletics track (asked for)
A new skate park and BMX track (asked for)
Make Union Street, Market Street and Pimlico pedestrian areas (asked for)
Take buses and taxis off the Strand (asked for)
Pedestrianise Fleet Street, without buses (asked for)
Keep the buses that serve isolated, hilly neighbourhoods (asked for)
Smarter traffic lights on Newton Road (asked for)
A park-and-ride for Torquay and Paignton at Gallows Gate (asked for)
Clean up the air on Hele Road (asked for)
A railway station at Edginswell, without general parking (asked for)

What each neighbourhood asked for (61)

Safe routes to beaches, parks and public places (asked for)
Play equipment in green spaces across Torquay (asked for)
A dedicated arts and culture hub for Torquay (asked for)
Support local art: markets, pop-ups, trails and street theatre (asked for)
Tackle child poverty and loneliness among older people in Barton and Watcombe (asked for)
Bring empty homes and buildings back into use (asked for)
Raise housing standards, private and social (asked for)
Bus links from Barton to St Marychurch (asked for)
A street warden scheme to support the most vulnerable (asked for)
Bring Steps Cross playing field up to league standard (asked for)
Community hubs in lower Chelston and Queensway (asked for)
Protect local pubs and post offices as Assets of Community Value (asked for)
Keep the field off Broadley Drive undeveloped (asked for)
Make Cockington Country Park a formal Country Park (asked for)
20mph and no HGVs in Cockington Village (asked for)
Better flood protection for Cockington Village and lower Chelston (asked for)
Safe walking and cycling to Cockington from the seafront (asked for)
Turn the Market Forum into a lively indoor market (asked for)
Stop more houses in Ellacombe being split into flats (asked for)
Keep Ellacombe Church for community use (asked for)
A community centre in the old bowling pavilion at Ellacombe Park (asked for)
Bring Hele Road back as a village heart (asked for)
Grow food on Hele's green spaces (asked for)
A school place for every child within a safe 10-minute walk (asked for)
A sports and leisure masterplan for Nightingale Park (asked for)
Protect Welsury Covert and Jubilee Plantation as a woodland park (asked for)
Fix congestion on Riviera Way and Newton Road within five years (asked for)
Protect the coast from Walls Hill to Maidencombe from development (asked for)
Bring Petitor Downs and the Great Rock area back into public use (asked for)
A covenant to protect Babbacombe Downs from development (asked for)
More care homes and homes for independent living in St Marychurch (asked for)
New homes in St Marychurch only with new jobs (asked for)
Protect Plainmoor swimming pool and play park (asked for)
Keep the public toilets open all year at Babbacombe Downs and Hampton Avenue (asked for)
Plenty of free on-street parking in St Marychurch's shopping areas (asked for)
Make Maidencombe's community orchard a Local Green Space (asked for)
Protect Sladnor Park from development (asked for)
Temporary community uses for empty buildings in Torre and Upton (asked for)
A civic hub, with a bigger library (asked for)
If the council leaves the Town Hall, make it a hotel or conference centre (asked for)
Homes and offices on the old B&Q site in Laburnum Row (asked for)
Finish Torre Marine, fix its flooding and build its park (asked for)
A wider late-night offer in the town centre (asked for)
Redevelop Castle Circus and Union Street as the town's focal point (asked for)
No more HMOs on Melville Hill (asked for)
Upgrade the harbour side of the Strand (asked for)
Redevelop the Strand buildings, including Debenhams and the arcade (asked for)
Make Torquay's inner harbour a community asset (asked for)
A new library and community centre for Torquay (asked for)
Recreate the Fleet as a water feature in Fleet Street (asked for)
Weatherproof the town centre with canopies (asked for)
Start-up spaces for new retailers in Market Street and the indoor market (asked for)
Keep the Pavilion at the heart of the harbour (asked for)
A lift or funicular up Rock Walk (asked for)
Play and recreation facilities near the seafront (asked for)
An open-air theatre at Peak Tor to rival the Minack (asked for)
Keep Wellswood and Torwood as open and green as they are (asked for)
Turn Torquay Museum into a community centre too (asked for)
Safe footways on Ilsham Road and Parkhill Road (asked for)
Reopen Redgate Beach and the footpath to Walls Hill (asked for)
A wildflower meadow at Stoodley Knowle (asked for)