The Government has announced Torquay will be one of 55 towns which will benefit from a £1.1 billion levelling up investment. Torquay is the only town in the South West to benefit from this funding.

Torquay will be given £20 million of endowment-style funds over 10 years to invest in local priorities. This includes regenerating local high streets, improve transport links or help the public feel safe when they visit the town centre. 

This funding is in addition to the existing £21.9m Government funding package for the Torquay Town Deal. It is also in addition to Torbay being one of 20 areas chosen to be part of the new Levelling Up Partnership, aimed at bringing the collective power of government to provide individual place-based regeneration as well as receiving a share of the £400m allocated nationally.

Welcoming the announcement, Councillor Chris Lewis, Deputy Leader of Torbay Council and Cabinet Member for Place Services and Economic Growth said: “The announcement this weekend is fantastic news for Torquay. It allows us and the local community to continue working together in regenerating our Town Centres.

“Our Town Investment Plan means we are already ahead of the game and can start to plan how this funding is used to benefit our residents. It will go some way in helping us deliver projects that are already in the pipeline.

“Promoting Torbay as a great place to live, work, visit and invest in is vital to our ongoing success and this funding will help us to deliver meaningful improvements which will benefit residents and businesses.”

Towns have been allocated funding according to the Levelling Up Needs Index which takes into account metrics covering skills, pay, productivity and health, as well as the Index of Multiple Deprivation to ensure funding goes directly to the towns which will benefit most, without new competitions or unnecessary hurdles.

The funding is aligned to the issues that research shows people want the most, including:   

* Improving transport and connections to make travel easier for residents and increase visitor numbers in centres to boost opportunities for small businesses and create jobs.

* Tackling crime and anti-social behaviour to keep residents safe and encourage visitors through better security measures and hotspot policing.

* Enhancing town centres to make high streets more attractive and accessible, including repurposing empty shops for new housing, creating more green spaces, cleaning up streets or running market days. 

A Town Plan for Torquay will need to be produced no later than summer 2024, setting out how the funding will be deployed in line with these priorities.