General Discussion
Is Dawlish stuck in the 1950's?
I read with interest a letter in this weeks Dawlish Gazette from Stuart Carson. I agree with him Dawlish is stuck in the 1950's.
I have lived here for about 50 years and agree we must move on.
We still need to keep our beautiful and famous black swans and ducks, but it seems even they are choosing to move on.
Teignmouth is a great excample you only have visit Teignmouth and you will meet more Dawlish people shopping in Teignmouth than Dawlish.
What does that tell you.
No because Dawlish was better back then.
It had a cinema, ....more hotels.
Dawlish is not even staying still, it has been going backwards for decades.
It pains me to say so, but Teignmouth is going in the right direction development-wise, unlike Dawlish.
Dawlish could be said that it is stuck in the 1950's. Some of the shop frontage needs to be changed to bring up to date. If you look at the amusements by the sea front you will see what I mean. Look at the row of shops, one shop the rest tatty fast food. Yes it does its job, but you need to bring it back up to date as I said before.
However having said that the beauty of Dawlish is that it does have its roots back in the 1950's. But this could be improved by bring the style of the frontage of the shops up to a standard that was prevalent in the 50's. That is the charm of the town. You mentioned Teignmouth, yes this a modern (to a point) town, but to be honest has no soul, in parts. Nor does it has its own identity, unlike Dawlish. And who am I to comment, well sitting next to me is the wife ( she who must be obeyed!)And she comes from Teignmouth , and has visited Dawlish for as long as she can remember. We still come down to see the family three times a year, so I think we can comment.
If the shops had the frontages brought back to top condition, and the fast food shops on the front forced to update, I think you would have a smashing town. You should be proud of Town anyway, but the changes that could be made, that I have outlined here would make Dawlish the jewel in the region. Rather then a normal Town that just happens to be by the sea.
Thanks for you time.
Si
Surely one of the charms of Dawlish is that it embraces the values of times gone by? Residents have/make the time to greet each other civilly and chat to the visitors. Families come here to have proper 'bucket and spade' holidays and spend quality time together.
Too much updating would make us like every other High Street in the country. We should celebrate our individuality. How many other small towns can claim to have as many events as Dawlish? I am proud to live here and appreciate the work done by so many to keep the town tidy and provide so much for us all to enjoy.
No one wants to spoil our lovely town but we have to speculate to accumulate before it becomes totally antiquated.
Dawlish is a lovely little town to live but now that Teignmouth has had a makeover it makes parts of Dawlish look shaby, so I think it is about time Dawlish had some money spent on it as we don't want all the holiday makers to start going to Teignmouth because of it being a tider and prettier resort.
Well said! My gran lived in Exeter and used to love the place. Last year I went back and the charm had gone! It had Virgin, HMV, Subways, M&S etc, and now looks the same as everywhere else. Please don't let this happen to Dawlish, too! If updating it means losing it's charm, then please leave it in the 1950's.
What was so great about the 1950's? Why should Dawlish hang its identitry and future on a drab, impoverished, post war, depressing decade. This town is held back by all those who wish to live in the past. The bucket and spade holiday is long dead and this town seems to be buried up to its neck in misplaced nostalgia. Plan for a future. Get rid of all those tacky arcades, apalling food joints, force the holiday camps to raise their standards and arrange some events that attract a better standard of visitor with more to spend. and what's so special about Teignmouth? We should be setting our sights far higher.
Very Well said Fluke, I agree, I have lived in Dawlish all my life - not telling you how long..... But long enough to have seen the changes and its only really been the last 5 years or so that the decline has been so noticeable. We are lagging behind and I certainly don't think a pedestrianisation of the Strand is, any way, shape or form, going to help Dawlish or its Traders. There are so many things that are just so obvious, like free parking for say 30 mins, to encourage people to stop and shop locally, esp considering the new Sainsbury's, which I am not against, but don't want the town to die because of it. Teignmouth, I believe is leading the way, maybe we should just swap Councillors? Ooops!!!!
I agree, free parking for 30 minutes should be implemented. But the Strand businesses also have to play their part and some of them don't. They ALL need to make an effort, not just some.
I got the big house looking down on your small house & i got a nice view of the sea. what a great life i have .....................
I do more for dawlish then you will ever do. that make's me very happy. i love this place & all the folks that live here.
u tek da pee bout me dsylexa, but bludy hel uve gotta a bad twich in dat eye. how long u livd here 4 bye da way?
suprised u int sed owt bout da news in da gazete bout tescos xpress tekkin ova gays cremry. thort u mite hve med ur own bid for da shop. wot wid u been da lord o da manner n all dat. xxx
is der a eco in ere or wot. i tort u wonted to tek ova da lish. 2 late 2 bye ladysmile n 2 late 2 buy gays. ur finga int on da puls is it. alan suga wud say ur fired.
nevamind. u bein shy agin 4 sum reson. cant tink y. bet ur guted at missin out on ladysmile an gays.
bles u. def a bloke wid slectiv readin. seein as u r so rich can u borrow me a fiva plz? ta muchly xxx
if you want to talk rubbish, do it on your own post, not someone else's - you are distracting from the point.
wot point? 1 frm 4 yrs ago? well b4 dullas bort da bigest crib in da lish? i herd hes mekkin a bid 2 buy da harisons amusments nxt. xxx
Every right - just cos I didn't join til yesterday, doesn't mean I have to put up with your jibberish, distracting or trying for attention - get a life, perhaps you need to go back to Janet and John books
bully. u say END OF n we is sposed to bow at ur feet. rite oh. bully. y dint u join b4? wen r u gonna start a thred? bully
I'd be interested to know what shops were in Dawlish in the 1950s - anyone remember or have any photos/postcards?
Dawlish council needs to help local business by dropping shop unit rents and encouraging shops that offer original products /concepts.They may loose money initially but if the center becomes more vibrant with increased revenue they can then regenerate the center.
The shopping offered in Dawlish is limited with repetitive products/ services offered.If it could become a little more bohemian without losing the practical IE greengrocers butchers etc... it cant do any harm.
If it continues to offer the same but less than every other small costal town how can there be change other than digression. You cant move forwards if you look to the past.
The council can't reduce rents unless they own the shops, I don't know if any shop premises in Dawlish are council owned, probably all are privately owned. Business rates were increased quite dramatically by Teignbridge Council last year even though domestic rates stayed the same, business rates were reduced by a govt initiative based on rateable value. Premises rated at less than £5k were rates exempt and reduced for premises with a rateable value of between 5-12k, however, I think this govt scheme has now ended so rates have gone back to 'normal' with the exception of the standard rate reduction for small businesses, this is 50%.
Rent and rates are the biggest overheads for a small business and are the main reason many shops close and usually become charity shops as these overheads make running a small shop unprofitable.
Charity shops are usually given a zero or very low business rate, this together with zero cost for the stock is the reason charity shops take over empty premises which cannot survive as worthwhile businesses paying the 'normal' level of rent and business rates.
Dawlish shops have so little to offer compared to Teignmouth and Newton Abbot that there is no reason for 'shoppers' to visit Dawlish, pedestrianising the Strand is a total waste of time, if you want shoppers in Dawlish you need SHOPS not wider pavements.