General Discussion
I'm Very concerned that i have heard stories about some shops considering closing their door for good, Bastins has been talking about closing as trade is at all time lows, Stokes has cut hours back by about 20 a week (according to staff ) and is struggling to make trade and loydd maunders trade is down by 40%,
These People are working hard to keep the town alive, what will happen if thay all start to close
This has been getting worse since Sainsburys opened and those shops have tried campaigning for limited free parking to put them on a level playing field, Im afraid pedestrianisation will most probably make it worse not better and these closures might happen, then what more charity shops?
Yes I agree its getting worse as each week goes by, Dawlish council should a least allow free parking for residents, and charge for visitors, we will end up like Brixham, no parking, pedestrian high street and look at Brixham now Tesco express is in the town and a larger store on its way.... Its a Ghost town is this really what we want for Dawlish.??
Its what Devon county and Teignbridge district councils want. At the last strand centre meeting both refused point blank to remove the on street parking charges or issue residents permits in support of local business. It appears they will bend over backwards to the demands of the Supermarket chains but do nothing for high street traders. At the end of the day its all about money, backhanders, loaded promises and whatever they can get from central government by way of grants. Once in power the common people you voted them there dont matter a toss and its always been that way.
No way is Brixham a ghost town! It's still very vibrant, but there again its a totally different environment to Dawlish. I only wish that Dawlish was as vibrant as Brixham (or Teignmouth for that matter).
If those three stores close then that will be a severe blow to the Strand, but if they aren't doing the turnover they can't survive. I said in another thread that I feel sorry for places like Bastins as much as I like having a local Sainsburys, I still go to Bastins for tape, cards, envelopes, etc and also go to Sampsons for electrical goods. These are shops that have been really affected by a local supermarket being a one-stop shop. Co-op had every opportunity to give this Town a decent supermarket and they couldn't be bothered, so no sympathy there.
The main problem being, and I am stating the obvious here, is less and less is available in Dawlish, so people automatically go somewhere where they can get all they need, not just half of it. I have been to Teignmouth twice this week to the Kitchen shop, because there is nowhere in Dawlish now where you can buy the most basic cooking equipment, even Sainsburys don't have a decent range of kitchen equipment.
So shoppers have no choice, they have to go elsewhere for more and more and eventually don't buy anything in Dawlish, then there is even less choice..and so on and so on........
We have to pay for parking wherever we go, it's not a major factor, street parking in Dawlish is usually full, it isn't the cost it's the 'LACK OFF' that keeps people away. Teignmouth , Newton Abbot, Paignton, etc etc whatever the cost of parking they are always full. If people know they can get what they need in a place they will pay to park there.
You have to say to yourself would you really really want to have a retail shop in a town full of negativity, and when you see the moaning potential customers...to top that now the internet offers great prices and delivered to the door? Teignmouth will continue to flourish wont it.
Remember people moaned way back in 1980s way before Sainsburys was ever thought of..so stop blaiming them for everything.
How is it Dawlish is the best at moaning on everything!!! ..what's in the water??? ..if you're tired of it get out ..I did!!!! phew.
Sainsburys is the best thing to happen to Dawlish in many years. At last we have somewhere nice to shop. The small shops in town will just have to up their game.
The Strand should be pedestrianised with the wall between The Strand and The Lawn removed.
The town will still have
- News Agents
- Hair Dressers
- Coop
- Boots
- Tattooists
- and most importantly lots of Pubs
So we don't have any issues if a few shops go.
you might not have, but 181 people who responded to the proposal did, and what about local people that will lose their jobs, what an arrogant selfish answer
I used to go to Exeter for shopping, now I go to Sainsburys, who employ many local people.
How is the above answer selfish? It's just a statement of fact.
Sainsburys have been very good for local employment, specifically giving employment all the year round, I know two people in Dawlish who were always out of work in Winter but did several jobs during the Summer. Both are very happy now to have a permanent job 12 months of the year. Two more taxpayers and two less benefit claimants!
I agree with 007 that the local Sainsburys has saved me and other locals lots of petrol money, as the only way to get 90% of what we needed, before we had a local Sainburys, was to drive to Newton Abbot or Exeter anyway.
Local shops have been closing year after year after year, LONG before Sainsburys arrived, the reason is, not enough locals use them, there is NO OTHER REASON.
More people have cars, online shopping, DPD, Fedex, HDN, etc etc have vans delivering in Dawlish every day, are all factors and I cannot see new shops opening in Dawlish because there aren't enough customers to sustain the present shops.
