Councilors said they hoped to attract hundreds of millions of pounds of private investment to the Torbay area over the next 10 years as part of the regeneration plans.

Torbay Council’s plans to transform six neighborhoods in Torquay and Paignton are backed by public funds but will require massive private investment.

Designs for a major project to demolish the Union Square shopping center and replace it with housing, public spaces and an NHS center have been revealed.

A store owner who could be forced to move as part of the deal said there should have been better communication about the plans.

Torbay Council formed a regeneration partnership in November 2023 with developers Milligan and Willmott Dixon.

On the derelict former Debenhams site on Torquay Harbour, the partnership wants to build around 50 new homes, cafes and restaurants as well as a 100-bed upmarket hotel.

Plans include demolishing the old Lower Union Lane car park in Torquay to build between 100 and 155 new homes and demolishing the Victoria Center car park in Paignton to build around 200 homes with smaller parking for buyers.

Around 90 residential units as part of a care home are planned at the Crossways site in Paignton, and a similar project is planned for Torre Marina in Torquay.

On the Union Square site, a new NHS treatment center would be created and the multi-storey car park would remain, as would Pannier Market, which is a listed building.

David Thomas, Conservative leader of Torbay council, said the council would invest £11m under central government’s Town Deal and hoped to attract private investment of £50m to £60m.

He said the council had long wanted to make the area around Union Square “more residential”.

“That’s the big chunk it takes to drive a stake into the ground,” he said.

“From Union Square down to Castle Circus it will be residential with businesses and shops further down, from the Strand down to Union Square.”

Stuart Harris, managing director of Milligan, said: “If we were to develop all six sites over the next 10 years, we would deliver more than 700 homes. »

Mr Harris said the partnership was trying to find long-term investors such as pension funds interested in “significant investments”.

The council owns the Union Square site, which has several empty shops but still houses a Greggs and a toy store, The Entertainer.

Stephen Holgate owns the Pannier Market off Union Square and said he is talking with the council about possibly selling the building.

He started working at the market for his father as a teenager in 1969 as a “Saturday boy”.

He said: “I think it’s a brilliant idea. Everyone knows Torquay town center is struggling at the moment and anything that brings new life to the town is brilliant.”

The consulting firm has accepted in principle the idea of ​​mandatory purchase orders for surrounding properties where an agreement cannot be reached.

Luke Cook, owner of Nexus Games on Union Street, is leasing one of the properties that would be demolished under the plans.

Mr Cook said he had been “left in the dark” about the council’s plans for the area.

“We definitely need some rejuvenation in this part of the city, but there hasn’t been a lot of communication from the council with the existing businesses here, which is disappointing to say the least,” he said. -he declared.

Torbay Council said it hoped to submit a planning application for the Union Square site in 2025, with the hope that work could begin in 2026.

It said planning permission would be required for work on the old Debenhams building and no demolition work was expected to take place until autumn 2025.

Demolition work on the Victoria Center is expected to begin “early 2025,” authorities said.