'I moved from London to once-thriving seaside town - but it's all going downhill'

Brian, who runs an antique shop in Torre, a suburb of Torquay, told DevonLive that Union Street - a main road once bustling with locals and tourists - is now eerily quiet.

"I've been here all day, and I haven't seen a single customer," he said. "When I first moved here (from London), this area was thriving, especially downtown. But things have only gotten worse."

The area has seen a steady decline over the years, with a growing number of shops closing their doors and many locals blaming the impact of the pandemic.

"We've lost a lot of businesses, including the pub next door," Brian explained. "It reopened after the pandemic, but it didn't last. Other pubs, like the Railway Inn and Printers Elbow, have also shut down."

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The Fox and Firkin pub, once a popular local spot, has now been converted into a townhouse, and Brian fears more businesses could follow suit.

"They seem to be turning this area into more of a residential zone. A few shops might survive, maybe a cafe, but that's the direction things are going."

Torre, which originally gave its name to the seaside resort of Torquay, is part of a broader trend affecting shopping streets across the region.

The growth of online shopping and the decline in high street footfall have hit the town hard.

Many of the shops in the area were once homes converted to cater to tourists and local workers during Torquay's holiday boom years.

Torbay Council has announced plans to redevelop old hotels into affordable housing, highlighting the town's shift towards more residential development.

And, as empty shopfronts increase, the future of Torre's shopping streets seems to lie in housing, not retail.

For traders like Brian, the change is bittersweet. "I can go all day without seeing anyone," he says. "It's not the place it once was."