General Discussion
Apologies if that heading isn't quite correct but it gives the general giste.
For those interested in what this is about suggest you look towards the bottom of the Sainbury's thread to see discussion about new supermarket and how it will impact on the town centre.
As fronteraman says - list your thoughts here on this thread. Sensible ones please. And yes, there is a dire lack of dosh about at the moment so please bear that in mind.
Off you go.
Please can we get rid of Harrisons Amusement Arcade and all the tacky outlets down that side of the town?
I agree with Steve, Harrisons have put in for planning to renew its frontage so thats something. As for some of the other premises along there a jolly good clean inside and out wouldn't go a miss.
when you consider the lawn is the centre piece of the town, how about getting rid of all the alcoholics and drug users that seem to have taken up residence in the shelters, mind you that would probably violate their human rights, also the lawn itself needs investment, and the band stand knock it down and build a decent one, like the one that used to be there.
thats were Id like to see most improvement, why not a play area between bandstand and bowling green. Returf the lawn and put some attractive seating around. Also why cant the shrubbery area be sheltered so that cars can park on top therefore leaving the Strand wider so shop side pavement can be widened making it more attractive than only thinking of the obvious pedestrianisation. Teignmouth have a really nice play area im sure we can compete if TDC would open their eyes
@boot strapbill
you have just hit the nail on the head all the anti social behaviour vilonce vandalism all comes from a select few members of the dawlish community there is nothing for the tourist in dawlish town they go out for a drink at night and all the local people want to do is fight with them as well as fighting with each other
its quiet threatening walking through the town on a friday satrday night when there are large groups of youth shouting at the top of there voices and swearing where are the pcso?
the 1 thing that needs to change in the town is peoples perception of holiday makers or grokils as they are know
and ust a quick comment about sainsburys you all do relise there will be yoths and groups of boy races socilising in and around the store and i reckon there is more to it than meets the eye
also does any1 know who organised party in the park in the town in 2003 because that certainly bought in the crowds
@ happydays
Dawlish Round Table or Rotary Club organised it remember Richard Bourgard being involved and yes that was great , could do with a few more events like that, that was free but I would have happily paid a tenner then, brill night, brill atmosphere young and old together
Yes Happydays the Party in the park was good.
The Lansdown is a no go area with all the loitering around. You could not suggest anyone should come to Dawlish in the evening if they were on holiday with a family. All the pubs turned into 'thump thump' music and football ..I guess they are the ones with the money..
You need more family-orientated events like the Party in the Park, both for visitors and for local families. Look how successful Carnival is and how many people it brings into the town. We can't do anything about the weather but better policing of the town and more facilities for children like outdoor play areas would also help regenerate the place.
Lynne - Dont know about you but I get the feeling that nobody has a clue as to what to do with the town. Plenty of snipping at a few of the remaining businesses and the usual requests for playparks and free activities, but nothing constructive for us to work with so far.
I have my own opinions which are based around certain sites and buildings which are good for the town its residents and visitors, but are in the wrong place for any future development i.e the bowling green, the duck house, bandstand, toilets and taxi office.
My first concern however would lie with the owners of all the empty shops and buildings and the scruffy appearance of certain others. These people need to submit a proposal to the local council stating what their intentions for the future are including a realistic buy out price if they have no such plans.
There needs to be a co-operate image for the towns buildings which I feel should be traditional rather than modern and shiney. External shop signs and lighting can be made to follow such an image by careful planning consent
With regard to mass entertainment, this is not something the town can deal with in a safe controlled maner. Such activities need to be sited on the warren where there is parking, no traffic and not a dense population. Yes party in the park was a great night, but it wasent without its problems and complaints.
Planning on the warren needs to restricted to entertainment, retail and holiday accomodation there should be no further provision for residential property.
I think the only way foward is to develope the town, Sandy lane and the warren together each with its own individual attractions ie the town for the quieter older generation, Sandy lane for organised sporting activities and the warren for the younger and teenage generation.
Vote for me at the next council elections in May and we'll get the ball rolling
Fronteraman - what you say sounds like a positive approach to the issue in question. Worthy of further discussion and investigation most certainly.
I wonder if the new localism approach to planning will be of any benefit in all of this?
I (and some others) also have ideas but they revolve around the cycle path to/from Exeter/Dawlish being completed.
Re voting for you. 1. We need to know who you are to do that (I mean you won't be on the ballot paper as Fronteraman will you?) and 2. It depends which ward you will be standing in as to who is eligible to vote for you.
i think that a traditional revamp on the town i a great ideal as for the warren hmmmm
young people reserve next to a nature reserve may come across a few hurdles
but you have direction and you have my vote
as for events in the town it's down to organisation.
party in the park bought the community together people came from outher surrounding towns to enjoy the fetival
but when some1 tried to replicate it in the form of the sunburn fesival down the warren there was noise coplaints before the event had even begun and alot of people lost alot of money because the event was closed down
we need to bring the town back to life re energise it and give it a new lease of life
with regard to the cycle path they built it at the back of powderham cost a shed load of dolla then ripped it out the roads are to narrow for push bikes with all thebig lorrys wizzing round at a million mph and a load ore comming if a cycle path is a priority i propose it be of the already narrow roads
Yeah Harrisons is an absolute eyesore; close it down.
Also jet washing the stone walls in the town might brighten things up a little.
