'Don't knock down Paignton eyesore' call

Campaigners want building to be saved

Conservation campaigners in Paignton are calling for eyesore buildings opposite the railway station to be preserved and restored rather than being knocked down to make way for new flats.

The buildings at 62 to 70 Victoria Street front on to Station Square and face the station. They include a pub, a takeaway and a number of shops. The now-empty first floor was home to a nightclub which went by names including the Blue Angel and the Tropicana.

Several years ago Torbay Council was considering a compulsory purchase order for the run-down buildings, forcing the owner to hand them over so the council could work on them, but nothing has happened.

Now the buildings are decaying, with masonry having fallen on to the pavement below.

The whole Station Square area is due to be redeveloped with millions of pounds pledged from the Future High Streets initiative. The council is expected to announce more details this autumn as part of its pledge to ‘deliver’ long-awaited schemes for the bay.

A planning proposal for the Station Square buildings is expected to form part of the initiative.

But councillors have been urged to preserve and restore the buildings rather than demolishing them.

Plans are likely to include housing, and there have been reports of proposals for a block up to seven storeys high, which would be the tallest building in Paignton town centre.

The building was originally designed by Couldrey and Bridgman in Victorian times as a hotel opposite the station. The same designers were also involved in the creation of Oldway, the seafront Paignton Club and many other listed buildings in Torbay.

“It has been left in a state of disrepair for far too long,” said Richard Kaskow of the Action For Paignton pressure group.

“Torbay Council has been totally ineffective in taking any enforcement action. Quite simply, it has always wanted to see it demolished.

“Proposals for a replacement building are totally unacceptable within the conservation area.”

Action For Paignton has released an AI-generated image showing how a restored building could look.