Brian, who runs an antique shop in Torre, a suburb of Torquay, said that Union Street – a main road once bustling with locals and tourists – is now eerily quiet
Brian, the owner of an antique shop in Torre, a suburb of Torquay, has revealed the once bustling Union Street is now eerily quiet.
He detailed the area’s gradual downturn, with a rising tally of closed shops, and many locals pointing fingers at the pandemic’s devastating effects.
Brian revealed he had moved from London to a “thriving” part of the country but the downturn has troubled him and other residents now struggling to make ends meet. He said: “When I first moved here (from London) it was quite a thriving area, especially downtown. Then it was slowly, slowly getting worse.
“There was a druggie problem for a while, and there still is a certain amount. But most of them have moved from here to Factory Row.”
The Fox and Firkin pub, once a bustling local pub, has now been transformed into a townhouse, and Brian is worried that more businesses will follow this trend. “There used to be the Railway Inn but that closed down because of drugs and is now flats. The Printers Elbow has gone too.
“I think they are trying to turn the area into more residential. They need to keep one or two shops open and I think maybe a cafe will survive but that’s the way things are going. I can go all day without seeing anybody.”
Torre, which lent its name to the seaside resort of Torquay, is caught in a wider pattern affecting shopping streets throughout the region.
The surge in online shopping coupled with dwindling high street foot traffic has dealt a severe blow to the town. Many of the shops were originally homes, repurposed to serve tourists and workers during Torquay’s heyday as a holiday destination.
Torbay Council has unveiled proposals to transform aging hotels into affordable homes, underscoring a shift towards residential development in the town. With the surge of vacant shopfronts, the future of Torre’s retail streets appears to be transitioning to housing.
Fellow business owners in the area, like Mr Robert Excell, say the area is in desperate need of “redeveloping” and that online shopping has left some shops struggling to survive. He said: “Everybody does everything online now and footfall is not the same. All towns are experiencing it. All the banks have gone from here and it is changing.
“The area needs to be redeveloped for much-needed accommodation and businesses that suit the area. I could do my business from home if I wanted to but I like coming to work and I like the atmosphere in Torre. It has great potential to be redeveloped if they get the planning right. The council is there to serve the people and that is what they forget too often.”
