Design for town's £6.8m business centre unveiled
THIS is how the new Torbay Business Centre behind Torquay Town Hall could look.
The £6.8million building is aimed at creating new town centre offices in Torquay as part of the Castle Circus Regeneration Project, attracting investment and potentially 600 new jobs.
The four-storey business centre will create approximately 40,000 sq ft of office space and car parking on the current car park site off Lymington Road.
The aim is to attract new businesses into the town, though no specific occupier is yet lined up.
It has been estimated that only 13 car parking spaces will be lost in total after the building is completed.
The council has approved the business case for the project as part of the Castle Circus Regeneration Project and it will be funded by prudential borrowing, the cost of which will be met by the rent and the capital will be repaid over 25 years.
One of the aims of the project is to strengthen the attractiveness of this part of town as an office location, which in turn should benefit local retailers, says Torbay Development Agency, which is behind the project.
The building is to have a bio-mass boiler using fuel from sustainable sources and natural ventilation as well as solar panels on the roof for heating water.
The council is in discussions with Shopmobility and the Coalition for the Disabled which have shops currently sited at the entrance to the town hall car park, about alternative premises.
Subject to planning permission, work is expected to start later this year and be completed in 2011. Public consultation is continuing to the end of the month on the proposals. See www.torbay.gov.uk or email tda@torbay.gov.uk or telephone 01803 208985.
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by Biffo, Paignton Zoo
Thursday, March 11 2010, 8:10PM
“Sorry Adam...was not being rude to you my claw slipped on the keyboard.”
by Biffo, Paignton Zoo
Thursday, March 11 2010, 8:09PM
“Ada you are so wrong about people.”
by Biffo, Paignton Zoo
Thursday, March 11 2010, 8:07PM
“IP, Torquay...why would the town loose 900-1000 people shopping on a regular basis...is that how many work in the Town Hall? I do not not understand your argument. If you say that accountants, solicitors are now the lifeblood of Torquay and people do not want to see Torbay progress you are wrong, of course local people want to see the Bay thrive but it must be done sensibly and with the support of the local people , as long as this shower on the council remain Torbay will be ruined....they just dream of being a big authority and everyone has money to splash around and as you know this is not so.
Where I live in backward Wiltshire most of the towns and cities now have free area where the solicitors and accountants were, the vast majority of the like businesses have moved to purpose built offices on the outskirts of town on industrial sites or sites built to house services such as solicitors, accountants, service industries, council offices, insurance companies and financial institutes, so my guess is that Torbay Council lacks ambition not the residents.
Yes I do have a home in Torquay, which I visit less and less, due to the state of the great town it used to be. It is such a shame it has gone down hill and the people I feel most sorry for is the younger kids just leaving school, what future will they have in Torbay....NONE.”
by Adam, Tq
Thursday, March 11 2010, 8:01PM
“Surprise, surprise, the normal moaners (Mr Hellier, "Biffo") are against the development! Pathetic really, these people just like to moan and they deserve to be ignored when all they can do is criticise every single development.
Mark - you complain that this will result in a loss of a car park and will "allow the town to slowly die" but the article is about bringing jobs to the area and therefore more people into town. If anything this is help regenerate the town, no? Also, the article clearly states only 13 parking spaces will be lost, hardly the end of the world is it?”
by Paul Ward, Kingsteignton
Thursday, March 11 2010, 7:51PM
“IP,
The numbers you quote for council employees (900-1000 people) would also include employees not at present employed at Castle Circus, such as those at Oldway ect. As to the amount of cash they spend I think you will find most bring in sandwichs for lunch and so the few dinners that are brought do not keep the shopping area alive, unless you are suggesting that Torbay Council Workers have such high wages that they are spending each lunch hour shopping for clothes and household goods?”