Three of Torbay’s key areas – Brixham Town, Paignton Old Town and Torquay Harbour – are set to benefit from a major new partnership with National Lottery Heritage Fund’s ‘Heritage Places’ scheme.

Torbay Council recently entered into the new 10-year partnership with the Heritage Fund to support heritage within the Bay and to deliver the aims of the Torbay Heritage Strategy which includes the updating of our existing conservation area appraisals, specifically those related to the Brixham Town, Paignton Old Town and Torquay Harbour Conservation Areas.

The three areas chosen last had Conservation Area Appraisals 15 years ago so these need to be updated and there will be a full consultation on proposals for all three schemes in Spring 2025. The consultations will include:

• The updating of the conservation area appraisals for the identified conservation areas.
• review of the boundaries for each conservation area.

The conservation areas will also support The Local Plan for Torbay.

With the review of boundaries for each of the conservation areas, residents in the areas that will be directly affected will also be written to – the Council will be sharing more details of the exact areas in the coming weeks.

Councillor Jackie Thomas, Cabinet Member for Tourism, Culture & Events and Corporate Services said: “The partnership with the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s ‘Heritage Places’ scheme and the investment it brings is very exciting, particularly for these first three areas.

“As a council we are committed to protecting and celebrating our local heritage and this work will also complement a range of other projects currently taking place in the Bay, such as the Public Realm works in Torquay and Paignton and investment in Brixham Harbour, as well as the Torbay Heritage Strategy 2021-2026.”

Hettie Dix, West Regional Lead for Heritage Consultancy at Purcell, said: “Over the coming months, Purcell will be conducting detailed appraisals of the Brixham Town, Paignton Old Town and Torquay Harbour conservation areas - researching their history, and conducting on-site surveys to establish what makes each place particularly special.

“The appraisals will be accessible, useable documents which set out the special interest of each area, identify opportunities for future improvement and provide guidance for homeowners and developers looking to make changes or improvements. This will help to ensure that future changes respond to the special character of each place, and continue to make Brixham, Torquay and Paignton desirable places to live, work and visit.”

Once the consultation is over, it is intended that the updated three conservation area appraisals will be formally adopted as Supplementary Planning Documents to assist the local authority in fulfilling its statutory duty toward the designation, preservation or enhancement of conservation areas and to provide clarity for planners, developers and residents in complying with Policy SS10 ‘Conservation and the Historic Environment’ of the Torbay Local Plan.

The appraisal document forms part of the evidence base for the Torbay Local Plan.