TDC have recently (late last year) agreed an officer's report concerning the Regeneration of Dawlish (if I can find the link I'll post it). But for info see below text of e-mail I sent in support of the officer's recommendation.
Also, just a few other things. I believe Dawlish gets £200,000 from Sainsbury to spend on the town. Is that correct? Also from some minutes I have read it seems that Teignbridge have been selling off land recently (to the tune of £1.25m) and that £250,000 is ear-marked for Dawlish. Anyone (Fronteraman?) fancy contacting one of our district councillors to get that confirmed? Lastly, I understand a new play park is planned for Warren rather than the town.
Anyone know how TDC plans on using the millions it will gain from the sale of its land in Teignmouth to Morrison's?
Here's an extract from my submission.
"
I am particularly interested in the promotion of walking and cycling to/from and around Dawlish and feel sure that there are tourists 'out there' who would much appreciate facilities enabling such activities.
To that end can I suggest that priority is given to the completion of the cycle path to/from Exeter and Dawlish. A completed path would not only encourage more tourists to get to the town by a more sustainable mode of transport than the motor car but such tourists would also benefit the town's economy as after a bike ride of some miles what more do cyclists need than food and drink and Dawlish has plenty of eateries!
What else will the cyclists need? Well, plenty of bike racks for a start. Last time I looked there were about three in the railway station carpark and a few more along The Strand. Far from sufficient if Dawlish is to appeal to the cycling fraternity.
So, having parked up their bikes and spent some money in our pubs and cafes what more might these cyclists like? Well, how about being directed to the two natural viewing points that we have in the town namely Lea Mount and Sandy Lane Playing Fields. Those of us who live here may know of the fantastic views that these natural assets afford and the names of the places that we can see from them but tourists don't. So why not have signposted viewing points with an explanation of what can be seen. How many tourists know for example that from Lea Mount and on a very clear day Portland Bill can be made out shimmering in the eastern distance. Or that from the top of Sandy Lane Playing Fields there is a picture postcard panorama stretching from Berry Head in the west, to Orcombe Point in the east with splendid views across the Exe Estuary and a vista away to the north-west showing the beautiful Devon countryside with Mamhead House nestled away in the hills. As the area of Sandy Lane playing fields that provides that vista is no longer part of a golf course why not have footpaths leading to it? Some seats wouldn't go amiss either.
None of the above would cost the earth, would it?"
The regeneration plan accepted by Teignbridge is the Amberline Coast 36 projects commissioned by the Town Council. TDC have read the report but will not be the body to push progress on any of it.
Dawlish Town Council has identified only five projects to develop in the first five years of the plan, being
*" A new beach play area at Dawlish Warren with some covered space " - needs funding by DTC and TDC?
*"Enhancement of cycle routes, bridle paths and footpaths" - DCC is rolling out a cycle path programme
*"Additional beach huts at Dawlish Warren" - will need TDC funding
*"A clear marketing and branding strategy for the Amberline Coast focusing on the assets of all parts of the parish" -not very easy as the idea calls for Teignmouth to be party to it. The organising task has been handed to Dawlish Community Trust
*"Improvements to the Strand" - underway through capital funding by Devon County Council
BUT the Town Council is putting NOTHING in this next year's budget for regeneration. It shows this as a saving.
So, the Town Council has so strapped itself by buying and not using 34 Park Road, and by taking over responsibility for parks, buildings and play grounds from TDC that it can't find a penny to put to town improvements, but must rely on other bodies doing the work for them.
You can find this material in the Budget 2011-2012 published recently and attached to Minutes of the January Council meeting.
Thanks for that info Vanguard.
Re the Amberlinecoast proposals. Whilst I agree totally that the Warren, Dawlish and Teignmouth should be marketed as one entity but with each part offering a different characteristic I am sadly aware of the parochialism, and I mean that word in both its metaphoric and literal sense, between Dawlish and Teignmouth.
Although I've been here a few years now I still maintain my 'outsider's' eye on things and one of them is that I 'see' an urban area starting from, roughly, the Shutterton area of Dawlish (and remember this will become even more urban in the near future due to the new houses and supermarket) all the way through Dawlish town, following the coastroad to Teignmouth.
To me, that's just one area (including the Warren) and should thus have just the one council.
I now await the postings of high dudgeon for my temerity in suggesting such a thing.
This might shock you BUT I agree with you!!!!!! The distance from the Warren to Teignmouth is about 5/6 miles, so is does seem a little bit stupid having 2 councils, when all we need is 1 with councillors for each parish who knows it might be better for all concerned.
It may come and we could all be richer, for the council tax rate in non-Quality Council Teignmouth is half that of Dawlish.
Alaska
Does anyone know what is happening to the old Woolworths shop? This has become another of the many eyesores in Dawlish.
I don't think that the cost of parking in Dawlish helps. I realise that you can park in the Co-op for free, but anyone wanting to wander around the town looking at shops or having a coffee has to pay high parking charges. We go to France regularly every year and very rarely do we find a town that charges for parking. Consequently the towns are flourishing with people spending time there without having to worry about the cost of parking their cars. The majority of these small/average size town have weekly markets which draw people from the surrounding villages, all parking for free. They nearly all have very large supermarkets (much bigger than the ones in this country) on the outskirts which have no detrimental affect to the small local shops. It is very rare to see an empty shop in France, so where have we gone wrong?