Council moves to reassure residents over Oldway Mansion grounds

A Torbay councillor has insisted there are no plans to build homes on the grounds of Oldway Mansion, following growing concern in Paignton over its inclusion in the council’s draft Local Plan.

Cllr Chris Lewis (Con, Preston), Torbay Council’s cabinet member for place development and economic growth, said references to potential housing at Oldway were included only because historic planning permission for the site remains legally ‘live’.

The draft Local Plan, published before Christmas, lists Oldway among a number of allocated sites across Torbay and notes that 46 homes could be built on the estate, citing planning permission granted by the council in September 2012.

At the time, councillors approved plans for 46 three and four-bedroom townhouses, along with 55 sheltered flats in a four to six-storey building. The development covered the indoor bowling club and the Fernham nursing home.

While the nursing home was later redeveloped into assisted living apartments, the housing element of the scheme was never built.

Cllr Lewis explained that because work went ahead on part of the overall project, the council deemed this to be a ‘material start’, meaning planning permission for the remaining homes did not lapse.

“Planning permission for the homes is still technically live,” he said. “Our policy in the local plan was to include all applications that are live, and Oldway falls into that category.

“This administration has no plans to build on the Oldway estate. We own it, and we have no desire to build on it.”

He added that planning policy and heritage protections had changed significantly since the original permission was granted more than a decade ago.

“In any case, planning has changed since 2012 and it would probably not get permission from Historic England,” he said. “We haven’t got a developer in place, and we aren’t looking for one.

“This is a historic issue from a previous administration which allowed a developer to put in planning permission. We have no plans to build 46 houses on the Oldway estate.”

Anger had mounted locally after Oldway was listed in the draft Local Plan, prompting the Oldway Gardens Volunteer Group to urge residents to respond to the consultation.

The group said Oldway was “a historic estate, a public green space and a vital part of Paignton’s heritage and wellbeing”, warning that development would permanently reduce green space and damage biodiversity.

Public consultation on the draft Local Plan remains open until 26 January, after which Torbay Council will review feedback before shaping the final version of the document.