By the way, who got the blame for the demise of Dawlish shops before Sainsburys arrived?
Well said Wriggler.. sense prevails! ..it was very quiet in town when I passed through on Tuesday 3.30pm.
Instead of creating negative rumours about shops in town, why not be positive instead? We only have one empty shop on the Strand and their aren't many towns that can claim that! Also, the small shop at the bottom of Queen Street is having work done and looks like it's going to open again.
I agree that Sainsburys has been great for local jobs, however it will end up just making another group loose jobs when the town starts to close up its swapping one problem for another, Shops in town do need to up their game.
And yes i do feel that all the blame has been put on sainsbury and its not all thier fault the town retail industry has been dropping for years in favour of online shopping, home deliverys etc etc But sainsbury might have just been the final nail in the coffin,
but here is the big question and im keen to hear some views.
What does Sainsburys have that Dawlish town does not ??? other than free parking !!
Newtotown? Really? You seem to claim long term knowledge of Dawlish. I 100% agree with DawlishBlue - we have to keep accentuating the many positives rather than harping on about the few negatives. I wonder if Stokes and Lloyd Maunders will be open tomorrow (Sunday)?
@Newtotown, sainsburys has wide aisles where i can browse without tripping over dogs or mobility scooters, i can easily avoid other shoppers or browsers without fear of getting run over. walking down the strand on a weekend, especially in summer, is not a pleasant experience.
@Newtotown. the simple answer to your last point is money and lots of it. they have a whole team of development people who identify sites for new stores. they then go all out to get people on side by offering to improve the areas and sponsoring local events even to the extent where they infiltrate the schools with their promises and ideas. they then steamroller the local authorities by having a legal team with more knowledge of the planning laws etc than the authority themselves, and finally the prefabricated store arrives during the night on lorries is assembled surrounded by tarmac and there you have it. all in all they are no better than the nazi's their only goal is to dominate the entire retail market so that they can control prices and make even bigger profit to be fair they are not the only supermarket chain doing this
I paid a rare visit to Sainsburys yesterday, and I wouldnt call it a pleasant browse!!!! everything you have just said Cal I didnt find, I had mobilty scooters and people who couldnt control trolleys. When they widen the path down the Strand that should make it easier for people, even if they dont pedestrianise that will happen.
Ah, so we go to Sainsburys because they have MONEY, an amazing hypothesis.
I go there for the reason that has been posted here ad nauseum, 'cos they've got what I need, and before Sainsburys we went to Newton Abbot, Exeter or Torquay for most of the things we needed. Why don't people read what the Sainsburys shoppers are saying here??? Oh and PARKING right outside the store, I'd gladly pay for parking there for all the time and petrol I am saving since they opened.
When I Ilved in the MIdlands I preferred to shop in the local Town, I got everything I wanted in those shops, usually cheaper than the supermarkets, even though all the main Supermarkets were there. Oh, and parking in Town was impossible there so I used to walk or use my Bike.
Please can this forum stop being a rant of 'Dawlish is dying because Sainsburys opened a local shop 6 months ago'. Dawlish is becoming a residential town, that's why all the new houses are being built as 007 said previously I am sure we will always have
- News Agents
- Hair Dressers
- Coop
- Boots
- Tattooists
- and most importantly lots of Pubs
So what's the problem, certainly not unemployment, Sainsburys are already employing more people than all the shops in the Strand combined. I wonder what people were saying in 1922 when Sainsburys were the Tesco of the time, being the largest grocery retailer in the country. Small local shops were probably complaining just as much then as now.
For Goodness Sake MugOnHead - try just for once to post something without making yourself sound like a complete prat. Comparing Sainsburys to the Nazis is NOT an opinion - its simply the bigoted stupidity of a moron.
Ok fine have it your way, when you have no where else to buy your petrol and daily essentials other than the supermarkets and they charge you extortionate amounts of money for such dont come back on here moaning about the prices etc. The only morons are the ones that follow like sheep and support these retail monopolisers. Back in the 1920s The Sainsbury family grocers competed on equal terms with other businesses this cannot be said today.
I will as others have done now withdraw my support of these forums and leave you to bicker amongst yourselves and as for the contributors who like myself moved to Dawlish to get away from inner city life and its problems just remember the town you fell in love with and why you moved here. I wish you all well and hope you find peace in your lives
I for one, have never moaned about prices, I said previously I would be happy to pay for parking at Sainsburys, still cheaper than travelling to Exeter, etc where I pay to park anyway. Sorry, I must be a Moron, I don't understand how the number of shops in Dawlish relates to the problems of Inner City Life that you came here to escape.
