Dawlish Discussion

I had to go over to T'mouth this morning so thought I'd pay their playpark a visit.

Yes, I agree, it has lots of nice play equipment including a water fountain area. Very attractive.

It is, however, I should guess at least the size of the area behind the bandstand on the lawn in Dawlish. It might even be a bit bigger. Point is, that what is now on offer in Dawlish is only half the area behind the bandstand.   Therefore a smaller playpark.

The playpark in Teignmouth is for up to 16 year olds. The one in Dawlish is aimed at under 8 year olds. So a decreased customer target . 

The T'mouth playpark is not located bang on top of the shops in T'mouth. I would say its location to the shops is around about the same distance as the Manor Park is from the bowling green end of the Lawn. I make this point about its location as I remember reading that the town centre manager claimed that she had been told both by T'bridge Council and by traders in T'mouth town centre that the playpark had increased trade.

So, if the playpark in T'mouth has increased trade for T'mouth town centre shops (proof of that claim is substantiated how by the way?) and it is situated aroundabout the same distance from T'mouth town centre as the manor park in Dawlish is to the Dawlish shops, then why can't the new playpark in Dawlish be situated in the Manor park?

Lynne,

"why can't the new playpark in Dawlish be situated in the Manor park? Not enough parking spaces for either the lawn or Manor park.To find a parking space around the Bartons is a nightmare, and I guess the same applies for the Strand area. At least Teignmouth has a fair ammount of parking facilities around the play park area.

@majorp - Yes, I forgot to say that  I also noticed the large number of car parking spaces not only on the road but also at The Point car park.

This is an extract from the town centre manager's report to the Civic Amenities Committee meeting held in June 2016.

(my emphasis in bold)

Many members of the public and traders have asked for a play park in Dawlish on a similar scale to Teignmouth. Currently Dawlish residents travel to Teignmouth to use their play park, which is used extensively all year round to the benefit of families, shops and cafes. If Dawlish had a play park in the town centre families could walk or cycle there and it would encourage them to stay to eat and shop, which would help the local economy. 

And my response to those two points are:

1. What is now being proposed is not on a similar scale to the one in Teignmouth. 

2. So people are going to walk with, or cycle with, their under 8 year olds all the way from the new housing developments on the outskirts of the town in order to use the proposed playpark in Dawlish town centre.

Yeah, course they will. 

I think that most people who are agaisnt the playpark, myself included in those agaisnt, are not wholeheartdely agaisnt having one, they are more agaisnt where it is proposed to go, the down effect it will have and the accuracy of the information we have all been provided with in the first place. It will no way near be a match to that of Teignmouth. I don't believe that the number of those Dawlish residents that travel to Teignmouth to use their play park is that of any concern, and furthmore I don't believe that other than Subway and Costa, that Teignmouth has anything special to offer that Dawlish does not have already, other than the extra bank. 

Can I be the one to remind people that the strand regeniration project was promised to build trade and gain more customers to our town and boost its local econmoy, how wrong did that turn out to be, it's more of a dirty gum path to nowhere than a yellow brick road.