Devon and Cornwall Police have warned urban explorers to stay out of the former Living Coasts site in Torquay after a number of incidents of trespass, damage and arson. The warning follows repeated break-ins at the Beacon Quay site, which closed in 2020.
Repeated incidents at Beacon Quay
The force said it had investigated "a number of incidents in recent weeks" at the site, which was owned by South West Environmental Parks and closed in 2020 over income losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Investigators said the incidents led to damage, trespass and arson.
Rob Harvey, the neighbourhood inspector for Torquay, warned people to stay out of the site and not encourage anyone to enter. He said: "Stay out of the site, do not encourage others to enter, and think carefully before following social media trends that could put you in danger or leave you with a criminal record."
Site not abandoned, inspector says
Inspector Harvey hit out against a "misconception" that the site is completely abandoned and available to urban explorers. He said: "There is a misconception amongst some that this site has been abandoned and is there to be explored; that is simply not the case. The recent incidents of trespass, vandalism and fire setting at the Beacon Quay site are unacceptable."
He added: "They divert emergency services from genuine emergencies, place those involved at risk and cause unnecessary costs and disruption."
Future plans for the site
While Living Coasts officially closed in 2020 and is expected to remain shuttered, it was announced in 2025 that marine habitat restoration firm ARC Marine would be taking over the site. Wild Planet Trust said it would be turned into a "state-of-the-art marine restoration centre", with ARC Marine's founder and CEO saying the firms were looking forward to bringing their vision "to life". Tom Birbeck said at the time: "We are glad to work alongside Torbay Council and the Wild Planet Trust to bring this vision to life."
Beacon Quay has been the subject of a number of social media videos taken by urban explorers. Searching through platforms like TikTok reveal at least half a dozen attempts to comb through the site. ARC Marine's facilities manager Eunice Godinho said explorers have gone beyond "harmless curiosity". The manager said netting was cut open on the site, and that it had sustained fire damage which had taken time to repair.
Ms Godinho said: "We completely understand why the former Living Coasts site attracts curiosity, but what we are experiencing goes far beyond harmless curiosity. We're asking people to respect the site, stay out and not encourage others to enter for the sake of social media content."
