ContentsIntroduction 1

Route plan 3

Horticultural achievements

i First Green Flag for Paignton 6

ii Sutton Seeds & Tor2 Sponsorships 7

iii Paignton Community College ~ Chelsea entry 8

v New Trees 9

Environmental responsibly

i Bio Energy Infrastructure Scheme 10

ii Paignton BID 11

iii Plant Waste Recycling Show 12

iv Blue Flag Accolades 13

v Environmental crime 14

vi Coverdale Tower 15

Community participation

i Dog Poo Fairy 16

ii Band in the Park 17

iii Hayes Road Primary School 18

iv Plethora of Awards for park’s group 19

v IGOMANGO 20

vi Beer Festival 21

vii Charity Run 22

Four seasons of Paignton 23

Forthcoming Projects

i MYSPACE ~ Parkfield House 27

ii Play Park ~ Paignton Green 28

Acknowledgements 29

Appendices ~ Review of the Year Diary 30

Introduction

This is the Paignton’s 2011 Portfolio for our South West in Bloom entry.

Here we have endeavoured to portray a small sample of what Paignton has to offer

in the way of horticultural achievements, environmental responsibility and of course

community participation.

This portfolio is far too short to tell the whole story of what Paignton has to offer,

but I hope you both enjoy this small taster.

Just three of the main successful initiatives that have come to fruition this past year,

which have obtained funding from different sources are:~

(A) B.I.D. for Paignton Town Centre

(B) Water Feature for Palace Avenue

(C) Bandstand/Performance Area for Young’s Park

Welcome To:~ Anita M Barratt and Tracy Wilson

(A) Chief executive Lucy Ball said: "This is a great vote of confidence and the begin-ning of a great step forward for Paignton.

"We are very grateful to all those who voted for this scheme and we look forward toworking together to really put Paignton back on the map where it belongs as a thrivingand much loved seaside town."

One of the ideas is to strengthen the links between Paignton Zoo and the town centre,while stages for bands could be dotted round the town to encourage music groups.

The idea would be to create better entertainment and improve the visitors' experiencein the town and raise its shops' profile.

The Torbay Town Centres Company, Paignton businesses and the zoo could also worktogether on creating 'safari' competitions, coming up with special offers and prizes toattract more families to explore the town centre area.

v The ballot was organised by Torbay Town Centres Company.

v Each business would contribute 1.5 per cent of their rateable value

v Turnout 49.5 %, yes votes 65 %, proportion of businesses' rateable value 65 %

v Raises £125,000 each year for five years

v More than half the 500 traders voted

(B) The Palace Avenue Guardians had been trying for the last five years to get aWater Feature in their park. The councils financial situation unfortunately couldnot meet the costs involved if they were to arrange the purchase and erectionof such a feature. To solve this problem the YPP/PAG committee did the sourcingand arrange a local contractor to install the water feature and the council madea one of payment using 106 funds.

(C) The Bandstand/Performance area in Young’s Park was a result of a extremelylong and involved application for Big Lottery Funding. The Young’s Park Peoplegroup won an amazing £49.950 in which to complete this “unique to Torbay”feature. Grand opening by the Mayor is planned for the 6th July 2011.

Reservoir and

2 ton gantry

Finished featureP.A.G. members

digging footings finished base

Similar to this; being erected on the 20th June 2011 in

time for the judging but not this portfolio ~ unfortunately!

Planned Route 2011

First Green Flag for Paignton

A 1st for PaigntonOne of Young’s Park People's founding aspirations was to gain the coveted Green Flag status.

On the 28th July 2010 Young’s Park was awarded the ultimate accolade of a Green Flag. Only threeparks in Torbay have achieved such a prize. Upton Park, Sherwell Park and of course CockingtonCountry Park. This is a first for Paignton!

A national benchmark for parks and green spaces

The Green Flag Award scheme is the benchmark national standard for parks and green spaces inEngland and Wales. It was first launched in 1996 to recognise and reward the best green spacesin the country.

