Splashdown to get bigger

Plans approved to expand Devon waterpark

Torbay Council has approved plans to expand and develop Splashdown Quay West in Paignton.

The proposal was bought to the planning committee last Thursday [22 September], laying out plans to build new indoor and outdoor facilities, including two water slides and a clip’n’climb wall, as well as changes to car parking and new access to the railway.

The new indoor play and climbing spaces will be near the existing go-karting tracks, allowing the park to extend its opening months into the winter, if not year-round.

As part of the scheme, 15 trees will be felled within the newly proposed boundaries of the park, including a sycamore, which was described by the council’s green infrastructure officer as “a loss to the area,” but it was agreed that the landscaping proposals, including the planting of 15 replacement trees in the park were “sufficient to offset this in the long term.”

As the site will be expanding, public recreational space will be lost. To compensate, Splashdown will run a discounted/free ticket service for affected local people, up to a value of £44,990.

The plans were supported unanimously by the planning committee, and now move on to the next stage of approval.

In the next stage, developers must submit a ‘construction method statement’, outlining how they will execute these developments whilst conforming to council guidelines.