Regulation 18 Draft Local Plan 2025 Online Version and Consultation

Support

Representation ID: 812

Received: 02/02/2026

Respondent: South Devon College (Statutory / General Consultation Body)

Agent: Avison Young

South Devon College has been educating and supporting the local community since 1931. As South Devon’s leading Further Education College, its mission is to ‘inspire our community through learning’, delivering a huge range of courses and qualifications for students of all ages, backgrounds and abilities, from entry-level short courses and apprenticeships through to full honours degrees at its TEF Gold-rated University Centre in Paignton.

With nearly 700 teaching and support staff across the main Vantage Point campus in Paignton, as well as its outlying facilities in Torquay, Newton Abbot, and its Marine Academy in Kingswear, SDC is Torbay’s third largest employer. As a major institution in South Devon, SDC is proud to play a key role in the provision of high-quality education across South Devon and to partner with Torbay Council to drive regional skills, economic growth, and net-zero goals through initiatives like the Torbay Sector Pathways Programme (2024 – 2026).

In recent years, SDC’s campus estates have benefitted from significant investment, including its Hi Tech and Digital Centre which focuses on digital skills, cyber security and advanced engineering, its Clean Energy Centre, a regional centre of excellence for clean energy technologies and training, and its Sports Centre, comprising an all-weather 3G pitch, a Multi-Use Games Area pitch and indoor court facilities. South Devon College stewards its estate by focusing on sustainable, efficient, and modern infrastructure, ensuring its resources are used effectively to maintain and protect campus locations. To that end, SDC is continually reviewing and updating its Estate Strategy; SDC has identified two parcels of land at its main Vantage Point campus in Paignton which are surplus to requirements. Alongside the descriptions of the parcels of land below, please refer to the plan submitted as part of formal representations issued via e-mail (02/02/2026) which identify these parcels of land.

1) The former Syntech site – Land fronting Long Road adjacent to the Devonshire Park development. This land is currently used as at-grade parking. SDC intend to consolidate its parking provision within the existing campus and dispose of this land parcel. For the reasons outlined below, given the existing varied land uses along Long Road and this land’s location within a planned Future Growth Area, it is considered that this land could be redeveloped for a range of residential or employment/commercial uses (including retail use).
2) The Top Field – This site comprises a playing field which is no longer in use. The field is not open to the public, nor is it flood lit. In 2017 Reserved Matters Approval P/2016/0188 was granted (following planning permission P/2011/0197) for the delivery of a new Sports Centre, including an all-weather 3G pitch and indoor court facilities just to the south of the main Vantage Point campus. This now comprises the focal point of sports provision at SDC’s main campus. One of the main reasons for the need for the new sports facilities was that the Top Field could not be used intensively as it can become waterlogged. SDC intend to dispose of this land parcel. Subject to resolution of an appropriate drainage strategy, it is considered that this land is appropriate for residential development.

The land fronting Long Road and the majority of the Top Field already form part of an area identified as a Strategic Delivery Area within the adopted Torbay Local Plan 2012 – 2030 (adopted December 2015), planned to accommodate mixed use developments to provide a range of housing, especially family housing, employment, local recreation and local retail facilities (Strategic Delivery Areas SS1, SS5 and SS12 and Policy SDP3 Paignton North and Western Area). However, while the rest of the land within this allocation is subject to planning permission (reference P/2014/0752)/pending planning application for redevelopment (reference P/2025/0782), neither land parcel identified above has been subject to applications for redevelopment.

In this context, South Devon College notes and supports Torbay Council’s Strategic Priority 5: Build Better Communities with the Homes, Spaces and Opportunities that People Deserve. The draft Local Plan sets out that this will be achieved through meeting a series of objectives including to support the expansion and improvement of existing educational establishments, especially South Devon College (page 26).

SDC recognises and appreciates Torbay Council’s express support for SDC’s continued success in the draft Local Plan, however, we request that this objective is amended to acknowledge opportunities for SDC to also consolidate assets and make effective use of land, enabling SDC to generate revenue to reinvest in its campus facilities.