The first awards were given in 1997 and, many years later, it continues to provide the high levelof quality against which our parks and green spaces are measured. It is also seen as a way ofencouraging others to achieve high environmental standards, setting a benchmark of excellencein recreational green areas. What’s more, winning a Green Flag Award can generate excellentpublicity for a site. Both the media and the public are becoming increasingly aware that a siteflying a Green Flag is a high quality green space, which can only be a boost to its popularity.

Supporting groups

Although this award has been one of YPP’s primary goals, it would not have been possible ontheir own. Without the huge support and hard work from various council officers, the councilgardeners, park traders and other groups this award just wouldn’t have happened. So a bigthank you to all concerned.

Sutton Seeds & Tor2 SponsorshipsBay Blooms is back - with a new organiser and sponsors!TOR2 is delighted to announce that it has taken on responsibility for running the annual BayBlooms competition in 2011 – and the competition welcomes two new sponsors and onelong-standing supporter.

Bay Blooms is the popular gardening competition open for all Torbay residents to enter. Thecompetition is designed to recognize and celebrate horticultural achievement and expertisein the local area.

There are more than 20 different categories for green fingered people to enter, includingallotments, hotels, schools, clubs, residential homes, private gardens, flats, businesses andshops etc.

The new recycling and waste services in Torbay are expected to deliver the followingbenefits:

v 22% reduction in household residual waste tonnage in 2010 increasing to 40% in2013

v nearly 12,000 tonnes per annum of materials diverted from landfill into recyclingfrom 2011, which is the equivalent of filling 40 Olympic sized swimming pools

v a 2,267 tonnes per annum reduction in overall waste

v kerbside collected recycled tonnage almost doubled by 2012

v kerbside collected recycling and composting rate increased from 35% to 45% in thefirst year and achievement of the 50% recycling target stated above by 2012, fiveyears ahead of target

TORBAY has hit its recycling target early thanks to the efforts of Bay residents.

The resort's recycling rate has gone up by nine per cent from 36 per cent in 2010 to 45 percent by April 2011, a 25-per-cent improvement in performance and on track to meet govern-ment targets.

Now there are plans to extend the waste recycling system to include more plastics. The newscomes just seven months after the introduction of new waste and recycling collectionscaused outcry and chaos across the Bay.

In the year before setting up Tor2, Torbay only managed a three-per-cent improvement inthe recycling rate.

The resort is now well on the way to achieving the government's national recycling target of50 per cent, which it hopes to hit in 2012.

From June Tor2 plans to increase the amount of plastics it can recycle.

Paignton Community College ~ Chelsea entry

VEGGIES grown by Paignton College students have won the Royal HorticulturalSociety seal of approval at the Chelsea Flower Show.

The youngsters' exceptional home-grown rainbow chard and celery were awardeda Silver Gilt, and the prize-winning garden was visited by the Queen and PrincePhilip.

College principal Jane English said: "This is a first for the college. We were de-lighted to have our crops chosen to be on display at the world-famous flowershow, but to be awarded a Silver Gilt is just fantastic."

The college was among 30 schools across the UK which had their crops chosenfor the Miracle-Gro Learning Journey show garden. The students had to success-fully grow celery and chard as part of a competition to win a spot at the event.

Materials to create the new raised beds at the school were provided by local busi-nesses Fermoys and Interline, and pupils worked alongside school staff to growthe crops.

The crops were grown by 12 Year 10 pupils led by teacher Esther Shaw.

She said: "We started the project in February when Interline and Fermoys gener-ously provided everything we needed for new raised beds.

"Fermoys told us about the competition and we knew it would be a great way toinspire the pupils to get growing.

"Along the way pupils at the college have learnt a lot of important lessons. Wehave been supported by staff and students alike."

Mrs Shaw and Year 10 student Jazmin Carr will be attending the show today.

The growing project is part of the college's Food for Life scheme, which sees gov-ernment resources used to help teach pupils and the wider community about allaspects of food growing and healthy eating.

Chairman of governors Iris Butler said: "Our pupils and staff are to be congratu-lated on being part of a wonderful project and for achieving such a brilliant re-sult."

New Trees The council is responsible for over 124 parks and green spaces and 28,000 trees across theBay and we take this role very seriously. We are so lucky to be surrounded by some beautifulopen spaces, parks and gardens here in Torbay, they play a vital role for quality of life andcreate a warm welcome for our visitors. Our trees improve air quality in our towns and ourfamous palms, which flourish in the warmer climate have been the symbol for the EnglishRiviera for many years.

