School to give new lease of life to 'lost' Paignton youth centre

'New Parkfield has lost its way and this is a new way forward'

A neglected Paignton community hub built with millions of pounds of National Lottery money is to be brought back to life as part of a radical new strategy for local children with special needs.

Mayfield School - Torbay’s flagship school for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (Send) - will become the main long-term user of the MyPlace building known as New Parkfield.

The centre, off Colin Road, was built in 2011 as a hub for community youth services and included a BMX track, sports hall, climbing wall, recording studio, cafe and skate park.

But the building has never been fully used, and has most recently been home to the Medical Tuition Service, which caters for children who can't attend other schools because of their medical needs.

The People’s Parkfield community interest company (CIC) will now be handed the lease of the building, with Mayfield being the main tenant.

The track and the skate park have already become the responsibility of the company, which also manages an older Parkfield building off the seafront.

Mayfield will use New Parkfield during school hours and it will be operated by People’s Parkfield during evenings and weekends

Cllr Chris Lewis (Con, Preston) said: “New Parkfield has lost its way. This is a new way forward.”

He paid tribute to the company's work on the rest of the site and added: “I believe the Mayfield and People’s Parkfield working together can come up with a real solution for this. In the past few years it just hasn't been used.

“They can make it work and transform it for the youth of Torbay.”

Cllr Nick Bye (Con, Wellswood) told a meeting of the council’s cabinet: “This is a new beginning - the start of a new deal for our children and young people. It is important that we do things differently.

“We absolutely have to do better for our children and young people.”

He said New Parkfield never lived up to its expectations as a centre for youth activities.

Mayfield headteacher Stuart Heron said the bay had faced a ‘perfect storm’ of demand for SEND services, and New Parkfield could provide a solution.

“That part of Paignton could become a centre of excellence for SEND services,” he said. “A venue like this could be such a life-enhancing opportunity - a place where young people can go and feel safe.”

The spokesperson for People’s Parkfield Community Interest Company said: “We are delighted at this outcome, which will provide the best solution for the MyPlace centre and for children and young people in our community.

“This marks the culmination of a very long process to get the best outcome for this much-valued community asset, and we look forward to working with our partners and the community to realise all of our shared ambitions around Parkfield.

“This is an exciting development for Paignton and for Torbay as a whole.”