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Post by TUSTOfficial on Oct 2, 2018 5:40:44 GMT
What questions have you got for our Legends? We’re looking for questions to ask during our Q&A session on the night. We’ve got Colin Lee, Robin Stubbs, Kevin Hill, Russell Musker, John Uzzell, Alex Watson, Dougie Clarke, Tom Kelly, Mark Loram, Sean Joyce, Dave Rudge and representing TULFC Danni Wyatt. All of these great names will be with us on October 12th for our Legends Evening at Number 10’s. Come and hear what they have to say about their experiences playing for Torquay United. We’re also having a Quiz as well as a raffle with some great prizes. There’s also a very special item that will be up for grabs which any football fan would want on their wall! Tickets are available now to purchase at the Club Shop.  |
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Post by TUSTOfficial on Oct 23, 2018 17:46:07 GMT
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Post by TUSTOfficial on Oct 29, 2018 16:24:36 GMT
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Post by TUSTOfficial on Nov 30, 2018 10:47:01 GMT
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Post by Ditmar van Nostrilboy on Dec 1, 2018 17:27:35 GMT
Personally speaking, I emailed the local councillors requesting they vote against the Lib Dem proposal. Redevelopment would be a boon for what is, in essence, wasteland. Attempting to portray it as a "community asset" is, quite frankly, disingenuous. I have lived not far from it for over 10 years now, and the only use it appears to get is occasional forays from dog walkers (me included sometimes), and the odd wino/smackhead who delight in leaving their broken bottles/drug detritus in the vicinity of that big concrete lump. I have no particular fondness for GI but something does need doing with Nightingale Park (Park being a pretty loose definition of it to be honest).
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rjdgull
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Post by rjdgull on Dec 2, 2018 16:00:10 GMT
I suppose what is in the local plan presently is reflective of the previous usage of the site with a relatively low level of development envisaged to provide an amenity for quarter of a century of intensive house building in this part of Torquay. Due to a lack of funding the chances of this being provided by the local authority anytime soon appears to be remote and the site remains in its poor basic state so should greater emphasis be put on implementing this vision or should alternative uses be considered and if so what?
The alternative proposal put forward by CO so far has been very vague and is imo high risk, reliant on enabling development to provide a significant proportion of the funding (land with planning permission provided by the local authority - not sure if this would be around the Nightingale Park area as per Swindon speedway development or elsewhere? This in itself opens a very large can of worms.) No planning permission which would flesh out some details for the new stadium has yet to be submitted in November although it does take a few days for a permission to be validated by Torbay but there is probably not much point in doing so until this vote has been undertaken as it would block any stadium proposal regardless of its merits. So over to the residents at the willows for now......
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Post by Ditmar van Nostrilboy on Dec 2, 2018 17:06:58 GMT
Yes Rob, but careful perusal of the Lib Dem letter would infer that there is no mention of it in the Sport and Leisure plan and that they are asking for it to be added? Oh, and I am a resident of the Willows area  |
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rjdgull
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Post by rjdgull on Dec 2, 2018 17:32:16 GMT
I read it as it is already in the local plan and Torbay Playing Pitch strategy but little has been done - would you as a resident prefer this option?
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Post by Ditmar van Nostrilboy on Dec 2, 2018 18:18:25 GMT
About the only mention I could find of the area was:
2.1 Areas of search for the provision of additional pitches have also been identified within the Torbay Local Plan, as follows:
• Churston (area of search – includes Brokenbury Quarry and/or North Boundary Road)
• Willows / Browns Bridge – possible location for new pitches but the land is ex land fill
so my guess is it's been looked at but shelved due to the cost/complexity of turning it into sports pitches.
As a resident, something needs doing with it. If thats going to be GI's pipedream of a new arena complex type thing, then so be it. South Devon could do with something like that.
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rjdgull
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Post by rjdgull on Dec 2, 2018 18:31:30 GMT
So if the cost and complexity for sport pitches on ex landfill is difficult then you have to be wary as to the difficulties on building a stadium complex etc.
