Cheers as 'precious' Brixham beach car park protected

Standing room only in the council chamber

Torbay Council’s cabinet members were applauded by a standing-room-only audience as they passed a motion to protect Brixham’s Breakwater Beach area from over-development.

Nearly 100 people travelled to the meeting in Torquay to hear the cabinet discuss making the council-owned Breakwater car park into an ‘asset of community value’.

That means an official endorsement that the car park exists mainly to ‘further the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community’, and it means that the local community would get first option to buy it if the council ever decided to sell.

The move also means that if the tenant of the Breakwater Bistro alongside the car park wants to redevelop the site, he will have to do so without encroaching on the car park or the beach beyond.

Last summer leaseholder Jack Turton announced plans to ‘transform’ the area, and hundreds of local people queued across the car park to examine the plans. Many were furious, and the brightly-coloured buildings in the proposal were described as ‘vile’ and ‘monstrous’.

Designers have since said they are going back to the drawing board to come up with something more acceptable, pointing out that the current bistro building has structural issues and needs to be replaced.

The original £25million hotel complex would have created a 44-bed hotel, spa and beachside bistro. But the multi-coloured design was compared to the fictional village setting in the children’s TV show Balamory.

The cabinet meeting followed an application by the Breakwater Beach Community Group to have the area listed, and council officers advised the cabinet to say yes.

Cllr Jackie Thomas (Con, Kings Ash) said: “I can see from today’s attendance that people are passionate and very keen to have this piece of land listed as a community asset, and I fully support them.”

And ward councillor Anna Tolchard (Con, St Peter’s with St Mary’s) told the meeting: “Breakwater beach is very precious to the residents of Brixham, and that is underlined by the number of people who have come along this evening to support the application.”

Cllr Adam Billings (Con, Churston with Galmpton) said the area was used for recreational purposes and had community value, and Cllr Chris Lewis (Con, Preston) said it was vital for any would-be developer to consult local residents and councillors.

“It is imperative that they take people with them,” he said. “We want to help Brixham, and we want to work together with everyone to provide a better Brixham.”

Cabinet members passed the proposal to protect the car park unanimously.