Devon: Can Brixham be England's answer to Ibiza Town?

An English Riviera town in south Devon would benefit from some innovative enterprise.

Torbay, 'the English Riviera', consists of smart and wealthy Torquay, tired and sleepy Paignton, and pretty yet dilapidated Brixham.

Around 17,500 people live in Brixham, a capitivating fishing port. It's divided into two districts – 'Cowtown' sitting atop the hill where the farming community once lived, and a mile down the hill 'Fishtown' enwraps the harbour, where fishmen's families had their homes.

Brixham is 16 miles south of Exeter International Airport which handles one million passengers each year. Air Malta, Air Transat, FlyBe, Isles of Scilly Skybus and Thompson Airways operate scheduled services to Malta, Canada, France, Spain, Holland, Italy, Switzerland, Portugal, Austria, Germany and Egypt amongst others. Brixham is reached by road along the M5, A380, A3022 route.

Today, the 'Cowtown Carnival' is staged annually. Bands, 350-strong processions, some 20 floats, the occasional renovated vintage military vehicle or steam traction engine parade through the streets of St Mary's. The 'Brixham Hap'nin' music fest showcases local bands and is held each July in St Mary's Park.

Brixham nestles amongst the rugged cliffs of the Riviera, and the area as beautiful and warm - backed as it is by several steep hills creating a suntrapping microclimate.

For almost a thousand years fishermen have made a living from the town. Its harbour is used as a dock by fishing trawlers to this day. And since 1963 a replica of Sir Francis Drake's late 16^th Century galleon 'The Golden Hind' has moored at Brixham.

Prince William of Orange, later William III, landed here in 1688 to kick-start the 'Glorious Revolution'.  It's not so surprising I suppose to learn that many Brixhamians sport Dutch surnames given that their ancestors were William's soldiers. The road leading from the harbour is the Overgang, an adaptation of the Dutch word for passage.

But it's the wonderful residential and commercial architecture of Fishtown which attracts most. Particularly, the photogenic fishermen's cottages. It's as pretty a spot as anywhere in Europe.

In the Balearic Islands of Spain, Ibiza Town is not so dissimilar in appearance. Although larger, with 48,600 people and boasting a fortified cathedral atop its hill, the 'dalt vila' is not so unlike Brixham. Once dowdy and depressingly poor, the advent of tourism in the 1970s reinvigorated Ibiza Town. At first the intrepid young hippy travellers came. Then rich, young fashionistas. Restaurants, nighclubs and bars opened rapidly. And Ibiza buzzed - as we all know - becoming renowned across Europe as a short-stay venue of choice for the celebrity and upmarket sets.

Of course, Ibizans made the mistake of promoting mass tourism. Luckily, most of the lager-swilling, raucous, less pleasant crowd hang out in San Antonio on the far side of the island. Ibiza Town itself has remained quite unscathed, although the high fashion days have passed. Most of the fashionable wealthy have moved elsewhere to snap warm-weather breaks.

Brixham has a great opportunity to mimic Ibiza Town's fashion phaze.

Trendsetters, bar owners, restauranteurs and hip boutique hoteliers might consider the opportunities for profit presented by this gorgeous little port town. Upmarket nighclubs would surely follow, keen to capture the moneyed trade. If Pacha can springboard from success in Ibiza to London and Marrakesh, why not also in Brixham?

And Brixham's local economy, employment rates and reputation for vibrancy would improve out of all measure.

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