Nor, again possibly because I am a moron, do I understand the correlation, as mentioned in previous posts from MugOnHead, between negative equity and poor quality housing or that between Nazi-ism and Sainsburys.
So MugOnHead has withdrawn his 'support' for these forums, another nail in the coffin for Dawlish. Oh, that reminds me, do you think the Undertakers in Dawlish feel threatened by Sainsburys?? Maybe the subject for another thread.
@MugOnHead, wriggler,
Unless I am a moron (as my dad always claimed) the comment was made about the Nazi comparison, not about the main part of the post.
Looking back through old posts, I've had nothing better to do this afternoon as I've been confined to bed, this forum is littered with posters with strong opinions who have withdrawn their support for this forum. The likes of Viaduct, Roy, User4549, Joey Deacon, Bob Sinkerson, FRONTERAMAN, Hells Bells, Dullish, FEL-699, etc, etc. Apologies if Ive missed any of you out lol. I was particularly interested to read the threads regarding the Red Rock centre onSandy Lane that certain posters were insistent would cause Dawlish to implode! Where are these posters now?
Maybe everyone is missing the point the recent servey for the strand only attracted 361 votes cast out of a population of 13000 maybe people just don't care about the shops in the Strand. If 2 or 3 thousand had voted it would have shown some level of concern as it stands i believe nobody cares its to easy to get in the car and go to Asda Tesco Morrisons or Sainsburys they give folk what they want CONVENIENCE
You are right Brazilnut apathy is a problem i personally voted for non pedestrianization as i am concerned about the town shops and have very close friends who own and run establishments in the Strand. But with 3 kids and limited finances the supermarkets provide my kids good quality food at a fair price and most parents are in the same boat. With family budgets being squeezed more and more they will find the cheapest way to feed their children and the high street will suffer its all about the money in peoples pocket and convenience its sad but thats how it is buy less for more or more for less
And of course people buy things online these days. Just read an article about the state of retailing in general. One high flying exec in the business now describes the retailing industry thus: " The whole retail market is restructuring at the moment, away from bricks and into clicks."
@leatash, when was the survey? the first we heard about it was when the results were posted in the gazette!
Cal i believe the details where posted on here there where various meetings in town and a open day at the church in the Strand
@Cal - this link should take you to the thread to which leatash refers.https://www.dawlish.com/forum/item.aspx?id=19398
Thanks Lynne its interesting to se that 1117 people viewed the post yet less than 400 cast a vote or am i missing something
im reading all these post and im sorry but us that work on the local shops of dawlish dont stand a chance no more no sainsbury arnt the only reason shops are shutting but i can tell you from first hand it hasnt help at all,firstly people moan about local shops being expensive yrs some things they are more expensive but do people realise that sainsbury have many shops which subsidise the shops like the one we got here now also do you all realise that siansburys and other big stores are taking piorotyover us we now have to take second best to siansburys on bread orders milk etc as they have prioty on the smaller shops they get delivered to when they want it we have too wait till they been done also do people realise that they have bigger storage buildings which means when the offers come out that they can bulk buy so again they get first chioce do people not realise if the small shops go it not only the staff in the shops that lose jobs but most local shops surport local bakerys veg retaillers etc so if they go it goes down the line to those retailers too as from personal exsperance i know that our profits have droped by a very big drop,i pride myself in knowing my customers and making sure they looked after if the local shop go has anyone thought about the older and disabled people who cant get to the big stores can the big store say if they dont see a customer for a few days they worry if they ok or pop round to check or will they deliver thier shopping to them if they ring up and ask free of charge no, i personally do and pride myself in knowing my customers and what they need and am there to have a chat if they upset or worried or even just want to chat, it really saddens me too hear so many local shops are shutting ,as for sainsburys giving employment yes they have giving jobs but iif you could look at the precentage of locals they employ its not as big as people think and most of them on temp contracts,i shop in a big store but also surport ;locals shops too it would be nice if others could,please lets all help the local shops and yes we need free parking in the strand or a t least for the first hour and yes teingbridge needs to remember we are here,sainsburys was built cause someone somewheree had a nice big pay check which is sad right that my rant over
Hedgehog69 ..
