Nick Bye hails “bright future” for Paignton as Wellswood walk returns

It seems spring sunshine might be with us this week, just in time for the Wonderful Wellswood Walk for Rowcroft this Sunday, starting from the Rowcroft Shop, Ilsham Road, Wellswood at 1pm.

Madam Mayor councillor Barbara Lewis and her consort Chris Lewis have kindly agreed to take part in this scenic ramble around our picturesque coastline including the Bishops Walk, Ilsham Marine Drive, Meadfoot ‘Prom’, Daddyhole Plain and the coastal path along to the Imperial Hotel and Torquay harbour.

We will return via Torwood Gardens and the Babbacombe Road to Ilshams Cafe where the friendly team have agreed to stay open and provide a restorative cuppa for all those who complete this circuit. 

Between ourselves, there are a number of short cuts for those who would prefer something a little easier and unless things dry up a bit it might be sensible to avoid the initial walk up through Stoodley Knowle to get to the Bishops Walk, which was a veritable mud bath when I last had a look.

This is a fairly low-key event compared with some of the others recently arranged to support Rowcroft, our Torbay and South Devon hospice which provides much appreciated end of life care. But every little helps, you might say, and everyone must know someone who has received care from the professional and compassionate team at Rowcroft. 

If you would like to come along on Sunday then please let me know through my personal email at info@nickbye.co.uk and/or please make a donation through the Just Giving Page: www.justgiving.com/page/wonderfulwellswoodwalk

So get your walking boots on and let’s have an enjoyable couple of hours together, raising funds for Rowcroft and reminding ourselves how fortunate we are to live in such a beautiful part of the world.

Staying in a positive mood, last week I was pleased to visit the exhibition for the new Paignton Pavilion, proposed for the old Inn on the Green site on Paignton seafront. What’s not to like?

This is clearly intended as a way of boosting occupancy at the recently built Fragrance hotels, the Ibis Styles and Mercure, also perhaps the new Indigo at Livermead, Torquay, which is also part of the same group. Unlike most other facilities of this type, intended to host conferences, concerts, functions and events, this is a purely private sector investment and not something to be funded by Torbay Council.

I can see it working in conjunction with the Palace Theatre, who will be hosting the first Paignton Literary Festival in August, also the soon-to-be restored Paignton Picture House.

More and more it seems like Paignton is the future and this new pavilion could be a further boost for the town.

Of course there will be folk who might prefer the existing buildings to be restored, although this is easier said than done given the cost of restoration and repair. Old buildings might not suit modern uses and you often find all kinds of issues once you send the builders in. 

I have many happy memories of the Inn on the Green from back in the day as I was lucky enough to live just off Paignton seafront for much of the 1980s and into the 1990s. It seemed like the centre of the universe to me and a place which appealed to everyone (nearly). But once it changed hands it was never the same so it is definitely time to move on. Standing empty and abandoned, it’s an eyesore next to the new hotels and the elegant Palace next door.

The Fragrance Group have invested over £100 million in Torbay in the last few years, which must be the envy of other seaside towns.  For all the talk “the council should do this, the council should do that”, the reality is our long term prosperity depends on welcoming private sector investment and supporting business.

For the life of me I simply don’t understand why we can’t sort out the planning restrictions at the Indigo Hotel on the old Corbyn Head site. At the moment you and I can’t even venture in for a morning coffee and croissant, never mind a mega size gin and tonic (or whatever is your favourite tipple) at the Sky Bar, where the views must be simply stunning. A planning restriction was put in place at the initial approval to stop non-residents from using the restaurant, bar and other accommodation. Only in Torbay!

I seem to recall this was due to concerns there might be insufficient parking. In my experience when folk want to stop something at planning they fall back on the old chestnut of parking when they have run out of more reasonable arguments. 

From my knowledge of most of our larger hotels in the Bay, there are issues with parking at nearly all of them at busy times, but the world somehow keeps spinning. This new one seems to have plenty, on two levels, with many visitors preferring to come by train according to those in the know. Hopefully our new director of planning will be able to sort something out.

Finally, I was delighted to nominate my hard working Wellswood colleague councillor Hazel Foster for the position of civic mayor elect for 2026/27 at the most recent and sadly somewhat fractious Torbay Council meeting. I can’t think of anyone better suited to the role and am confident she will carry out her duties in the appropriate manner.