Paignton's getting £13 million boost

Newton Abbot, Plymouth and Barnstaple also receiving cash

The government has confirmed more than £13 million of funding for Paignton to deliver town centre improvements.

Paignton is one of 57 towns to benefit from the Future High Streets Fund and is getting £13,363,248.

The projects to receive backing are the redevelopment of Crossways shopping centre, creating homes, new flood defences, restoring Paignton Picture House, upgrading Station Square and Torbay Road, and a residential development at the Victoria Centre.

Torbay Council says research shows that every £1 of Future High Streets Funding would secure £7 of further investment. 

It says the funding would create 80 jobs and 400 homes, and see land values in the town centre increase by almost £50 million. Work on the first project is expected to begin in the autumn.

Planning permission was approved for the redevelopment of the Crossways shopping centre in December 2020. The scheme for 89 sheltered and extra-care flats with commercial units on the ground floor was given the go-ahead by Torbay Council’s planning committee. The authority has been in talks with the owner and is pursuing compulsory purchase of the site.

Plans for the Victoria Square area would see the public space improved and one of the multi-storey car parks demolished to be replaced with flats.

The first stage of restoring Paignton Picture House, one of Europe’s first purpose-built cinemas, was approved in January. The council gave listed building consent for structural repairs and work on the roof and windows of the building which has been hidden behind hoardings in recent years. The work was being funded by a £200,000 grant from Historic England as the first stage in a long-term £2.5 million development programme.

Plans for a £3 million flood wall along Paignton seafront were published in January. But the council has paused the project for more consultation after opposition from some residents.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said in a statement on Thursday: “This funding is part of wider support we are providing to communities and businesses, to protect jobs, support the most vulnerable and ensure no one is left behind as we recover from pandemic.”

The Future High Streets Fund was launched in December 2018 and is described as a key part of the government’s plan to renew and reshape town centres to make them more attractive to live, work and visit. 

The other areas of Devon to benefit from the fund are Newton Abbot with £9 million, Plymouth gets £12 million and Barnstaple gets £6.5 million. 

Victoria Square's proposed Lidl, Paignton (Google/LDRS)