The Battle of Babbacombe Downs continues

By PRSD, on Saturday, February 20, 2010

Some 50 people were at Babbacombe Downs on Saturday, February 20, in response to a call from the Facebook group Keep Your Fishy Fingers off Babbacombe Downs, says the Bus Driving blog.

There was no sign of Torbay mayor Nick Bye, but he’s been caught in the thick of the debate before.

The issue is the plans for a two-storey restaurant on the toilets at The Downs.

The stated objective of the Facebook group Keep Your Fishy Fingers OFF Babbacombe Downs reads thusly:

“Action Group. For like minded people who don’t want Babacombe Downs built on which is in a Conservation Area, Coastal Protection & Preservation Zone and is registered as an Area of Great Landscape Value. To press the Council to adhere to the Tourism Strategy to celebrating the Heritage and USPs of which the Downs is one and to encourage them to sign up to the Heritage Consultation currently underway to Value, preserve and promote the best of what we have and only develop the unsightly areas.”

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carole warran

The reason that people are against the giving away a beauty spot are why give a freehold of 125 years do you realize that if the restaurant doesn't do well then Mr Bloxham can then sell the freehold for a vast amount to the highest bidder McDonald's burger king don't you wonder WHY MR Bye would give it away to a friend of his for £1
Also it has been suggested that the restaurant be built on the existing Babbacombe theater but No Mr Bloxham didn't want that WHY because he wouldn't OWN a long freehold that he could sell.
Once the building starts when will it stop we have many empty shops look at the FLEET Walk that was progress but torquay is dying it is tatty so why build new shops and restaurants when we cant fill the ones we already have
Concerning the people who are against this when i went to the public meeting on the downs on the 6th march there were people of all ages 1000 signed the petition on the day and the theater was full with more who couldn't come in as there was no room for them .
We need to safeguard our green spaces for our children and their children So all of you who are for this building on the downs look at the prices of Mr Bloxhams restaurant and you will see he charges very high prices so half of you stupid gullible people wont even be able to afford to eat there unless of course he sells it on to McDonald's you have been warned

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Kerouac fan

pete and tekv
Two little money-grubbing Tories on a revolutionary site - well, well, well. Very few people knew about this 'meeting', what about the 300 (said the Herald Express) who packed the Furrough Cross Church meeting two weeks previously (video here: www.torquaytimes.blogspot.com/)- and just wait and count the number at the next meeting!
"people just turn out and moan about anything they can."
not surprising with Mayor Nick Bye and his Tory Council building on all the beauty spots - the only thing Torbay's had to offer. I wish people had complained more in the past, the town wouldn't look the over-developed mess it does at the moment.

tekv

There's a horrible tendency in Torbay recently for people to just turn out and moan about anything they can.

Just ask them why they're against what, after all, amounts to knocking down an unsightly and inaccessible toilet and replacing it with a potentially great restaurant. You'll never get a logical answer.