There has been a huge amount of work going on around the Bay in the last 12 to 18months. More than 132,000 plants and bulbs went into our winter/spring beds in2009/2010 and this year’s summer bedding was as stunning as usual.

In 2009 Torbay received a record four coveted Green Flags for Sherwell Park, TessierGardens and Upton Park in Torquay and, for the first time, Youngs Park in Paignton as wellas a host of South West in Bloom awards.

We planted over 140 trees last year alone, many of which were larger species, generatingmore impact for the area and all in keeping with the Victorian era. In addition we havecommitted £20,000 towards tree planting over the next few months and an extra £25,000towards tree maintenence.

Broad Park Road, PaigntonFive large Lime trees have been planted in Broad Park Road following works to increase thesize of the footway. The scheme followed public consultation where the existing trees wereconsidered important and further planting for the road was vital for the long- term character

Youngs ParkIn 2009 several Monterey Cyprus trees surrounding the Quay West site at Goodrington werefound to have a significant amount of decay and were therefore a danger to the public. Thetrees were consequently felled and new trees were planted in nearby Young’s Park at a costof £3,000.

i-Tree international tree projectIn June 2010 Torbay was selected as the first area in the UK to take part in an exciting, international

project to measure the environmental and social impact of different trees around the Bay. The iTreesurvey was carried out on 250 randomly selected plots across the Bay during July and Au-gust. It allowed the council’s Tree Services team to gather specific data on tree species,growth rates and corresponding air quality in the area. The information will be used to helpdetermine what trees to plant around the Bay in the future.

The funding for the project, totalling £90k, has been awarded by Forest Research,the Forest Commission (England) and Natural England Torbay.

Bio Energy Infrastructure Scheme

WOOD will be providing a new generation of power supply in Torbay as well asencouraging more wildflowers in its woodlands.

A new wood chipper and biomass store has opened at Occombe Farm, Paigntonthanks to a £150,000 grant.

The depot, run by Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust, will begin supplying woodchip within a 10-mile radius from the autumn.

It will be able to supply up to fifty boilers, processing around 5,000 tonnes ofwood per year. One of the first to use the wood will be the refurbished CockingtonCourt in Torquay.

The charity's sustainable projects officer, Tom Langdon-Davies, said: "We areusing wood from local woodlands which will encourage better management andimprove biodiversity as well as increasing local employment.

"Each boiler we supply will reduce fossil fuel use and benefit the Earth's climate."

Julian Carnell, the trust's community and education manager said: "This is part ofour wider strategy which includes increasing our solar panel area at OccombeFarm and numerous other renewable projects at our other sites around the Bay,including a wood pellet boiler, solar water heating and an air source heat pump atBerry Head as well as several smaller wood stoves."

A crane fed chipper is now fully operational and the first trailer load of wood wassupplied to Cockington Court, where a biomass boiler has recently been commis-sioned.

The wood is seasoned for up to a year before being chipped into the storage barnat Occombe Farm, funded by a Bio Energy Infrastructure Scheme grant of£150,000.

Paignton BID

More than half the 500 traders voted in the ballot organised by Torbay TownCentres Company.

There had been fears that with retailers facing one of their toughest periods, theresult would be too close to call.

But chief executive Lucy Ball said: "This is a great vote of confidence and the be-ginning of a great step forward for Paignton.

"We are very grateful to all those who voted for this scheme and we look forwardto working together to really put Paignton back on the map where it belongs as athriving and much loved seaside town."

Matthew Clarke, spokesman of the Paignton Business Partnership, said: "It is fan-tastic news for Paignton. It now means Paignton can go ahead with new andexciting projects to encourage shoppers back into the town centre by making it amore pleasant environment. We will be meeting shortly to get our plans startedas soon as possible."

One of the ideas is to strengthen the links between Paignton Zoo and the towncentre, while stages for bands could be dotted round the town to encourage musicgroups.

The idea would be to create better entertainment and improve the visitors' experi-ence in the town and raise its shops' profile.

