Anger over Paignton pub demolition plan

'Is another car park really the best we can do?'

Anger is mounting in Paignton over plans to demolish an ‘iconic’ seafront pub and replace it with a car park.

Objectors say the landmark Inn on The Green is a historic seafront feature, and Torbay MP Steve Darling says it would be a shame to see it flattened.

“There have been some exciting and ambitious developments at neighbouring properties in recent years,” he said. “Is another car park really the best we can do for Paignton?”

The application to knock down the pub, which is already cordoned off with metal fences, has been lodged with the council by the Fragrance Group, which has already built two new hotels for Mercure and Ibis Styles on the seafront.

The hotels are part of a multi-million-pound investment in Torbay which also includes a new hotel at Corbyn Head and a development on the site of the former Palace Hotel at Babbacombe.

Original plans for a luxury hotel there fell through, but homes are being built on the land.

The Inn on the Green closed in October, and the plan is for a new car park for both the public and patrons of the two new hotels.

The announcement comes as demolition begins on the remaining section of the nearby Garfield Road multi-storey car park. Torbay Council plans wholesale redevelopment of the site with new homes and businesses. The first phase of the demolition was completed last year.

The multi-storey car park at Crossways also came down last year, and there is now a temporary ground-level car park in its place.

Objectors say the Inn on the Green is ‘steeped in local history’, and an article on the ‘Undiscovered Torbay’ social media site explains that it was built in the eighteenth century as two separate seafront villas, and was then transformed in the late nineteenth century by Paignton businessman Arthur Hyde Dendy.

Ironically, Mr Dendy has another nearby seafront pub named after him.

The article goes on: “The decision to demolish has sparked a mix of nostalgia and pragmatism among locals. While some lament the loss of a structure that connects Paignton to its Victorian heyday, others see the redevelopment as a necessary step to support the town’s renewed efforts to grow the tourism and hospitality sectors.

“Once the new, prime seafront location car park is completed, it’s hoped that it will cope with the influx of visitors drawn to the new hotels and nearby Paignton attractions, marking a new chapter for The Esplanade while slamming the book tightly shut on one of its most historic, oldest and arguably most characterful, landmarks.”

People have until the end of the month to make representations before the council considers the application.