“Sorry Adam...was not being rude to you my claw slipped on the keyboard.”

“Ada you are so wrong about people.”

“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.”

“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?”

“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?”

“If the Council decided that they were going to move from Torquay town centre to the Edginswell Park there would be uproar. 900-1000 people spending money in the town town centre on a regular basis being removed would add a further problem to the town centre which is struggling because of the poor spaces and consequently the poor layout and poor range which the shops can offer. This leads to more people shopping out of town and out of area. This situation will continue until we have more modern retail premises. Office services/business services have grown appreciably in torbay in recent years. In Bishop Fleming, Kitson Hutchings and Francis Clark we have fantastic firms and they need to be nurtured with top facilities not ignored and if we don't provide such facilities in Torbay you can be sure other areas will. It is tragic that there is a rump of people in this area who are content with mediocrity and do not want to see the place progress.”

“Paul Ward thank you very much.

I cannot see why that is not making this paper rubbish stories like non injury accidents and shop openings do but I understand what is behind that, free info from the press room at D & C police and the shops create advertising revenue.

Also I am sad that the site never seems to work on a Monday. I know Saturday and Sundsy are days off for the staff at the paper.

I just think the Council have lost it big time and need an overhaul of both the councillors and the Senior Managers.”

“Biffo,

According to the BBC website:
Torbay Council wants overpaid benefits returned
A council in Devon is in the process of trying to recoup hundreds of thousands of pounds in overpaid benefits.

Two years ago Torbay Council made excess welfare payments of £4.7m - last year's overpayments amounted to £5.1m.

According to a Freedom of Information request, the council was still £700,000 out of pocket in December.
====================
I would have thought £700000 would have helped a lot in Torbay but it seems the council are in no hurry to reclaim it.”

“having lived for a couple of years in and around the Town Hall near the electricity site dumped out back.The whole place needs £36m spending on a Tower of Babel for its occupants as much as it needs the mayor”

“Not to sure what this is all about...is their going to be a four storey office suite here that can be rented by anyone who wants office space, I guess they will be leased and what how long do the leases run. It says it will attract 600 hundred jobs....how??? Where are the staff going to park, is there car parking space??

Paul I somewhat agree with you but both Great Western in Swindon and Clarks in Street are really struggling at the moment, but both places have adequate parking and are well thought out...knowing Torbay they would prefer to have a tat shopping centre like Trago! I also agree that this should all be sited out of the heart of Torquay and I agree that and where you suggest is ideal...the 600 hundred office workers could easily pop down to the Willows to shop...you can park their for free and do all the essential shopping on your way home to Newton Abbot, that is where most of the workers would come from.

I saw a thing on TV the other night saying the council were failing in overpaying allowances, the had overpaid £6m+. but had recovered most of it with only £700,000 outstanding....why has this not hit this paper, they even has Mr Sanders and Mr Steve Darling making comments on it, but no one from the very active council...did I imagine that news item or not??”