Bay budget includes new fund for deprived communities

Council tax to be fixed below limit set by government

Some of Torbay’s most deprived communities will be able to access hundreds of thousands of pounds for regeneration projects.

Torbay Council’s proposed budget for the coming year includes setting aside £200,000 to be spent in areas of the bay which feature on a national scale of deprivation.

The town centres of Torquay and Paignton have been cited as among the bay’s most run-down areas, along with parts of Upton, Hele and Watcombe.

A recent ‘Making Melville Marvellous’ project was credited with improving a large area from Abbey Road through Melville Hill and Warren Road, and now the council wants to see more projects like it in other parts of the bay.

“This is money to make a difference in those areas,” said council leader David Thomas (Con, Preston). “These are our most deprived areas, and it is a brand-new opportunity for some of those communities to bid for money.

“It builds on the success of Making Melville Marvellous. It is a larger fund and is available to those deprived areas.”

The council has yet to fix how the so-called Community Grant Fund will be accessed, but councillors and the communities themselves will be invited to bid. 

“We are expecting the communities to come forward with ideas,” said Cllr Alan Tyerman (Con, Churston with Galmpton). “We are looking for things that will have a lasting impact on those communities.”

The new fund comes as the council looks to set a 4.75 per cent increase in council tax, a quarter of a per cent below the limit set by the government. Two per cent will be spent on adult social care while the rest will go towards providing other council services.

Cllr Tyerman said the council had considered setting its tax increase at the 4.99 level advised by the government, but had decided to go lower. For the second year running, the council has been able to set a budget without making any cuts.

“We appreciate that people are struggling,” he said. “It’s not a massive difference, but we are able to give a little bit of help where we can.”

Other highlights of the budget - revised as a result of public input - include an allocation of £1.4m to support council-led housing developments across the bay; £500,000 to invest in play parks in all three towns and a £3.7m increase to children's services.

There will be £150,000 to increase support for events in Torbay including the Christmas Bay of Lights; £75,000 to support sport across the bay and £300,000 for the council’s Operation Brighter Bay and Operation Town Centres initiatives.

The cabinet's final budget proposals will be considered at a meeting of the full council on 27 February. The final council tax levels for Torbay will also have to include the precepts from the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority, the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner and for Brixham Town Council.