Stroll along the Torquay seafront, and you’ll still see rays of afternoon sunlight flickering off the water, waves gently lapping at the sea wall. In the harbour nearby, the yachts bob, ready for more get-away-from-it-all hijinks… and usually, of course, there’d be the palm trees: 40 Cordyline australis swishing in the town’s Italian Gardens, the sword-fronded crowning glory of this English Riviera town. That was until they were hacked down overnight earlier this week as part of refurbishment wo