What is proposed would change the character of the locality and encourage shoppers to avoid the town centre. Does that answer your question Jimmy? If you (I assume you live in Whitfield) wanted to live in a thriving commercial location why didn't you move to one? Many people up there did not want that and continue to value the village setting which is rapidly being eroded by un-mandated developments and DDCs inability to see why it should be based in the TOWN CENTRE and not removed to a short drive away.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
jimmy
you say i am part of dovers history.
not sure why you think that, i have only lived here 8 years.
Paul Aka Scotchie,
You state you do not see the need for a Clone business park in Dover. Well I find that rather confusing because every other town seems to be quite happy to have clone business parks. Guess what ?? they seem to work despite your protestation., Your point that nobody would be prepared to walk from Dover to Whitfield to use such clone business, would these be the same people who jump into there cars to go to Tesco's?? which when I last looked is still in Whitfield??
As far as I am concerned if Dover wants to spend the next 50 years crying about what could have been that is fine with me just do not expect me or other forward thinking people to endorse such opinions.
I shall fully endorse investment in Whitfield big or small, sorry to relate I cannot in all honesty say I care much what happens to Dover town, my only regret is that I have to pay my council tax to the town.
For whom do those big shopping-dumps work? Mostly for the corporate and enormous retailers - not for the town centres and for the people in them. People will shop where they see it happening, that doesn't mean it is the best outcome. Your argument is a bit like saying people enjoy injecting heroin, so lets provide a nice park for them to do so - it will work and will be used, but we may question if it is the best outcome.........
Bern,
For goodness sake get real. People avoid the town centre at the present and in the past and probably will for years to come for the simple reason it is so run down has nothing to attract the large commercial investors. Some one commented in a previous post about placing new shops in Dover!! well for christ's sake you tell me where exactly would you put your new investments??and just exactly what would these new investments comprise.
This is the whole crux of the matter no one knows what would be suitable for Dover because we live in an age where people do not mind driving some distances for some decent shopping.
I speak from personal experiance.I would never entertain going to Dover for what I class as "Big " shopping I.E.new three piece suite for example because there are no quality shops in Dover. To go to the pictures I have a choice, Drive to Canterbury, Ashford, or Westwood surprisingly enough not Dover
I read in the local paper two weeks ago that there was talk of another phantom investment company alledgedly going to invest in the Farthingloe, and western heights area well let me bring it into perspective. I invest more in Dover than all these mickey mouse companies every time I go to Pencester car parkand purchase a parking ticket!!
Bern,
Those big shopping dumps work because they make profits, but more importantly they give people what they want!! did that thought ever occur to you?? Stop crying and get on with your life!!
Sue Nicholas- Location: river
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 6,024
Went to a car park in Devon last week .20pence an hour .I can see Nigel crying into his glass .
Jimmy - so do Heroin Parties, but they are not a good idea either. If you put your aggression back into its trousers for a minute, perhaps you could reflect on why the town centres are run down.........
Out of town shopping Bern! Plain as the nose on anyone's face. Used to work in commercial property, this phenomenon is well know to developers, investors and local governments.
The reason Dover town centre needs development is that we can keep some of the tourists from the cruise ships , in stead of them just jumping on a bus to Canterbury , or London .
Guest 694- Registered: 22 Mar 2010
- Posts: 778
I wandered through town briefly this morning with Dad and the babies... and its like a ghost town..
no reason to make new units at Whitfield, for a start who is going to move into them... and if DDC made moving into town attractive with deals then we may be able to attract businesses.
And this is a woman who is from Whitfield.. hell no!!! I dont care if i can toddle over to it.. i want to visit town and see it look smart and vaguely nice like it did when i first moved into the district.
Dover has been in decline for many years its very sad .
Bern,
Jesus Bern you never give up do you. you are displaying a peculiar trait, I do believe it is called dumbness??
I have no need to reflect why the town is run down. I have never worked here so there is no way you can pin any of the blame on me. If you feel so strongly why do you not get off your butt and press Cllr Watkins and his motley crew for answers they and probably people like you who go on banging the old "Bring Dover back to what it used to be drum" are the people who bare ultimate responsibility for the present day mess.
There is a saying which goes "If you make your own bed lay in it" I think it is most appropriate dont you think??
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
jimmy
you seem to gain pleasure from being offensive to other members.
i will not delete your recent post, much better for others to reach their own conclusion.
Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,833
Jimmy....
You seem to forget that not everyone has a car, I am one of those who relies on public transport.
I have not been to the Business Park area for over two years, if I can't get what I want in town I go to Canterbury or Folkestone. Why visit a business park with the boring long trek from one store to another!
We need to encourage more of the mutiples into Dover to keep the town alive. Morrisons have made a vast improvement to the Chalton Centre area shops with many more people using this part of town.
There are too many boarded up shops in Dover, maybe the shopping area could be condensed at some time in the future and not strung out from Market Square area to Buckland Bridge.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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Jimmy - I think you protest too much. Who do you think you are, exactly? Howards post sums it up nicely.
Incidentally, there is no intention to "pin blame on" you, just to ask you to think. Possibly that was an ask too far.
Guest 690- Registered: 10 Oct 2009
- Posts: 4,150
As I`ve said before on here, I worked at the paper mill in Dover for 20 years, from 1969-89, and when I saw a display in the ex-indoor market in town featuring picture`s and other memorabelia from it, I naturally showed great interest, and even more so when they were requesting ex-employees to come on in and tell them their memories. When I did go in there, a few other fellow employee`s were also there, and we were enjoying a good laugh and talk all about our personal memories whilst being interviewed by members of the Dover Arts Development group. That was what I was expecting. What actually came out of it all, which I never gave a thought to, and maybe wouldn`t have cared too much, had I not been on this forum, was the social aspect of it all. There were hundred`s working at the mill in my time, and on top of that local firms also gained employment, lorry driver`s from Coombe Valley, office cleaner`s, toilet cleaner`s, local builder`s to mention a few. You`ll appreciate I could go on, but that word `social` stuck in my mind, a way of life was destroyed, and not only with the mill closing.
Tell them that I came, and no one answered.
Guest 690- Registered: 10 Oct 2009
- Posts: 4,150
Dover has suffered appallingly over recent decades from bad planning and lack of foresight. Not the only town to do so I hasten to add. I strongly believe that Dover does have the potential to become a whole lot better than it currently is, but for that I`m afraid you have to have the right people in place and without any outside influence destroying what`s left. JIMMY, I live at Whitfield too, and it strikes me as an all too easy option with all the open space up here to build on it. I don`t think that`s the answer myself, NOR being rude to Bern!!! Personally, much as I like them and to use them, I`m sick of the sight of seeing Homebase, Tesco, B&Q, Comet etc plastered all over the country in industrial estate sites. More land disappearing unneccessarily to the uncaring, money grabbing developer`s. There are sites in Dover, but as usual, wasted opportunities.
Tell them that I came, and no one answered.
Sue Nicholas- Location: river
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 6,024
Just out of interest where in Dover have we a site to house bulky goods stores?Sainsburys move was the death knell,not large enough site for expansion .B&Q wanted a larger site so moved to Whitfield .
Some of our major furniture stores just closed .Tesco moved out not enough room for expansion .
Dont forget Whitfield has the main roads .Dover gets clogged up with a one way system .
What Dover needs is a few smaller shops which sell interesting things .More of Curiosity and small independant butchers,bakers etc .Dare i mention lovely dress shops or indeed hats .The kind of shops where you can brouse
