A PLAN to revamp Paignton’s tatty town centre has been put on hold as Torbay Council juggles millions of pounds in government money.

With the clock ticking down to a deadline to get the work started, the local authority has made the ‘difficult but necessary’ decision to switch the funds earmarked for the long-awaited Station Square project to another Paignton project instead.

Otherwise, it says, the money could have been taken back by the government because the time limit to spend it would have passed.

The government’s Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government monitors how the money from its Future High Streets (FHS) fund is spent. Nearly five years ago Torbay received more than £13million to spend on Station Square, the Victoria Centre and a redevelopment at the former Crossways shopping centre.

Now the council’s Conservative administration has admitted that ‘initial regeneration proposals do not always go to plan’. But, it says, it is committed to delivering changes to the town centre.

Torbay Road is still set to be spruced up, but the Station Square part of the project cannot be started until unavoidable roadworks in nearby Sands Road are complete. Otherwise there would be traffic gridlock in the town centre.

A major new flood defence scheme on the seafront is due to start around the same time.

And that means permission has had to be sought from the government to divert the money to the Crossways project – extra-care housing and a new day centre – instead. Work could begin there by the middle of next year.

In a statement the council said: “Our top priority is to ensure that any grant funding we receive to support town centre regeneration is fully spent—so we don’t risk losing it.

“Due to essential gas pipe replacement works on Sands Road scheduled for mid-October – which would delay the start of the Station Square public realm improvements – we’ve had to make a difficult but necessary decision..

“While this wasn’t the outcome we had hoped for, it ensures the funding remains in Paignton and continues to support our long-term regeneration goals. Regeneration timelines can shift, but our commitment to creating a vibrant, future-ready town centre remains unchanged.”

The Station Square project will now form part of a new package of measures for Paignton which is designed to create a new ‘transport hub’ around the railway and bus stations.

Combining the two jobs will minimise disruption by ensuring there is only one major period of highway construction under way. More details will emerge early next year.

Cllr Chris Lewis (Con, Preston), whose cabinet role includes development and economic growth, said; “Pausing the public realm works for now wasn’t an easy decision, but due to funding restrictions and other planned works happening in the area impacting on the proposed start date, an alternative option had to be found to avoid losing the funding.

“Initial regeneration proposals don’t always go to plan, but we are one hundred per cent committed to making and delivering on changes to the town centre and ensuring it is fit for the future.”