Herald Express (Torbay, Brixham & South Hams Edition)
Work starts as builders move in at derelict site
DEMOLITION work has begun on long-forgotten buildings in Torquay’s Torwood Street.
Hoardings covering the site have come down, revealing shopfronts not seen since the shutters went up 10 years ago.
Work will now begin on transforming the site into a 130-bedroom Hilton Group hotel with retail units, restaurants and offices.
The £32 million development is due to be open for business in the summer of 2020.
Peter Tisdale of developers THAT Group said the company was delighted to be making a start on the project, which has been on and off for the past decade.
He said: “You stand here now and look at it with the hoardings down. It’s in an awful state, so this can’t some soon enough. The team has a lot of work to do, but this is a very good moment.”
Torbay mayor Gordon Oliver said he was ‘absolutely delighted’ to see work begin on the new hotel.
He said: “I have spent seven years supporting this project, and I congratulate the developers on reaching this point.
“When we first started this, we had just had the banking crisis, but we have supported the developers and they have worked very well with us.
“They have confidence in Torbay and we have confidence in them.
“We need new, quality hotel accommodation to comple-
Demolition has started at the back of the Torwood Street site ment the existing businesses in the town.”
Shop fronts now visible include the kebab house that time forgot – the once-popular Devon Kebab House.
Grass and weeds have grown up in front of the building and its doors and windows have long since been smashed.
Other shops revealed for the first time in years include the former Brights of Nettlebed furniture store; a watch and jewellery store called Tictocs n Rocks; Legends bar and Trents Bar.
THAT Group head of development Billy Blackman said there had been a lot of interest in the development’s retail units.
“All the retailers and potential tenants can see what is happening now,” he said.
“There has also been a lot of
Developer Peter Tisdale, Torbay Mayor Gordon Oliver, Project Manager for Tolent Ivan Hodgson, and Construction Manager Billy Blackman interest in the office space above.
“It has been a long time coming, and it hasn’t been a straightforward process. The obstacles have been many, but we are delighted to be here and making a start.
“It is part of why this is such a rewarding industry to work in. After the number of technical documents that have to be dealt with, we can finally see the physical works happening.”
The hoardings themselves have been carefully preserved, and the artist who created a mural on them to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War has taken them away for safe-keeping. They were taken down carefully under the direction of Ivan Hodgson, senior project manager for builders Tolent Construction.
He said the panels had been weakened over the years, but had survived intact.
And, he said, passers-by had been keen to know what was happening on the site.
He said: “Since we opened the gate there has hardly been a person going by that hasn’t stopped to ask what is going on. “And all the comments have been positive. People are so pleased to see something happening here.”