Hands off our shopping centre!

[TrueBlueTerrier]

https://www.radioexe.co.uk/news-and-fea ... ng-centre/

Paignton owners and Royal Mail object to compulsory purchase

The Royal Mail and the owner of Crossways shopping centre in Paignton have objected to a compulsory purchase order for the complex which Torbay Council wants to demolish and replace with flats.

The concrete centre including a multi-storey car park between Hyde Road and Torquay Road is mostly empty, and has been the focus of redevelopment plans for several years.

The council voted in September 2019 to start the compulsory purchase process while holding talks with the owner Gaelic Investments, in the hope of securing a voluntary deal.

In December a redevelopment scheme to build 89 sheltered and extra-care flats on the site was given planning permission. Progress on the scheme was welcomed by local councillors who have campaigned for the “eyesore” centre and car park to be redeveloped.

Councillors were told at a meeting on Thursday that the talks were continuing with the owner, but the company and Royal Mail, which has a delivery office next to the shopping centre, have objected to the compulsory purchase.

That means a public inquiry is likely to be held, probably in the summer, with a decision expected around three months later.

The redevelopment proposals are for a five-floor block of 13 sheltered flats for over-55s and a seven-storey block of 76 extra-care flats, with commercial units at street level.

Extra care housing is also known as assisted living, where residents have self-contained flats but with staff available to provide personal care and support.

Details of the proposals were revealed in July 2020 for initial consultation ahead of the planning application, which was approved by the council’s planning committee in December.

The scheme is being progressed alongside a package of regeneration proposals for Paignton town centre. It has an estimated cost of £22.5 million and councillors have approved borrowing £11 million.

The legal process to take over control was expected to take up to 18 months to complete.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Torbay MP asks Royal Mail to avoid delay on Crossways regeneration

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-ne ... il-4982710

It has objected to a compulsory purchase order which could lengthen the legal process

Torbay’s MP Kevin Foster is calling on the Royal Mail to withdraw its objection to the compulsory purchase of Crossways shopping centre in Paignton.

The concrete complex including a multi-storey car park is almost empty of shops and has been described as an ‘eyesore’.

Torbay Council has drawn up plans to knock it down and built a block of flats for older people on the town centre site.

The Council has started the legal process to secure a compulsory purchase order on the site if talks with the owner to buy it fail.

But it emerged last week that the centre’s owner and Royal Mail, which has a delivery office next to the centre, have submitted objections to the order.

That is likely to lead to a public inquiry which would delay the legal process for compulsory purchase.


Mr Foster said he would be writing to the Royal Mail’s chief executive to ask for an explanation.

Royal Mail says it wants to protect its mail delivery operation and is working with the council to find a solution.

The Conservative MP said: “Crossways is an absolute eyesore and urgently needs action.

“If Royal Mail have genuine concerns about their delivery office these could be dealt with much better by working with Torbay Council and the community to find a solution, rather than alienating local residents by seeking to hold up the desperately needed redevelopment of this site.

"Whilst the owner's views on the CPO are not unexpected, the intervention by Royal Mail's management can only be described as an ill thought out act which could damage Paignton's attempts to recover, a stark contrast to the way frontline postal staff have worked hard and gone out of their way to support our community during the pandemic.

“Royal Mail management needs to find the community spirit Paignton's posties have been showing every day and withdraw this objection immediately."


Mr Foster has welcomed progress on the regeneration scheme, seen as a key part of delivering the Future High Streets Fund project for Paignton which was awarded £13.4million by the Government.

Torbay Council voted in September 2019 to start the compulsory purchase process for the site while holding talks with the owner, in the hope of securing a voluntary deal.

In December 2020, a redevelopment scheme to build 89 sheltered and extra-care flats on the site was given planning permission.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said on Tuesday: "Royal Mail supports the principle of regenerating the Crossways Shopping Centre for mixed-uses.

“As our Paignton Delivery Office is so close to this site, we also want to ensure that any plans for redevelopment do not have an adverse impact on our ability to deliver the mail to local residents.

“We are working closely with Torbay Council to find a mutually beneficial solution.”

[NWpostie]

I've walked through it, its grey, gloomy and sucks the happiness out of you, it's an ill conceived shopping centre and totally out of place with Paignton as a holiday destination, knocking it down would be an act of mercy.