About Torbay Civic Society
Torbay Civic Society works to protect the places that make the Bay worth living in. We keep public open spaces accessible, defend the built environment, and make sure local history continues to play its part in the life of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham.
Membership is open to everyone, whatever your age, background or beliefs. Across the United Kingdom the civic society movement encourages people to enjoy and look after the places they have chosen to call home, through the protection and sensible development of their area. That is what we do here in Torbay.
What is a Civic Society?
A civic society is a group of local people who give their own time to look after the place they live: its buildings, its open spaces, its history, and the decisions being made about its future.
Most are registered charities, funded and run by their own members. Groups like this exist across England, and plenty of them do the same work under a different name, including residents' associations, preservation and conservation groups, and local history and environmental groups.
Torbay Civic Society
A fierce defender of Torbay’s heritage, Sheila Hardaway (pictured below) first established the Friends of the Pavilion in 1971 and in 1976 established the Torbay Civic Society when the Friends of the Pavilion merged with several local residents' associations. It became a registered charity in 1977. Her tireless advocacy safeguarded historic buildings and inspired the movement that continues today.
What the Society does
The Society runs its own affairs, is funded by its own members and is answerable to them. It works to a mission statement that commits it "to promote public interest in Civic Design and to stimulate public conscientiousness and appreciation of the beauty, history and character of the (Torbay) area". Its objects include "to encourage the preservation, development, and improvement of features which enhance the attractiveness of the three towns of Torbay".
A small and active committee runs meetings, study groups, lectures and publications. It issues blue plaques, merit certificates and organises community projects to improve the local environment.
Over the past thirty years and more it has installed more than forty commemorative plaques, planted thousands of trees, and left behind public gardens, seats and memorials.
Our committee monitors the Council's planning notices and watches for changes that could affect the built environment, green spaces, parks and the wider area. Where a proposal raises concern, whether a change of use, a demolition or a new build of local importance, we put our views to the Planning Committee so they can be weighed before any decision is made. Committee members meet planning officers, carry out site visits, and where a proposal is contentious we take the argument to the public through the local media.
We keep members informed of the action taken on their behalf, both at Society events and through our News Brief. Where public land is at stake we sometimes survey members directly so their views are recorded in writing. On rare occasions, when a decision runs against everything Torbay stands for, we take legal advice, approach the Ombudsman or lodge a formal appeal. We have challenged the Council more than once over whether covenants left by past benefactors can be set aside without proper consultation with the electorate.
Membership
Membership is open to anyone who cares about Torbay. You do not need to have lived here long, and you do not need to know anything about architecture or local history. An interest in the place is the only qualification.
More than planning
The Society is also a friendly place to meet people. Alongside the planning work we run a full programme of social events, including our monthly Coffee Morning with a Difference, coach outings, lectures, walks, afternoon teas and an annual dinner. Most events are held during the day, with dinners, party nights and our Mystery Guest evenings held after dark. All of them are informal and well attended, which makes it easy to make new friends and keep up with old ones.
What we have achieved
In the decades since 1976 the Society's work has left its mark across the Bay. We grew out of the campaign to save Torquay's Pavilion, and protecting buildings like it has been at the heart of what we do ever since.
Our best known work is the Blue Plaque programme, which marks the buildings, sites and people that shaped Torquay, Paignton and Brixham. It remains the most visible record of the Bay's history on its streets, and can now be explored through an interactive online map. We have also helped create lasting public memorials, including the National Home Guard memorial at Corbyn Head and the Parachute Regiment memorial on Paignton seafront, and commissioned the Maritime Sundial in Preston Park to mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.
Through our Tree Fund we have planted and replaced hundreds of trees around the three town centres. We have published town trail maps, more than seventy biographical pamphlets, and the book Famous Devon Figures of Torbay. Since 1980 our Certificates of Merit have recognised developers whose work improves the area's built environment. We were runner up for Fastest Growing Civic Society at the National Civic Trust Awards in 2002, and on the closure of the National Civic Trust we became a founder member of its successor, Civic Voice.
Alongside these projects we have backed campaigns to protect the places people value, from the Wishing Fields parkland at Brixham to the Lady Cable, the last little ship to leave the Dunkirk beaches. We continue to support South Devon College and other local partners.
The Committee
The Society is run by a committee of volunteers who give their time to conservation, planning and community life in the Bay.
