Will Fragrance have a re-think on new Palace plans? Don’t hold your breath

Wonder how the consultation is going for that controversial U-turn Palace Hotel plan? I would suspect the Fragrance Group are winning few friends as they seek feedback on their bid to build more homes on the site of the former four-star Palace rather than a multi-million pound five-star luxury hotel and spa resort which would have been the envy of the West County and beyond.

The developers are already well into building 38 houses on what was once the Palace’s old tennis courts. That was supposed to finance the hotel part of the development but Fragrance say they have been forced to make a U-turn.

New plans are now out in the public domain and include 67 new, one- to four-bed properties on Babbacombe Road, with a proportion of affordable homes, which Fragrance say, is  in line with Torbay Council policy.

Martin Rogers, on behalf of the Fragrance Group, said: “Our original 2019 plans for a new hotel alongside new homes are no longer financially viable. The costs of construction materials and labour have increased considerably, as have the costs of running a hotel day-to-day.

“These issues, combined with difficulties in hospitality recruitment, and Torbay’s oversupply of hotel rooms, mean a new hotel, regrettably, is no longer a feasible option.”

A consultation into the proposals, known as Palace Gardens II, has been launched with a drop-in exhibition event already held but the opportunity for further feedback is available until June 16 at www.palacegardens2.co.uk.

Feedback gathered through the consultation process will be used to inform an outline planning application. from Fragrance.

Fragrance say as part of their consultation: “In 2019, permission was sought for the demolition of the old hotel and the construction of a new 248-bedroom hotel, 38 dwellings, and associated landscaping. The homes were needed to help fund the construction of the new hotel as it would not have been financially viable on its own. This assessment was supported by a review carried out on behalf of Torbay Council. Planning permission was formally granted in February 2020.

“Just weeks later, Covid-19 struck. This was followed in 2022 by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These and other factors have led to a significant increase in labour and materials cost, and greatly increased running costs for hospitality, not least for energy and staff. The cost of materials alone has risen by 20 per cent in two years, for instance.

“As we have seen, in 2019 the sums for new hotel would not have added up without the profits from the new housing which is currently under construction. But the economic changes since then mean that the hotel is no longer financially viable.”

It must not be forgotten that Fragrance are already delivering three more hotels in the Bay – one already open in Paignton, another alongside and one more on the site of the former Corbyn  Head Hotel on Torquay seafront. That’s a massive, £70 million investment and will not be affected.

“Efforts have been made to seek other hotel developers to see if they could take on the site, but to no avail. The decision was then taken to investigate other uses of the site which would benefit the people of Torbay while also being financially achievable,” say Fragrance.

The response so far has hot exactly been welcoming as you may expect and the developers are being asked to think again.

Recently re-elected Wellswood councillor Nick Bye says: “There has been a definite sense of disappointment at the consultation event – at times quite hostile. The developers have nearly completed lucrative development of 38 houses intended to help finance the construction of an international standard hotel.

“Even if this is not viable then why not something in the style of their new Paignton hotels? If viable for Paignton sea front then why not Torquay/Wellswood especially as the developer has the profits from 38 houses to pay towards the construction costs.

“There’s nothing like that on the Wellswood, Babbacombe and Meadfoot side of town. This is a hugely important site and the visitor spend plus employment would be a great loss if no hotel built to replace the old Palace.”

He claimed: “The housing proposals are dreary beyond belief – they simply don’t reflect the grandeur or character of adjacent villas and terraces. It’s absolutely awful and just so depressing to think they might cover the wonderful grounds of the old Palace.

“Please think again.”

As I say, let’s not forget that Fragrance have brought massive investment to town and have created new jobs. But Palace 1 – I assume that what it may have been called – would have been the dream icing on the cake and would have put the English Riviera on the five-star map.

It would be great if Fragrance could look at a different option and think again. But the reality here is that this is a brownfield site, there is a desperate need for affordable homes locally and Torbay doesn’t meet five-year housing land requirements as set out by the government.

What’s the betting the Fragrance legal eagles are already planning their appeal to the inspector if the proposals are thrown out by local planners?