The Torbay Town Centres Company, Paignton businesses and the zoo could alsowork together on creating 'safari' competitions, coming up with special offers andprizes to attract more families to explore the town centre area.

Improved marketing is the top target for the proposed BID which will be able toraise £125,000 each year for five years to be spent on physical and promotionalimprovements with a total of £608,000 spent over five years.

Under the scheme each business would contribute 1.5 per cent of their rateablevalue to a central pot to deliver a business plan devised in consultation with them.

Mrs Ball said: "This is clearly very good news for the town and the BID will pro-vide an excellent opportunity for Paignton to start the fight back against toughcompetition in this difficult economic climate."

The results were: turnout 49.5 per cent, yes votes 65 per cent, proportion ofbusinesses' rateable value 65 per cent.

The turnout exceeded the national average but was down on Torquay's figure of71 per cent.

Plant Waste Recycling ShowA TRADE show which aims to cut waste to zero is on Paignton in June 2011 .

The Plant and Waste Recycling Show is a meeting ground for 'the movers and shakers'of the industry say organisers. The three-day show, from June 7 to 9, brings togetherexhibitors and users to Paignton Green.The show is an early season boost to the Bay's hospitalityindustry as it brings in 80 exhibitors and 400 staff estimated3,000 visitors to the third year of the show.

A show spokesman said: "The waste management industry isevolving and new regulations introduced to reduce the amountof waste we all send to landfill has presented the industry witha host of exciting new challenges that the government, publicsector and private industry must now embrace and ensure arecomplied with.

"Each year in the UK we generate approximately 100 million tonnes of waste fromhouseholds, commerce and industry.

"With landfill tax rising and rising and further increases on the horizon it is apparentthat the government must now seek alternative methods to meet the strict EuropeanUnion landfill diversion targets.

"The recycling and waste management industry is truly strong where cross sectorworking partnerships and relationships enable many special and innovative projectsto realise their full potential, and by this connectivity and the wisdom of crowds, headtowards that ultimate target of zero waste."

There is due to be a waste recycling forum in the Redcliffe Hotel, Paignton and areindoor and outdoor displays.

"This gives the best of both worlds when one considers the venue is in the mostbeautiful setting and with good weather it is magnificent.

"Paignton is without doubt a great venue for an outside exhibition, with many localattractions and inexpensive accommodation.

"The show is a true networking event, both before; during and after the show as itallows everyone to gain that strong personal contact that can lead to many dealsbeing struck."

Blue Flag Accolades

And 10 beaches have also secured Quality Coast Awards for being clean and safe —Maidencombe, Oddicombe, Meadfoot, Preston, Broadsands, Ansteys Cove, TorreAbbey, Paignton, Goodrington and Brixham Breakwater.

The awards have been announced by the Keep Britain Tidy anti-litter charity and fol-low last summer's bathing water tests by the Environment Agency.

Bay beaches manager Derek Singleton said: "Torbay is the top resort in Britain forthe number of Blue Flags and Quality Coast Awards, two very prestigious and highlyregarded awards.

"Our beaches are fantastic and this global recognition puts us well and truly on themap.

"It's more important than ever to attract British tourists as the credit crunch hits hard.

"As the recession continues more and more people are expected to holiday in thiscountry and these awards will hopefully encourage them to choose Torbay this sum-mer and enjoy the high quality beaches we have here.

"Our team works incredibly hard to keep all our beaches around Torbay clean andsafe and the fact locals and tourists enjoy our beaches so much is proof they areexcellent."

TORBAY has scooped a record-breaking 16 awards for its beaches, landing the title asthe clean beach capital of England.

For the first time this summer six Blue Flags will fly at Oddicombe, Meadfoot,Broadsands and Breakwater, with Preston and Paignton being new additions.

The Blue Flag criteria

Beaches are awarded the Blue Flag based oncompliance with 32 criteria covering the following:

v Environmental Education and Information

v Water Quality

v Environmental Management

v Safety and Services

All Blue Flags are awarded for one season at atime.

If the criteria are not fulfilled during the season orthe conditions change, the Blue Flag may bewithdrawn.

