Claim of assault in historic area planning row

A man claims to have been assaulted in a row over building work at a historic site.

Torbay Council has told developers to stop work at Singleton Gardens - a rare Victorian walled garden in Torquay.

Resident David Redman, who has raised concerns about development work at the site, says he was punched in the face and lost a tooth on 22 April.

OJ Developments, which is carrying out work on the site, has been asked to comment.

Police said inquiries were ongoing after they were called to Meadfoot Sea Road in Torquay on 22 April following reports of a man being assaulted.

Mr Redman said he raised his concerns about work going on because he believes the site is important to the culture and heritage of Torquay.

The walled garden has been described by English Heritage as "an unusual survivor".

Mr Redman said: "I crossed the road towards a group of people - one of those people came forwards in an aggressive manner, grabbed my mobile telephone, hit across my face, getting me into a headlock and was forcing me to the ground."

Plans for nine apartments and two houses on the site were first submitted in July 2021 and refused in March 2022 and plans for seven apartments and two homes were refused in August 2023.

Planning permission was given in March 2024 for some demolition work, but when work began there were claims developers had carried out work outside of the agreed permissions.

Torbay Council said there would be "no further work apart from minor repairs to protect the neighbouring building while we further investigate what has taken place".

The council said it would now work to "consider the next steps under planning and environmental law, including the possibility of enforcement action to control activity at the site".

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].