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Post by Ditmar van Nostrilboy on Dec 2, 2018 18:39:05 GMT
The council would no doubt have a serious problem justifying the cost to the local taxpayers. A developer not so as cleanup would be factored into overall cost of development.
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rjdgull
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Post by rjdgull on Dec 2, 2018 19:33:00 GMT
The council would no doubt have a serious problem justifying the cost to the local taxpayers. A developer not so as cleanup would be factored into overall cost of development. The development would at the very least still need to wash its face and there are a lot of extra costs in there. In effect the objective of the development is to 1) provide a multi use stadium for Torquay to play in and for other uses, 2) ancillary development for the club to benefit from those additional income flows 3) pay off CO for his outlay in the club plus no doubt a bit extra which I don’t have a problem with if it can be done. But where is the value in this project to pay for it all? |
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Post by Ditmar van Nostrilboy on Dec 2, 2018 22:15:59 GMT
At a guess, from the additional retail units and housing. I dont profess to be an expert but the only property developer I know (also based around Bristol as it happens) reckons to work on a 10 to 12% ROI per annum so roughly a return of 30 to 40% over a 3 year project (hence the very gucci boat he had). It may not be the case now but housing used to break near enough into thirds, one for land cost, one for build and one for profit. That may of course have changed with the price of land having escalated. Which ever way you look at it, if it means something being done with the wasteland down by the Willows, I wouldnt be against it.
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Dec 4, 2018 0:54:38 GMT
Personally speaking, I emailed the local councillors requesting they vote against the Lib Dem proposal. Redevelopment would be a boon for what is, in essence, wasteland. Attempting to portray it as a "community asset" is, quite frankly, disingenuous. I have lived not far from it for over 10 years now, and the only use it appears to get is occasional forays from dog walkers (me included sometimes), and the odd wino/smackhead who delight in leaving their broken bottles/drug detritus in the vicinity of that big concrete lump. I have no particular fondness for GI but something does need doing with Nightingale Park (Park being a pretty loose definition of it to be honest). Page 109 of local plan: www.torbay.gov.uk/media/6836/lp-2012to2030.pdfThe key issue to remember about Wednesday is that this is another level of protection against the maverick Gordon Oliver doing whatever he wants. After having met him, that prospect scares me to death. I do not trust him to do the right thing. Far better to have extra hoops to jump to ensure that any plans have to tick the right boxes. It is blatantly obvious that GI's strategy has been to work on Torbay's weakest link - Gordon Oliver. They have not engaged with the council in any way. They have not engaged with supporters of the Football Club in any way. If their plans stand up to scrutiny, why not let them be scrutinised? Why take the route of bypassing the democratic process and desperately seeking to cut a secretive deal with Oliver direct? My view is to support putting as many obstacles as possible in Oliver's way so that he has to debate plans publicly, not push them through behind closed doors. When we are rid of Oliver in May, GI will have to get plans through the full council. We can then look to our Councillors to ensure that the best interests of Torbay as a whole and of Torquay United are served. Councillors get some undeserved stick, but I have been impressed by the willingness to engage and to do the right thing shown by Torbay Councillors across all parties. |
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Post by Ditmar van Nostrilboy on Dec 4, 2018 9:02:01 GMT
Jon, like all local plans (deliberately woolly) it states "Part of site developable for employment which could be Use Classes B1/B2/B8 or leisure uses" so construction/building appears acceptable on the site. If thats the case, it just then becomes a question of what kind of development does it not?
Notwithstanding your opinion on directly elected mayors (I have no particular affection for him, nor the previous occupant, nor the concept either), that was what the apathy of the bay's voters allowed (along with the somewhat bizarre decision to become a unitary authority previously) and as such, the post of DE mayor assumes the task of setting the tiller in a particular direction. Given that, then what else would GI do apart from go directly to his office?
Personally speaking, I certainly wouldnt be adverse to the club moving to somewhere like the Willows, assuming of course the stadia was built and ready for use prior to anything happening at Plainmoor.
You obviously have a different opinion.
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