I would love to know who your english school teacher is? That has to be the longest sentense I have ever ever seen!!! What happened to Caps!
wondering im so sorry that my grammer isnt to your standard but what i say is true also if i a nd others lose thier jobs will sainsbury give me a job hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Did you see on Ch4 Monday night about how all the big supermarkets are trying to convince us that self service is better ..so at some stage no staff will be needed on checkouts!.. just automation, its a bit worrying. In their survey on which is quicker though, the checkouts won! ..I prefer a person to say hello to.
If you are as crap at self service as I am, you spend plenty of time talking and laughing with the girl there to help!
One of the main reasons I shop at Sainsburys, apart from the convenience, is the helpfulness and politeness of the staff, something I can say I never got in Dawlish Co-op, Somerfield before that or Gateways before that. I even spoke to one of the staff in Teignmouth Co-op about staff attitude in Dawlish and she was well aware of it.
I'm happy to use the fruit and veg shop and the butchers on the Strand but I'm glad to say I'll never set foot in Co-op again.
flo i dont work in co op so couldnt of been me thankfully,to me co op is a supermarket not a local shop and it was foolish not to listen to its customers and expand earlier,it would be interresting to see gow many shops in dawlish have shut their doors say in last ten years and reopened
Supermarkets wanting to reduce the number of checkout staff, but surely that's been obvious since the day it was started. What business isn't trying to use machines instead of people?.
I am surprised they have been so slow in pushing this. No different to every other business and service. The council allows you to register as a voter in a few seconds online, rather than post a form back for someone to manually enter the data. Car Tax renewal, TV licence renewal, modern equipment has eliminated employees in all those areas. What about the Library, you do not need a librarian, except to put books back on the shelves. You swipe the books and card yourself, this has dramatically reduced the staff required in Libraries, including our local one. It only takes a few minutes to pay for and print a postal voucher so you don't have to go out and buy a stamp.
For business customers this saves hours of time not having to queue at the post office with bags full of post anymore.
People complain about queues at checkouts, self service checkouts allow 6 extra checkouts in the space for only 2 staffed checkouts. You tell the machine you used 10 of your own bags so getting all those extra Nectar points, then you can take dozens of extra plastic bags for your kitchen rubbish without having to ask for extra bags. Oh, and don't forget you scan the discount voucher and keep it to use again next time, can't do that at the manned checkouts.
I don't need 'convincing' that self service checkouts are better, they are brilliant.
I agree with wriggler a fantastic way to pay for your goods although the womans voice does grate after a while. The problem is people don't like change and always winge but the same people have the latest phones tellies etc and i wonder if those same people would give up all the great technologies if the clock was turned back ???
Wondering - "english", "sentense", "Caps" - tut tut!
Personally I hate self checkouts. They're just another way in which big companies can reduce staff and increase profits.
I've been shopping at the Dawlish Co-op for 6 years and always had good service and helpful staff.
I've tried Sainsbury's, but by the time I've found a parking spot, walked to the store, walked round the store searching for what I want and queued to pay, I could've popped into the Co-op, got my stuff, picked up an end of day bargain and be home with a G&T!
and I agree totally with you Dawlish Blue, Ive tried Sainsburys 5 times since they opened and have decided Coop is better and I dont get lured into spending too much
No conpaison in my humble opinion. Sainsbury's is an infinitely more fulfilling shopping experience! Friendly and knowledgeable staff, a superb assortment of food and non-food items, plenty of tills open, and overall good value for money. Oh and cheap Gin & Tonic too...
Nelson, last time I went into Sainsbury to buy Gordon's Gin, I found it was on offer in the Co-op for £1 less in the Co-op the next day. I don't think there's much difference in the own brand prices either.
Fair enough DawlishBlue. I wonder why then so many more people choose to shop at Sainsburys than the Co-op?
So the Co-op has the odd special that is cheaper than Sainsburys, there will always be deals that are cheaper in one place or another, as Nelson says, Why do so many people shop at Sainsburys then?
Maybe because today I bought a ream of paper, blank CDs, several magazines, oh, almost forget, all my groceries, bread, veg, fruit and wine at Sainsburys. Did I go to the Co-op to check out if any of these items were cheaper there before spending my money at Sainsburys, I'll give you one guess!.
Almost forgot, I also parked right outside the store, for free.
I did buy a tin of tomato puree from the Co-op last week, I don't care if it was cheaper or dearer than Sainsburys, I went to the Co-op because it was more convenient for me that day.
DawlishBlue, you say '"by the time I found a parking spot", if Sainsburys was that busy I can understand some frustration, I bet the Co-op would like their customers to complain they were so busy they had to stand in a queue to pay. No customers, no queues.
