Doubts over funding for major Torbay projects

MP pledges to 'bang the drum' for promised cash

Question marks remain over major projects in Torbay as the new government continues to deal with what it claims are financial ‘black holes’.

The bay’s Liberal Democrat MP Steve Darling has filed written questions to government departments asking for updates on some of the largest projects.

But the answers fail to commit the government to spending the money until the financial crisis has been dealt with.

“We need to keep on pushing,” said Mr Darling. “We mustn’t let this go.”

He asked about the Long-Term Plan for Towns which was published last October, a pledge from the Conservative government of the time to hand Torquay £20 million as one of 55 towns to share £1.1 billion for local projects.

Work on the project paused in the run-up to the general election, and hasn’t recommenced.

Parliamentary under-secretary Alex Norris replied: “The government has inherited an extremely difficult fiscal environment and has a responsibility to fix the foundations of our economy, to ensure economic stability.

“The department will set out further details on next steps and confirmation of the revised timelines in due course.”

Mr Darling also quizzed the department of transport on the progress of railway improvements including the long-awaited new Edginswell railway halt on the outskirts of Torquay.

Under-secretary Lilian Greenwood spotlighted pressures on the public purse, including £2.9 billion of ‘unfunded transport-specific spending’. She said a review of capital spending was under way, and the Restoring Your Railway programme would be part of that.

The programme was published by the Conservative government in 2022, and originally said Edginswell would be delivered by March 2024.

Mr Darling said raising questions on delivering the funds for local projects helped to keep them in the public eye.

Echoing Boris Johnson’s promise about Brexit in 2019, he claimed Edginswell would be ‘oven ready’ when the funds are finally confirmed, meaning work could begin immediately.

“It is one of the few schemes that is genuinely oven-ready,” he said. “I’ll keep on banging the drum for it.”