Paignton Refresh: Town Centre Regeneration SPD
Regeneration strategy to help attract inward investment into the heart of Paignton
Planning: Supplementary Planning Document (SPD)
Overview: SPD, extensive community engagement, mix of uses and types of environments
Stride Treglown was appointed by Torbay Council to create a regeneration framework for Paignton Town Centre. Paignton, in common with many seaside towns, is trying to cope with the changing role of urban retail centres.
The commission required Stride Treglown’s masterplanning, town planning and landscape design studios to work as one to undertake an analysis of the town’s existing strengths and weaknesses and devise a series of strategies that enables the town to evolve whilst maintaining its own unique character.
The masterplan is driven by consideration of where Paignton is aiming to position itself as a place for people to visit, stay, work and live. It provides a blueprint for development within the town that improves the attractiveness of Paignton for inward investment.
It puts in place a framework that enables the town to evolve whilst maintaining its own unique character, through public realm improvements, opportunities to enhance the seafront without compromising sea defences, alterations to the traffic flows through the town centre and measures to reduce the impact of the railway line that currently divides the town.
The commission involved extensive consultation with the local community and a wide range of external stakeholders, including facilitated workshop sessions with business representatives, resident associations, English Heritage and BID coordinators.
The masterplan underwent further public consultation facilitated by Torbay Council enabling the framework to become formally adopted as an SPD document in June 2015.
Our work was commended in the 2016 RTPI SW Awards in the ‘Excellence in Spatial Planning’ category.
Stride Treglown delivered a masterplan that achieved the Council’s objectives, whilst also securing as much community and business support as was possible. The work was delivered on time and on budget. Stride Treglown proved themselves to be very flexible and responsive.
The masterplan will ensure comprehensive and cohesive development, with elements of that already coming forward in the form of planning applications and more expected in the near future. As a ‘blue print’ for growth, the masterplan produced by Stride Treglown is already performing well.
Pat Steward, Head of Spatial Planning, Torbay Council