I can go down the town pay 40p to park get everything I want in 30mins. Went to Sainsburys a week ago browse around picked up more than i should after being lured by offers, took 1hr 20mins by time I queud and got through checkouts, drove home total time out 1hr 35mins phew. Through the week threw away at least £10 of things I bought because dates were short and we hadnt ate them, these items were unfreezable. Know where Id rather go!!!!!!
Ah, now I understand, it is Sainburys fault that you throw food away, can't quite figure that one out!!
You bought it!!!!! You really need to sort yourself out if you throw £10 of food away in a week, that is ridiculous.
I think you miss the point entirely, where in the Co-op can I buy things I got from Sainsburys this morning, eg blank CDs, paper for my printer, magazines that the Co-op don't keep. If you want a comparison, I drove 1 mile to Sainsburys, bought all the items listed earlier and drove home again, total time 25 minutes. If shopping at Sainsburys is so confusing and difficult for you then you are right to go to the Co-op. Your money, your choice.
But to blame a supermarket for making you buy items you didn't want and then go home and throw them away is too silly to discuss.
Well said Wriggler. Anyone would think that Brazilnut had a vested interest in promoting the Co-op and slagging off Sainsburys???! ;-) People have a choice, and they're voting with their feet and purses. And I fully understand why.
You misunderstand me I said quite clearly that I was lured into buying more than I needed MY FAULT, but its easy to buy or spend more than you would because of marketing ploys. Everybody is entitled to shop where they like but dont talk to me about vested interests all you Sainsbury huggers do the same as if Sainsburys is the best thing to happen to Dawlish. When they have wiped out all the competition and can then do what they like, best not start moaning on here. Dawlish will be a ghost town soon and then I take it you will all be happy
Sainsburys WILL be the best thing to happen to Dawlish if it encourages local businesses and their staff to raise their pitifully low levels of customer service! And perhaps help them understand that they need to broaden their offerings and their opening hours! Alternatively, if they are devoid of ideas, they could just give up without so much as a whimper. As has happened recently.
@Brazilnut. because the positives far outway the negatives. dawlish is a lovely town that just needs a little tlc and some positive marketing. improving the gateways into the town and improving the strand would go a long way towards redressing the imbalance that exists between here and teignmouth. a few changes around the beach area would help too, but overall dawlish has so much going for it that i can't imagine ever living anywhere else.
U HAVE BEEN HERE 5 MINS. WHAT DO YOU KNOW. GET A LIFE STUPID.................................................
Why the caps lock and why the abuse? Can you not debate without the abuse? Oh I forget, you'll edit your bile inducing comments once you've sobered up in the morning... Again.
because you are a pain i the arse to dawlish .& i have to be drunk to listen to you . you are a twat.
nelson i take ur comment personally about customer service i myself pride myself in knowing nearly all our customers very well and am allways happy to help them when i can that even means getting there shopping etc and dropping home to them in my own time granted some shop customer service isnt upto scratch but dont tare us all with the same brush,as for opening more hours ok open more hours do you have any idea how much it cost to keep open longer even 1 hr longer,and if we did and got 1 customer in would that justify the cost of staying open,i agree with you that the strand and lawn need updating to attract people bk into the town but it also need dawlish folk to get off thier bksides and do someting about it,
I apologise for tarring all with the same brush. Not all local businesses could learn (as I intimated), it's just that human nature is such that we remember the bad experiences more than the good. I like to think that I offer praise where it's due - e.g. my threads about the Strand Cafe and the Exeter Inn, etc, etc - however surely you have to admit that 'customer excellence' has been raised a notch or two by Sainsburys. I work for a massive retail business in Exeter; one that understands the concept of 'customer excellence' and one that puts it into practice. The thing is, size is irrelevant. Customer service is often about lots of little things that add up to a positive experience that makes you want to return time and again. Whichever business you own, I wish you the best of luck.
