South Devon News

Officers in Torquay conducted a Pubs Against Drugs operation across the town recently – and they had a special canine helper.

People needing urgent and life-saving and urgent care are now being treated in the first phase of Torbay Hospital’s £14.2million Emergency Department redevelopment – a major step towards improving patient experience and reducing waiting times.

A 22 year old man has been given a civil order under the Modern Slavery Act to protect children from potential harm and prevent them being coerced into committing crime.

The Torquay Neighbourhood Police Team ran seasonal Operation Limit drink drive checks on Torbay Road, Torquay last weekend and more than 200 vehicles passed through the check point.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has downgraded the rating of Burrow Down Community Support in Paignton, Devon from good to inadequate and placed it into special measures to protect people following an inspection in July and August.

Torquay Library is welcoming the community with a new initiative offering free breakfasts on Friday mornings over the Winter. 

Putting some of Torbay’s assets up for sale will help safeguard the rest for the future, councillors have been told.

Health chiefs in Torbay have been urged to think again before pulling the plug on a successful partnership with the bay’s council.

Campaigners fighting to secure the use of a former Brixham church as a food bank and ‘safe space’ have had their hopes dashed.

Torbay Council has been accused of exploiting the grief of bereaved families for financial gain after hiking the price of memorial benches around the bay.

Partners caring for vulnerable adults in Torbay have welcomed a watchdog report rating services as ‘good’. The Care Quality Commission says despite some shortfalls, adult social care in the bay performs strongly in key areas. Standards remain reassuring.

The massive scale of repairs required to restore Paignton’s historic Oldway Mansion is revealed in a new planning application.

Torbay Council is being urged to link up with neighbouring authorities to help cut the cost of tip-trip miles for local families.

Projects designed to revitalise some of Torquay’s most deprived communities could start to see government money in their bank accounts as early as April next year.

Recently officers from the Torquay Neighbourhood Team with support from Police Cadets conducted an evening of action around child exploitation, known as Op Makesafe.

Robot lawnmowers roaming grassed areas in Torbay are timing their trims to keep hedgehogs safe.

Staff working in Torbay’s harbours are to be given extra training amid reports that a Russian spy came ashore at Torquay on a mission to snoop on Ukrainian troops.

Torbay’s record-breaking 2025 airshow made a loss of just over £33,000.

Developers are preparing proposals for a hotel, a care home and 175 houses in fields on the outskirts of Brixham.

Torbay Council is being urged to think again over a controversial hike in the price of memorial benches in the bay.

The Torbay Place Leadership Board will come together on Monday 15 December, uniting local leaders and community representatives to shape discussions on Paignton’s future and the wider regeneration of Torbay.

For sale – five public toilets (slightly used), a graffiti-covered beach cafe, a derelict schoolroom and a disused former icehouse.

Torbay Council have been advised that the Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust (TCCT) will formally enter liquidation this week.

Wild Planet Trust announced at the beginning of Autumn that it was seeking investment to secure the future of both Paignton and Newquay Zoo's. They have announced that Libéma, a Dutch leisure company, will officially be taking ownership of both zoos as of 1 January 2026.

A new Warm Spaces scheme has been launched with sites across Torbay to help local people to have a place to keep warm during the winter months.

A Paignton town centre road which has been partly closed for more than a week amid fears for the safety of shoppers could be open again soon.

New homes on the site of Paignton’s former Crossways shopping centre will give a run-down part of the town centre a ‘shot in the arm’.

Torbay’s MP has called for a review of security after it was reported that a Russian spy had come ashore from a ship in Torquay on a mission to snoop on Ukrainian soldiers.

Paignton’s YMCA is on the move to a new home in the town..

This Christmas, Torbay and South Devon NHS Charity is working to ensure that every patient spending Christmas Day in hospital receives a gift—a simple gesture that brings comfort, joy, and a sense of connection at a time when it’s needed most.

Some of the first new council housing delivered directly by Torbay Council in a generation is now ready for local people to move in to before Christmas.

A derelict ‘brutalist’ office block in the centre of Torquay where a gunman killed three people before taking his own life 50 years ago could finally be turned into flats.

Torbay has joined the list of councils around the country to say no to more ‘hubs’ and information screens on its streets.

Toby Carter, 23, of Babbacombe Rd, previously pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at Exeter Crown Court in October. Yesterday he was sentenced to three years &four months in prison disqualified from driving for five years upon release.