Airshow cost comment 'misleading,' Lib Dems claim

Dog-fight over £250,000 price-tag

The leader of Torbay Council has been accused of “shooting from the hip” by putting a question mark over the future of the bay’s annual airshow before this year’s costs have been calculated.

Conservative leader David Thomas delivered the shock warning as he attended the show on Paignton seafront at the weekend, saying a £250,000 cost could be too much for the council to bear in future.

But today his predecessor as council leader blasted the warning and disputed the figure.

The English Riviera Airshow attracted tens of thousands of spectators to Paignton Green and other vantage points around the bay over two days of displays including skydivers, Second World War aircraft and the RAF Red Arrows.

Apart from a two-year absence during the pandemic, the show has been a fixture on the area’s events calendar since 2016.

Speaking while selling airshow programmes on Sunday, Cllr Thomas warned that serious discussions would have to be held over the future of the event, given its cost.

But former leader Cllr Steve Darling (Lib Dem, Barton with Watcombe) said the £250,000 figure was ‘misleading’. The actual cost to the council of last year’s airshow, he said, had been £145,000, with sponsorship and site fees making up the balance.

“I am concerned that Cllr Thomas’ comments would leave people believing that the local taxpayer was paying a quarter of a million pounds, and that is not the case,” he said.

“And last year the airshow was a bit of a damp squib, with the second day hit by bad weather, so the figures this year are likely to be better.”

It has been estimated that the English Riviera Airshow brings up to £7 million into the local economy, including hotel stays and hospitality.

“People need to make informed decisions and have all the facts in front of them,” said Cllr Darling. “We need to wait and see how it works out this year.

“It’s a huge event for us. In the hotels people are already asking what weekend the show is on next year.

“It is important not to just shoot from the hip. If you have genuine concerns, you need to have a conversation with the businesses involved instead of effectively torpedoing the event by putting uncertainty around it.

“People will have taken away the impression that the airshow isn’t going to happen next year.

“The airshow is all part of the Riviera brand we are building as a premier resort. That show at the weekend was something any community in the country would have been proud of.”