When I moved here in 80s we had starting with Old Town Street Red Lion Pub, Hairdressers , Old Town News, Davis General Store, Prince of Wales Pub, Park Rd - Paint Shop/Greengrocers, small Coop, another pub which changed to F&Radiator , Wet Fish Shop, Janes Sweet Shop, Park Rd Pharmacy, Martins Butchers, Queen St Rowes (Costcutters) Taylors Fruit and Veg Alexanders Insurance Brokers/hHalifax Building Society, Tea Shop,Tozers, Strand- Barclays Bank Bristol and West Building Society, Chemist, Dehwursts Butchers, Stevens Cafe/Bread Shop, Hockins,Central Cafe,Dunn and Baker,Christine Taylors Veg , Martins News, Foster Bros, Woolworths, Threshers. Along Piermont Place Timpsons or Stead and Simpson? Another greengrocers, Baileys Amusements. Some other posters maybe able to provide more that Ive missed cant all be to do with poor customer service
Just done the weekly shop at Sainsburys and thought that I'd time it to compare with the earlier poster's ludicrous claims. It took me 40 minutes door to door, now that I have transport. Oh and I saved £3.25 on branded items when compared to Tesco and Asda. And it goes without saying that it was service with a smile from the moment I entered the store to the moment I left. A pleasure.
But I dont shop at Tesco or Asda!!!!! Ryders Bakery, Stokes, Lloyd Maunder and Coop, also Londis Stores and occasionally Costcutters, thats what I call shopping locally and sharing my cash around
Personally the only shop in Dawlish I've had bad customer service in is Co-op, everywhere else has been great. I'm in no way an expert on small businesses but I don't think the parking problem in Dawlish has helped. Overheads too surely must play a part; utilities, business rates, rent, pay etc. Businesses are going under everywhere, not just Dawlish.
brazilnut going further bk up past manor was a sweet shop opp manor was a greengrocer on corner then thorpes buthcher a funeral directors, the red lion prince of wales,park road the wool shop down bk of town was the barbers shoe shop flourit the diy store down beach street bakers funeral directors dentist there loads would be interesting to see how many shops are gone now might just do it to see,
omg how could I forget thorpes, the shoe shop was where Take the Bait is now and Grahams Shoe Repairs was in King St, what was in his shop where he is now?
I think you are right, it was wool and Habedashery. Perhaps we ought to get the Gazette to do a now and then article of the last 30yrs so everybody can see how much the town shops have declined
also the Main Post Office and bags of value, see it all comes back when you start putting the brain in motion lol
Deli Delicious have phoned me to let me know when something I have asked for is back in stock, even if it has been weeks after I was last in there. That sort of customer service from local shops will not be provided by a supermarket.
I agree Don thats what the small shops offer personal service, because unlike supermarkets they know and appreciate their customers they are real people not just a number, or an email address
thats a good idea about papers im not saying sainsbury is to blame but they havnt helped at all and what have they given to dawlish if they has say built a decent park on the lawn for the kiddies of dawlish simular to teignmouths one or summit then at least you would feel like they had done summit to help improve the town what have they done i thik they help with red rock youth place but that isnt even open in holiday so what good is that i know last summer it was shut when the kid need somewhere to go it feels like stuff dawlish we a big store and we can do what the hell we like i surpose it called being bullies i dont know
Here in Chipping Norton a group of well meaning thinkers has quoted Dawlish as an example for regeneration?? however this group opposed a new Sainsbury's however I know from visiting Dawlish as often as I can that there is a new store in town so I am intrigued by your response to the new Sainsbury's both for and against, as a visitor to Dawlish and Teignmouth area as often as we can (just love the place) I'm interested because we here in Chipping Norton nearly had a Sainsbury's recently however thanks to a number of NIMBYS who having retired to the town wishing it to remain a "Cotswold working town" (which it isn't) we can now expect a bigger Co-op but with higher prices.
As soon as Hitler or the Nazis are mentioned in an argument the poster loses! It's called Godwin's Law (look it up on Wiki!). So Mughead - you lose again!
We do need a hour's free parking if the town is to survive. I know a lot of people who don't carry cash (yes - even small amounts - me included) who don't park in the town centre due to the current propensity of Parking Taxers patrolling almost constantly! I shop at Marina, Coronation Stores or Sainsbury's because I don't usually have change for the machines. Stokes have fresher veg, The Wee Shoppe have the best pasties and Lloyd Maunders have better meat but I won't shop there and risk a £60 fine. Hence most of my money goes to Sainsbury's or Tesco on-line.
Replacing the wall (little or no maintenance) with railings (constant maintenance) in the Strand is mad! The council should be looking at moving the wall out to widen the Strand but don't pedestrianise it - that will only make matters worse!
Everyone keeps comparing Teignmouth with Dawlish (or vice versa) but the towns are very different. Mainly, Dawlish has only one main shopping street whereas Teignmouth has at least three. Pedestrianisation of Bank St (I think!) worked for them but traffic still flows through the town centre. Their carparks are also closer to the shopping areas. We need more traffic/parking in the Strand not less.