Environmental crimeGraffitiGraffiti is an environmental crime, along with dog fouling, fly-tipping and littering.Torbay Council operates an online reporting system where residents can give detailsof incidents and describe the perpetrators.The ProblemThe term ‘graffiti’ refers to any drawings, paintings or messages that are written,painted or carved on public and private surfaces without the permission of the propertyowner. Graffiti defaces property and is often referred to as vandalism.Graffiti is a problem because it can:v Look bad.v Be offensive.v Make an area appear rundown and neglected.v Encourage more anti-social behaviours and crimes.v Make people feel frightened and intimidated.v Be difficult and expensive to remove.v Negatively impact on the local economy as visitors are less likely to want to visit an area defaced by graffiti.The LawThe following legislation is in place which aims to help local authorities and private landowners to control graffiti in their area:v Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005v Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003v Town and Country Planning Act 1990v Criminal Damage Act 1971v Local Government Act 2000Taking a StandIf council property is defaced by graffiti action will be taken as soon as possible to tryand remove the damage especially if it is deemed to be offensive to others. If privateproperty has been subject to graffiti it is the responsibility of the property owner toarrange for its removal, and not the council. The council can provide information aboutmethods of graffiti removal to the owners of private propertySpecialist companies can carry out graffiti removal on various types of surfaces andbuildings. Unsightly and often offensive graffiti can be removed using a series ofspecialist graffiti removers and then protective anti-graffiti coatings can be applied.Using invisible micro-crystalline wax coatings this makes future graffiti removal easier,more cost effective and less detrimental to the masonry ~allowing it to breathe.

In Torbay any person found committing a graffiti offence may be issued with a FixedPenalty Notice for £75. If a person is issued a Fixed Penalty Notice and chooses not topay it they may face a fine in court of up to £2,500.

Coverdale Tower

The Coverdale Bollards Bespoke Tower Bollard & Planter ~ Winner Street

As part of making the streets of Paignton more individual and to add aesthetic qualityTorbay Council commissioned bespoke pavement bollards for the town centre andpedestrian areas. The inspiration for these beautiful pieces of street furniture wasthe Historic Coverdale Tower. This tower stands on the site of an earlier one that wasused to watch for Danish InvadersPaignton's "Manor House", though never so described. From Saxon times until 1549Paignton was an Episcopal manor, i.e. it belonged to the Bishops of Exeter. The Pal-ace has disappeared, but its outer fortifications remain; the Vicarage (1910) and par-ish hall (1951) are in the grounds. The name 'Coverdale Tower' recalls an erroneoustradition that Miles Coverdale, Bishop of Exeter 1551-3, translated the Bible in it, buthis translation was published 16 years before he became Bishop.

Paignton’s Historic

Coverdale Tower

Dog Poo Fairy

Young’s Park People in Goodrington join forces with

The Council’s Dog Wardens to highlight the ‘scourge's

of dog fouling and littering in our public parks.

There’s no such thing as the dog poo fairy!That was the main message of the latest anti dog fouling campaign in Torbay.

Torbay Council, which has won awards for an earlier campaign, was selected by the national clean upcharity Keep Britain Tidy as one of the areas to take part in the latest initiative.

The campaign encourages all dog owners to pick up after their dog because “there’s no such thing asthe dog poo fairy.”

All residents and those working in Torbay can help to take a stand against dog fouling by reportingoffenders to the dog warden. Information provided to the team can assist in the way in which the dogwardens and other officers carry out their patrols.

telephone . . . . . . . 01803 208091email. . . . . . . . . . . community.protection@torbay.gov.ukonline . . . . . . . . . . www.torbay.gov.uk/dogfouling

v what times are the offences being committed?

v where are the offences being committed?

v what does the dog look like?

v what does the owner look like?

v if the dog owner is using a car, what is the number onthe registration plate?

Band in the Park

Torbay Concert BrassEvery month throughoutthe summer season, and atChristmas, Torbay ConcertBrass perform in Young’sPark Paignton.September’s event was alovely balmy evening withover 100 people enjoyingthe free entertainment.

This is another Young’s Park People Project

Funding for this project ~ £50,000 ~ was awarded to YPP by a very generous grantfrom the Big Lottery Community Spaces & Groundwork.

This has been provided without any local council tax payers money.

