Permission denied to bulldoze former seaside hotel
Plans to flatten a prominent hotel on the English Riviera have been rejected after opposition from SAVE, the Devon Buildings Group, Historic England and other national heritage bodies.
Torbay council refused permission earlier this month for the demolition of the former Baileys Hotel in Paignton, a characterful survival from the town’s past as a Victorian seaside resort.
A new use is now needed to secure a future for these cherished but decaying buildings at 62-70 Victoria Street.
The former Baileys Hotel was designed by renowned local architects Couldrey and Bridgeman in 1874 to accommodate the increasing numbers of visitors to Paignton following construction of the railway which was opened to the public in 1859. The railway helped transform Paignton into a popular Victorian seaside resort and buildings such as the Baileys and the Emporium were designed to impress the new tourists.
The building is within the setting of several listed buildings including the grade II* listed Torbay Cinema and is a surviving reminder of the town’s Victorian heyday.
While it has been allowed to deteriorate, it retains the potential to contribute significantly to the historic character of the Old Paignton Conservation Area, both as part of the group of buildings on Victoria Street and in its own right.
SAVE’s conservation officer Lydia Franklin argued in her letter to the local planning authority that the proposals contravened several local and national policies including those relating to heritage assets and embodied carbon.
She concluded: “Sitting within the Old Paignton Conservation Area, this building is on a prominent site, highly visible on leaving the train station and an important surviving example of Victorian architecture which illustrates Paignton’s development as a seaside resort. It has been identified as making a positive contribution to local character and distinctiveness and with sensitive restoration could continue to make a positive contribution to the local community and tourist offering, supporting economic vitality.”
