Paignton bus station and a former Brixham hotel are just two of nearly 60 properties that have undergone facelifts as part of a Torbay Council project aimed at improving rundown and neglected buildings across the Bay.

Since the grotbusting initiative was launched 18 months ago, the council has targeted properties in such areas as Babbacombe, Torre and Brixham, with members of the public contacting the council suggesting sites in need of improvements.

Now, other councils from across the South-west have taken a keen interest in the project's progress, and have sought Torbay's help in getting similar schemes off the ground.

Torbay Council has been working with local property owners, seeking their co-operation to ensure buildings in poor state of repair receive badly needed facelifts.

Where necessary, the council has used its powers under the Town and Country Planning Act to issue warning letters and serve notices on owners requiring them to carry out work.

In recent months, remedial works have been completed at Paignton Bus Station. Planning enforcement officers contacted Stagecoach last year with regard to the condition of the paintwork in the waiting areas. The bus company was keen to work with the council to make improvements whilst minimising the impact on the travelling public, and work was completed towards the end of 2008.

The former Northcliffe Hotel site at the top of North Furzeham Road in Brixham, which became a heavily fly-tipped site enclosed by a decaying hoarding, has been improved considerably. Local residents had complained about the site, and the council eventually had to serve an enforcement notice.

The ultimate sanction of court action did not prove necessary, and the land has now been improved through the installation of a new fence and clearance of the land.

Several owners in a target area in Babbacombe have been contacted as part of the neglected buildings project, resulting in the completion of improvement works on several properties. Work continues to tackle several properties in Torre, with improvements already completed at the top of Upton Road at the junction of Brunswick Terrace.

The council is also focussing on properties in Bolton Street, Brixham, and Brixham residents have also drawn the council's attention to other buildings in the town that they want to see improved.

Cabinet Member for Economic Regeneration, Transport and Planning, Chris Lewis said: "When the initiative was launched 18 months ago, some people accused the council of being heavy-handed, which was never our intention. Now people fully understand what we are trying to achieve for the benefit of the Bay, and they are actually contacting us in numbers identifying properties they feel should be targeted.

"It has always been our aim to work closely with property owners, encouraging them to play their part in restoring pride in the Bay, and we are grateful to all those owners who have offered their co-operation.

"We are not unsympathetic to individual personal circumstances, especially in these extremely difficult economic times. However, we do have to remind owners that it is in their interests to carry out minor works now as these, if left untended, could lead to bigger problems and higher bills.

"An increasing source of work has been through the notification by members of the public of buildings in poor condition.

"With visitors to the Bay commenting on how tired the Bay looks, people in the tourism industry have also been nominating sites and properties in need of a facelift.

"I am delighted that our scheme has been recognised regionally by other councils, and we have been more than happy to share Torbay's knowledge and experiences as other local authorities follow Torbay's lead.

"We have made an encouraging start on this initiative, and we are considering other areas of the Bay for action. "