Completing Late June 2011Similar to this

Hayes Road Primary School

This is just one of Paignton’s park group’saccolade collection for the year 2010 to 2011

Plethora of Awards for park’s group

The igoMANGO Trust has kindly agreed to bring their knowledge, expertise andvolunteers to help in the Young’s Park Wild Fowl Conservation Area in Paignton.

The igoMANGO Trust(taken from the igomango website)

The focus is on Environmental Conservation - and because we need conservationto counter inappropriate human activity, our involvement includes much communityand educational work.

The Trust exists to enhance the value of volunteering experience, both for thevolunteer and the recipients of volunteer effort. We form partnerships, provideguidance and seek funding in order to stimulate positive change through effectiveuse of volunteer effort. Much of our work is directed through Ambios Ltd, a not-for-profit science-based company dedicated to connecting science and society, andhelping all people who work with nature.

IGOMANGO

Paignton’s Annual Beer Festival

DESPITE drizzly weekend weather the sixth Occombe Beer Festival was a roaringsuccess with more than 9,000 punters coming through the door.

This year's festival saw an expanded event area allowing more people than ever toenjoy the celebrations.

Rachel Tapper of Occombe Farm said: "It went really well. It was excellent that theweather held out for us.

"The live music was very popular and we expanded the event area allowing morepeople to come along."

Among those playing live were The Iconyx, 3 Bags Full, 59 Ford, Duke Johnson andthe Scorchers and Mama Stones House Band.

Rachel said the bit of wet weather they did have didn't put people off.

The animals normally resident at Occombe Farm took a short holiday while the 9,000festival goers enjoyed the wide selection of real ales, beers and ciders.

This year's larger festival saw an extra bar on site serving Bays beers, ciders andperry.

More than 70 beers were on offer across the site and there was also an expandedPimm's and wine bar for those who didn't have an appetite for real ale.

Rachel said planning is already under way for next year's festival.

The event is organised by Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust.

PUPPY Power was the name of the game when mascots from all over South Devon

got together to race on the sands at Goodrington.

Fifteen mascots lined up on the sands for the second running of the Paignton Zoo

There were bears, a crocodile, a penguin and even a giant drop of blood limbering upfor the dash along the sands.

The Herald Express Newshound mascot was there, while Torquay United'sever-popular Gilbert the Gull was attracting plenty of attention.

But in the end, after keenly-contested heats and a no-holds-barred dash down thebeach in the final, the winner was the fleet-footed Slush Puppie, who just pippedCaptain Crealy in a thrilling race.

Among the mascots taking part were Cuba the Crocodile from Paignton Zoo, Mac thePenguin of Living Coasts, Newton from Bear Feet soft play area and Billy Blood-Dropfrom the Blood Transfusion Service.

Paignton Zoo fundraiser Lynne Parker said: "It was a great race.

"Everyone seemed to enjoy it. It's nice to get all the mascots from the variousbusinesses together just to have a bit of fun and put a smile on people's faces."

As soon as the racing was over, the spotlight shifted to the nearbySplashdown@Quaywest water park for a 'wet 'n' wild' charity duck race.

Hundreds of plastic ducks made their way down the park's flumes, raising money forthe zoo's conservation projects and winning a handsome prize for the 'owner' of thefirst duck across the finishing line.

Charity Run in Goodrington ~ Paignton

Four Seasons of Paignton

Autumn in Paignton

Spring in Paignton

Summer in Paignton

Winter in Paignton

Forthcoming Projects

RAPIDLY rising out of the mud is Paignton's new flagship children's project.

Contractors Interserve have put up the steel framework for the new £4.87million MyPlace projectbuilding and the first major BMX event has been booked for this autumn.

The South West open BMX event, on October 9, 2011, should attract around 400 national andinternational riders to Paignton and provide the town with a late-season boost.

One of the important aims of the complex is to generate an income from such events so that thescheme is self-financing.

Work is well under way on 'sculpting' the giant BMX track and outdoor spectator area and, if allgoes well, it is hoped to have the complex open for August Bank Holiday.

The concrete sub-structure has been installed for the climbing wall at the end of the building. Thewave effect feature and beach hut style pitched roof is due to go up in February, when thebrickwork and internal insulation will be completed.

