29 Apr Have your say on Torbay’s conservation plans

For the most part, we are spoiled living in this part of the world – sun, sea and sand to one side and the rugged majesty of the moors on the other.

It is easy to forget just what we are looking at and enjoying every day, but every now and again it is right that we stop and take stock, look around us and see it for what it really is.

We should ask ourselves, if we were given sweeping mythical powers, what would we improve and why? How can we build on the heritage we have inherited?

That is what Torbay Council is doing at the moment with the help of Torbay Communities, who are out doing what they do best, talking to people and, more to the point, listening to what they have to say.

Each town that makes up Torbay is unique, and the reasons for local pride are quite different. All have assets of great beauty, both natural and man-made.

Communities have been making the most of their natural assets for centuries, and it is down to the current generation to recognise and respect the heritage whilst also facing forward and preparing for the future.

The local council has a duty to recognise areas which have special architectural or historic interest and is required to designate them as conservation areas that need to be reviewed from time to time.

Across the Bay, there are three Conservation areas – Torquay Harbour, Old Paignton and Brixham Town, all of which are now being reappraised, and that is where you come in.

What do you like? What do you think needs to be preserved or enhanced? Are there particular buildings in need of some TLC? Heritage does not have to be historic, but it must earn its place in the future.

In bureaucratic speak, a Conservation area appraisal summarises the area’s history.

• Recognise the important buildings, spaces and other features which are characteristic of the area.
• Identify any issues which detract from what makes the conservation area
• Recognises opportunities for
• Provides guidance on how to look after and protect what makes the conservation area special.

In a nutshell, the three Conservation areas are summarised as:

Brixham – historical interest: a small fishing port and naval supply station, with rapid growth in the 19th  century.

Topography and configuration: distinctive slope directing the development in the town, interconnecting small alleys and flights of steps, with striking vistas and glimpsed views

Architecture: 18^th, 19^th, and early 20th-century terraces, as well as many other attractive historic buildings telling Brixham’s industrial past and its evolution.

Torquay Harbour – historical interest: growth as a high-end resort town in the late 18^th and 19^th centuries, and association with Agatha Christie.
Topography and configuration: distinctive layers of development climbing up the cliffs and valley slopes, with interconnecting flights of steps and striking views of the harbour and wider town. Contrast between the wide commercial streets and the narrower proportions of residential areas.
Architecture: buildings from the 19^th and 20^th  centuries, illustrating the transition from a small fishing port into a prestigious resort, as well as the evolution of architectural fashion

Paignton old town – Historical interest: preserved medieval street pattern around Winner Street and Church Street with expansive 19th and 20th – century developments to the south and east, which illustrate the rapid growth of the town as a seaside resort.

Topography and configuration: the historic core is self-contained and lies inland at the base of a steep slope

Architecture: a wide range of architectural typologies, predominantly 19th-century, evidencing the town’s expansion

Those are the summaries, but the appraisal is interested in the granular, the actual architecture, the buildings, the places that are naturally inspiring, and that is down to you. If you go to the CAMP page here on our website, you will find details of public meetings that are being held in each town to discuss what is important to the local community. There are also short surveys to fill in for each area.

As Joni Mitchell sang in her 1970 song, Big Yellow Taxi: ‘You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone’ and so often the truth of that is  ‘You knew exactly what you had; you just thought you’d never lose it.’

Help make sure that does not happen, to quote another song this time by Toyah ‘Be proud, be loud. (Be heard).’