This autumn Torbay Council will start to make significant changes in Paignton town centre as we begin to demolish Victoria Shopping Centre and Victoria multi-storey car park.

The demolition works will prepare the site for a new chapter in Paignton’s history, as we move forward with community led plans to provide much needed housing for local people, rejuvenate the area and attract businesses back into the town.

The Victoria Centre was identified for redevelopment and improvement in the Paignton Town Centre Masterplan (Adopted in June 2015). It also formed part of our successful Future High Streets Fund bid that saw £13.36million of government funding for Paignton to deliver infrastructure and public realm improvements, new homes and an enhanced cultural offer in the town centre.

In preparation for Victoria multi-storey car park being demolished, a new temporary surface level car park on Hyde Road at the former Crossways Shopping Centre site is being created. The car park will have up to 150 pay and display spaces available 24-hours a day. It will be open and operational before Victoria multi-storey car park closes.

Options for additional car parking facilities in and around the immediate town centre during the demolition period are being worked up by Council officers. These options could see over a 100 temporary car parking spaces being available in phases as more and more of the Victoria Centre land is released, with some expected to be available by Christmas.

Once all demolition works are completed, we will return the entire Victoria Centre site to a surface level car park, offering around 500 car parking spaces. These spaces will be released sequentially allowing for phased demolition works. Council officers will work with the contractor to ensure sufficient spaces are available in time for summer 2025 (together with other town centre parking options being explored by us). This car park will remain in place until work starts to redevelop the entire the site into a mixed-used scheme.

Victoria Centre redevelopment options are currently being considered with Council Leaders and the our Regeneration Partners, Willmott Dixon and Milligan. Redevelopment work is not expected to start until planning consent has been obtained for an agreed preferred option and a delivery partner and investor has been secured.

Longer-term parking provision in Paignton forms part of our wider town centre strategy work. This work is underway and builds on previous masterplanning work carried out with the community. Workshops are in progress, and opportunities for the community to look at the vision to see how key sites across Paignton will be linked together will be made public by the end of the year.

The changes being made to parking in Paignton town centre also support the Paignton and Preston Promenade scheme. This project is currently in the procurement phase following approval of planning permission. Work is expected to start in early 2025 and be completed in early 2028.

As changes start to be made to parking locations, we want to reassure the community, businesses and residents that Paignton remains very much open. The provisional date for Victoria multi-storey car parking closing is early November 2024. In the meantime, it remains open and accessible. Other parking locations available in the town centre that will not be impacted by the redevelopment works are:

Pay and display car parks

• Crown and Anchor (76 spaces, open 24 hours a day)
• Great Western (70 spaces, open 24 hours a day)
• Roundham (100 spaces, open 8am until 10pm)
• Station Lane (73 spaces, open 24 hours)

On street pay and display parking

• Adelphi Road
• Dendy Road
• Eastern Esplanade (until Paignton and Preston Promenade project starts)
• Hyde Road
• Marine Drive (until Paignton and Preston Promenade project starts)
• Palace Avenue
• Queens Road
• Sands Road
• Steartfield Road
• Torbay Road
• Torquay Road

Full details can be found on our find a car park page.

Cllr Chris Lewis, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Place Development and Economic Growth said; “The way we use our town centres and high streets has changed, and like many other UK towns we have been preparing plans to ensure they remain fit for the future.

“The redevelopment of the Victoria Centre has been talked about for 10-years and we are now at a point where we can bring exciting changes forward. We have already started to unlock the site with the demolition of Garfield Road car park and Lidl deciding to leave the town centre. Commercially sensitive conversations are also underway with other retailers and occupiers of the site.

“Our aim is to provide a seamless transition to other car parking locations once Victoria multi-storey car park closes. Everything is being done as quickly as possible to bring temporary car parking locations forward to minimise disruption to the community. The message is clear, Paignton remains open for business, and we ask the community to support and share that message.

“We are at the start of some significant changes being made to Paignton, but the end result will see the provision of much needed housing for local people, the area rejuvenated, and businesses being attracted back into the town.”

Details including how the closure of Victoria multi-storey car park will impact permit holders is still being considered. Those impacted will be contacted directly by us. The exact date for the closure will be announced in due course along with further information on the demolition process.