The design of the skateboard park has been agreed. It will incorporate a flat beginners' area, abowl and various jumps between one and two metres high. Acoustic barriers around the area aredesigned to minimise noise impact.

The building itself will include a media suite, training rooms, a 200-seat sports hall/theatre/musicvenue and high-quality accommodation units for school and youth groups in Parkfield House.

Youngsters have been heavily involved in the concept and design work, and some have taken partin workshops on aspects of the construction, such as bricklaying.

On his latest visit to the site Mayor Nick Bye, said: "They are making remarkable progress. Theseworld-class facilities will give young people more opportunities to enjoy healthy and fun activities.

"It will attract people from outside the area as well as within Torbay which should provide an upliftfor some of the B&Bs and hotels in the area.

"The scale of it is amazing, I don't think many people appreciate what a large site it is. Being atParkfield means it is accessible for people from right across the Bay. It is also a really imaginativedesign."

Project director Maggie Naylor said young people wanted the building to reflect the waves of theBay and the pitched rooftops of the beach huts.

Another important aspect of the project is the conservation and enhancement of the green areaswhich make up much of the nine-acre site. This includes the area next to the Colin Road car parkwhich is home to a badger sett. It was going to be an extra car park but is now to become awildlife area.

It is also planned to restore the stream which runs through the grounds, and it is hoped that localpeople young and old will get involved in work in the house's Victorian garden.

"When it's finished it will be perfect for primary school children to go pond dipping."

A new webcam has been installed and is streaming pictures to the Parkfield web page on theTorbay Council website at www.torbay.gov.uk/parkfield

MYSPACE Project

Paignton Green Play Park

PAIGNTON'S seafront play park has been given the go-ahead by the National Lottery, theHerald Express understands.

Half a million pounds in Lotto cash is believed to be coming to the Paignton Green project.The decision on funding is shrouded in secrecy, and an announcement will be made onTuesday.

But it is understood the Paignton scheme has beaten off two other projects battling for thecash.

It is believed news of success has already been given to the promoters of the plan, thePaignton Town Centre Partnership, and leading Bay councillors.

They are all refusing to confirm the news ahead of next week's official announcement butprotesters, including Paignton Regatta chairman Ken Robertson (pictured), believe they havelost the battle.

But opponents of the plan, including the Paignton Regatta committee, now believe they havelost the fight to stop half of the central green being swallowed up by the play park.

Regeneration charity Groundwork UK, which hands out Lotto cash for green projects, is alsokeeping the decision under wraps.

If the decision is confirmed, it may mean work on the project could start this autumn withthe aim of having it ready for Easter next year.

The plan has been opposed by Paignton Regatta, which fears the use of so much of thecentral green would hit its summer fund-raising activities hard.

Ken Robertson, chairman of the regatta committee, said: "I surmise they have beensuccessful, judging from the Cheshire Cat grins at a meeting of the partnership onWednesday night.

"We would be very disappointed if our responses haven't been listened to.

"However, on meeting Mr Bye he has promised all possible help to ensure that the regattawill continue, and we look forward to working with him."

He said the regatta is due to run this summer and a decision will be taken later on whetherto run the event in 2011.

The proposal will take up almost half of the central green, next to the Flagship pub andApollo cinema, and already has planning permission.

It would have five different play zones with a geology theme including wet play, climbing,slides and towers, lookout and terraces, earth mounds and a bridge.

Mayor Bye has also agreed the council can lease the site to the partnership.

Groundwork UK says it is finalising the details of nine projects across the country agreedearlier week and is to publish all the details on Tuesday.

The play park was competing against a public woodland plan for Saltash, and a communitygreen around Exeter Cathedral.

Model of the Proposed

Play Park

Paignton Green

Extract from

Acknowledgements

Tim Eley Torbay In Bloom Plus Chairman

Richard Taylor Torbay Council

Herald Express

www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk

www.torbay.gov.uk

Google Maps

Compiled by YPP ©

Rare Southern Marsh Orchid

(Young’s Park,

Conservation Area)

Appendices

Review of the Year Diary ~ Attached..................

To be suppliedby Tim Eley on

6th July