Council leader answers critics after Paignton 'Golden Mile' U-turn

'You can't please all the people all the time'

“You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs” - that’s how the leader of Torbay Council sums up the long-running saga of Paignton’s Torbay Road.

Cllr David Thomas (Con, Preston) has announced that two-way traffic is to be allowed back into the busy tourist street known for its multitude of gift shops, cafes and bars as the Golden Mile.

It brings to an end 18 months of wrangling over the future of the street since the council’s previous Lib Dem/Independent administration started a pedestrianisation trial after a public consultation backed it.

Furious traders said their businesses were suffering and demanded the return of traffic - and Conservative candidates promised to do that if elected to run the council. Last May they were, and now traffic is returning.

It is estimated that the trial has so far cost the council up to £400,000.

Critics described the latest decision to allow traffic back into Torbay Road as a ‘fiasco’, and said the Tory leadership had overstepped the mark by making the decision without enough consultation with ward councillors.

One of them said it had been like the actions of a ‘dictatorship’.

The local community partnership had been treated with contempt, said one critic, adding: “I suspect you thought this decision was going to be a vote winner. Well think again!”

In his reply to the critics, Cllr Thomas believes the administration has done what is best for Paignton.

He says: “We do know we can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. We were elected to deliver for the bay and this is part of the development and deliverability we are looking at to move the bay forward.

“We always knew whichever decision the council ultimately took was never going to please all of the people. This was a difficult decision that was not taken lightly.

“Our position was taken on the back of numerous conversations and meetings with thousands of people over a 24-month period and I genuinely believe this is the best for Paignton.

“We have a single road from the seafront to the High Street and vice-versa. We want our town to thrive.”

He also points out that if a start is not made soon on town centre projects, grant money may have to be returned to the government.

He goes on: “I think it is fair to say that everyone has a view on the issues in Torbay Road. Some want to see the road fully open, others would like to see a complete pedestrianisation.

“Clearly, we know that we are unable to please all of the people all of the time.”