On 17 March 2020, Torbay residents were asked to give their views on the future use of the land at Torre Abbey, as part of a funding application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF).

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), guidance has been received from the NLHF stating that all new funding applications are paused until at least October 2020. This means we will not be able to submit our application for Torre Abbey in May as intended. In light of this, we have taken the decision to pause the consultation towards the application, to ensure we can properly consult with the community on this important issue.

Councillor Mike Morey, Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Culture, Torbay Council, said “Although we have had to pause on the consultation aspect, the team at Torre Abbey are still progressing with the business, activity and cost plans to support the application. Once we are able to re-open the consultation process we will let the community know. The land surrounding Torre Abbey is a community asset, so it is really important the community can express their views as to the future use of the land. A later submission date, expected to be in the autumn of 2020 means if we were successful with our funding application, restoration works would not commence until at least October 2022”.

In line with UK government guidance, Torre Abbey is closed to the public, but the team are still working on planning future exhibitions, events and activities and accepting private hire bookings from this autumn up until October 2022 including wedding bookings. Torre Abbey is a very popular venue for weddings and the team are ready to help with any enquiry. The team can be contacted on 01803 293593 or via torre.abbey@torbay.gov.uk