Sally Allen-Gerard
Chair & Trustee
Sally is a double-award winning businesswoman with a wealth of experience in marketing sponsorship, retail, publicity, e-commerce, and international event origination and management for blue chip organisations, governing bodies and brands. She has a diverse contact list across business, entertainment, sport, leisure and politics. Clients have included Guinness, MCC, the Rugby World Cup, the Soccer World Cup, Francois Pienaar, President Bill Clinton, NatWest, Mitsubishi, Harper Collins, Sandals Caribbean Resorts, the FA and Associated Newspapers, plus various charities. Sally was born in Torquay and left to build her career, creating her own marketing, sponsorship and PR agency in London, the USA and the Caribbean. In 2000 she also created an e-commerce fashion business and her own fashion brands, Wizard Jeans and Sally Allen London. In 2012 she returned to live in Torbay, where she is now Chair of the Civic Society and writes a column for the local newspaper.
Geeta Lloyd
Hon Secretary
Geeta brings decades of committee and leadership experience from three continents to the role. She previously owned and ran a foundry in India, alongside a long record of service with Rotary International. She joined Rotary in 1990 and served as Past President of the Rotary Club of Bangalore Indiranagar from 1998 to 1999, going on to hold committee positions with Rotary clubs in three different countries, including as Chair of New Friends of Carolina in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Since settling in the Bay, Geeta has taken on a wide range of local roles. She is President of Wellswood WI, Secretary for the IWFS Devonshire Branch, and Membership Secretary and Branch Liaison for IWFS across Europe and Africa. She also serves as Secretary of the Torbay Wine Guild, Dart Quilters and South West Quilters. Geeta now brings that same organisational experience to the Civic Society as Hon Secretary.
Rob Drew
Hon Treasurer
Rob is an eighth generation Paigntonian who attended Curledge Street and Tweenaway. His forefathers were C & R E Drew, who with Bridgeman and Couldry built many of Paignton's prominent buildings, and the family is marked by a Blue Plaque at the Paignton Club on the seafront, where Rob sits on the club's committee. Earlier in his career he spent ten years at sea with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary as a 2nd Navigation Officer, then worked in the pharmaceutical industry before setting up his own company helping European and US firms launch products into the NHS, finishing with work linked to the COVID vaccine task force at Oxford. He remains a lifelong Torquay United supporter, plays walking football for the club and has represented Devon and the South West. On a fine summer's day Rob can usually be found at his beach hut, kayaking, walking his two dogs and enjoying being by the sea.
Chantal Ashwell
Events Management Trustee
Chantal has lived in Torquay for 32 years and has been involved in many local societies. She believes this area and its history need to be looked after and appreciated for generations to come, and she is delighted to be part of the team driving that work forward. She has been a UNESCO Global Geopark Ambassador Artist and has experience in marketing and project management. Her interests include the arts, culture, history and entertainment.
Vince Green
Planning Advisor
Vince was born in Torquay and attended Torquay Boys Grammar School and Oxford Polytechnic. After further study he gained Chartered Construction Manager designation. His career has been in architectural design, construction project management and engineering, with extensive contract travel throughout England. He has a long-standing interest in local history, geology and archaeology, and is a long time member of the Torquay Museum Society. His interest in planning began with the Friends of the Pavilion campaign led by the late Sheila Hardaway in the 1970s, while he was working with a local architectural practice.
Jontie Williams
Planning Advisor
Jontie's family have lived in Torquay since the 1830s, and his passion for the Bay runs deep. The family business was Williams & Cox, now Hoopers, where he was Managing Director for ten years before starting various businesses of his own. He was a member of the late Sheila Hardaway's Friends of the Pavilion Committee in the 1970s and one of the triumvirate who started the Save the Torquay Pavilion campaign a decade ago. He is proud to have twice played a part in protecting the Pavilion, first from demolition in the 1970s and then by stopping a large hotel being added to its side. His view has always been that Torbay must move forward and evolve, but only where development is sympathetic to and respects its location.
Mark Kingscott
Events Management
Mark was born and educated in Torquay and has lived and worked in Torquay and Devon all his life.
He has always taken a keen and active interest in our built heritage and where possible to ensure the conservation and protection of our heritage for future generations. Mark feels that too often we have neglected our built and historic environment, and together we can change that.
He has been involved with many charities: President, Vintage car and vehicle club. Chairman, Young Friends of Rowcroft. Chairman, Elizabeth Finn care. Chairman, Torbay planning committee. Chairman, Devon Historic Buildings Trust.
Rob Newman
Executive Committee Member
Rob is a retired solicitor, living in Paignton, with a keen interest in the history and protection of the local environment. For many years a litigation partner at Torquay firm Kitsons, he was also Deputy Coroner for the area from 1985 to 2010 and more recently chairman of the Torbay Business Forum.
He is a Trustee of Babbacombe Cliff Railway.