Methinks there are too many above us
Too Many Cooks are spoiling the broth..........
Let the Germans and the French have us...
The Roads would be sorted, The Food would be better, Flowers and Fun would be in abundance................it would be cleaner with more respect........and the drunks are quieter....less obvious...
Calaise and Boulougne are far more attractive as Ports than we are.....
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
maybe we should join the euro charlie just to ice the cake?
Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
sad when our politicians that run DDC already admit no one is listerning to them.
theres some realy good views been put forward
those dovorians amongst us feel sad that our town gets so neglected
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
I was not talking EU or the Euro.....
Or getting into the "Foreigners" argument.....Calaise and Boulogne have a bussle and investment in their port towns...other ports in the UK have not suffered the total neglect that Dover has........................
Something is rotten....and it is at the top......or on the way up....
There is no way Dover should look and be like it is.....if you look at the old photos....I think the town should be rebuilt as it was...the cobbled streets, alleyways.....lovely buildings, that are still being neglected...come on we see it all everyday..........10 King Street...near the Market Square... close to
Flying Horse Lane.........I am seeing that the St. James Development is going to be a Retail park .............Well, I do not have the money for more shopping, and I think looking at the employment and pay in Dover and its district, not many people have....
What would I do...............I would encourage more good employment and better jobs in the area....................money talks and produces growth.....
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
But how do you propose to "get more good employment and better jobs in the area" ?
Been nice knowing you :)
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
well paul i can only do a vic here and affirm that i have nothing to say at this time.
hope that clarifies things.
Actually, it has always surprised me looking at Dover's easy access to the continent......and the constant amount of unemployment here, why more companies have not chosen to invest here.......
This is down to attractive offers by the Council and the more knowledgeable to re-site down here....................
There is a Chamber of Commerce here....perhaps they will know....but the Town would seem less sad and neglected if it had more workers actually in it...not commuting out of it........................
Again it would be inventiveness and flair.....
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
we have a wide selection of chambers of commerce here mr norman, most are too tied up running a successful saturday market.
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
That's the thing, the same as people wanting shops to move to Dover, DDC has no powers to MAKE businesses come to the area, - they don't have the power to set business rates, don't really own much land so what can they do?
Dover is very limited geographically, is essentially a town inside a port. Out of town is really the only way to go and people don't want it !
Been nice knowing you :)
oh...mr mcsweeney
for £50.00 for the day, you could have one
again....there we are....two stalls ...............very sad....
but I can hear Mr B White....coming on saying do not talk about what you do not understand.......I don't understand....because most towns have thriving markets...............
However, re Pauls post......the Main Landlords are the Dover Harbour Board....they own huge amounts of the town......like the Cathedral in Canterbury.............
So there lies another tale.............will it all come together....because you will not see the DHB welcoming other businesses in the area.......and that needs to change..............The Calaise Chamber of Commerce runs their Port...................
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
What would I do?
For a start I would campaign to get English Heritage to take responsibility for OUR heritage under THIER Guardianship, and do something with the Western Heights, and make them work with the town.
Take control of the Roman heritage that is being held back from being taking advantage of as there is a huge amount of it hidden away
Then there could be a tram system or cable car linking the sites.
All this would make Dover a weekend destination - it is suitable for a World Heritage Site - as there is a huge amount to see and do with people staying in the hotels and using restaurants
I'd encourage the conversion of shops at the top end of town back to accomodation, concentrating the shopping centre back down towards the Market Square end.
St James's ? With a thriving town the demand would be there for developers to want to move in.
Funding - a very difficult one, the biggest mistake was not allowing the area to be classed as deprived and sending money towards other towns.
Been nice knowing you :)
Guest 698- Registered: 28 May 2010
- Posts: 8,664
Funding will always be the issue. Much as the council would love to be the fairy godmother, it only has OUR money to do it with because central government confiscates most of the council tax and business rates.
I'm an optimist. But I'm an optimist who takes my raincoat - Harold Wilson
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
Should add that what I can criticise the council for is for striving to be one of the cheapest councils around. With the capping that takes place on the council tax increases, it is a cumulatively worsening situation
It should be remembered that for a band D propery DDC only takes £158 out of the approx £1413 council tax.
I didn't actually realise that the police and fire recieve more than DDC does with more than £200 between them!!!
Been nice knowing you :)
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
I don't think it's a case for more shops in Dover: the economic turmoil prohibits people from shopping twice.
If I had enough money, I could go to at least 20 different shops in Dover and do 20 times the same shopping, but once is enough.
Shops in Dover offer everything, one sees the same things or similar in so many supermarkets and shops.
Why on Earth do we need more shops?
I would suggest some more corner-shops in the outback, such as the Clarendons and further westwards, a shop in Guston and somewhere up Barton Road, for local people who don't want to go always to the town-centre every time.
But the town-centre has more than enough retail outlets.
As for Western Heights, perhaps a few orchards here and there all the way to Caple Fern, which would create some local work and offer produce on the local market, and even for export.
Result: less imports of fruit, more exports, more employment, more financial income.
Of-course someone will explain why this is not possible.
Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
People do shop - it's a leisure activity.
People from Dover go to Canterbury, Ashford, Folkestone and Westwood Cross; they support these other Towns instead of their own - why is that do you think ?
Is it because those Towns have a Town Centre Management type of organisation that works on supporting their Towns and businesses and keeping the Towns clean, smart and more welcoming ?
Roger
That is a throw back...
I thought Dover had a Town Centre Management ....as I recall the offices were in the house in Pencester, next to Marks and Spencer...and Mike Webb was running it
...he was always having cups of coffee everywhere...the Indoor Market Cafe.....was one of his favourite haunts...
What has happened to all of that......?
Guest 697- Registered: 13 Apr 2010
- Posts: 622
Dover is a relativley small town, but with the potential of the millions of people who pass through it every year from the port (ferry and cruise passengers). My priorities would be to improve civic pride, much along the lines of Roger's suggestions. We need to take a long, hard look at the town from the perspective of the visitor. What sort of a welcome do we really give? We need to take bold, visionary steps. A tourism strategy is essential. At the moment, there is a piecemeal approach to attractions, events, etc. I understand funding is an issue, but other areas are managing to invest in the future. I guess it's about making tough decisions on what we can and can't fund. My priority would be economic development, as without it, the town's decline will only get worse. Tourism offers huge potential, but needs a strategy and investment.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
charlie
town centre management closed a few years back, funding was withdrawn.
kevin
the council has no interest in tourism despite the huge numbers of cruise passengers.
Guest 697- Registered: 13 Apr 2010
- Posts: 622
I hope that's not the case, Howard. I don't think there is any other industry that Dover could bank on for future jobs and investment. The district's biggest private sector employer has already walked. We'd all better hope that we get someone with very deep pockets to invest in the port.
Guest 663- Registered: 20 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,136
Sadly Howard you are right DDC cut their tourisam budget a fair while back, and will i say this that most of the cllr members do not live in Dover, so without some criticism they are not worried about Dover.
Dover i'm afraid is rather likend to a large housing estate with a port, having been in Calais only last week admitting the weather was great and bought people out it was buzzing, even with some of the cafes and shops being closed but at the drop of a hat there chamber of commerces decided to strike, most of the above comments are good lets hope that the powers that be READ THIS FORUM
