I WROTE a while back about the history of Fleet Walk and how there was an opportunity 26 years ago to develop the lower end of town in a way that enhanced what Torquay was, rather than knock down the old Victorian Façade of Fleet Street and in-fill Swan Street and George Street with a 'modern' shopping mall.

Fleet Walk has never been the outstanding success and competition for Exeter and Plymouth that was claimed for it over the alternative Save Torquay Old Town plan.

This alternative plan was to create a shopping area like the lanes in Brighton of mostly small locally owned shops, craft workshops, cafes and restaurants with living accommodation above to bring back a resident community to the lower end of the town, and give people a reason to come to Torbay for something that wasn't available elsewhere in Devon, or further afield.

Now I learn that the proposed Torbay Enterprise Centre, an environmentally sustainable community driven regeneration project that would not have been out of place within the STOT proposal, has had to move to Lymington Road to make way for a new grand plan to regenerate the upper part of Torquay town centre.

The plot it was originally going to fill between the Temperance Street Car Park and Factory Row has remained under used or derelict for as long as I can remember which is why I was really excited about the Enterprise Centre proposals.

I shared my fears with the deputy mayor when we met at Occombe Farm the other week to welcome the Regional Minister, Jim Knight MP, to the Bay.

Unfortunately the man appointed by Nick Bye wasn't around at the time of the Swan Street/Fleet Street redevelopment so has no historical context in which to judge the current proposals.

Marketing this site for shopping development could end up repeating the missed opportunity of a quarter of a century ago.

Cllr Lewis insisted the site would be filled and said there was already interest from Debenhams to move to it.

Quite what that does for retail footfall on the harbourside is anyone's guess if we lose Debenhams from there.

But it's worse than that in my opinion. The town centre is leaking jobs as Government centralises tax and benefit functions to Exeter and Plymouth, and as Torbay Council exports jobs to other areas for short-term savings through its programmes of privatisation.

Meanwhile our shopping centre loses trade to the free car park out of town centres, while £12,000 a week is diverted from local tills into on-street parking meters.

The economics of retail are really quite simple. Shops follow the money and if you have a low-wage economy then you will have low-value shops.

The challenge is to raise local incomes and that means better transport links to help diversify the economy away from low value employment, suspending on-street parking charges during downturns, and offering something people can't find in their own town or city.

All too often we look to replicate what others have when on our doorstep we have opportunities to create something really special.

I tackled the Regional Minister privately about our transport links and he took note.

I just hope the deputy mayor will do a little research into the history of Torquay town centre and learn from the mistakes of the past.

THE invite wanted to know if I fancied spending Pancake Day with the WAGs?

Well I did and what a great afternoon it turned out to be.

The pancakes were being served up at the Windmill Community Centre, Hele, and the WAGs — well they are the Windmill Action Group who have come together to organise community events and improve facilities in this part of Torquay.

The community was celebrating the vastly improved play facilities on Pendennis Road and it was here that I met the Play Rangers. What a great bunch of people they are organising play and setting challenges for children aged 5 to 14 years.

Bay Play Ranger Usha Garretley was showing children from the community how to make a puppet and she had the captive attention of half a dozen young girls all eager to learn and trying out new skills in a fun environment.

Back at the centre WAG committee members networked with ward councillors, the neighbourhood police officer, council officials and members of the community.

Mayor Nick arrived for a pancake race and a photo call with the Herald Express, so I left him tossing away to go in search of the Pendennis secret garden.

My guides were Margaret Forbes-Hamilton and Suzy Colley from the Tormohun Community Partnership who with local residents are creating a garden area from derelict land. With the Groundwork Trust on site preparing the land something wonderful is beginning to emerge.

Anyone who lives in the immediate area will be able to have a plot of land at the location. The one ingredient missing at the moment is some decent top soil and the Tormohun Community Partnership would be very grateful if anyone could supply some.

THE former Treasury official Owen Nankivell has published his annual report into Torbay's economy and it carries a stark warning for the decision makers in the town hall.

He identifies the worrying degree to which Torbay households are dependent on public funds for their income, either through public sector employment, tax credits, pensions and/or benefits.

As he says: "Given the inevitability of major structural changes to public finances to reduce the public debt, it is hard to see how Torbay can avoid a significant worsening in incomes over the next two or three years."

Protecting jobs and looking after our locally owned small businesses has never been more important.