TerryMcCann Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 It's the seaside town that they forgot to bomb. And there was me just about to suggest they bring Morrissey over..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopsticks Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 Someone asked about the IOM at another set of forums I frequent, a guy who'd actually come here for a short holiday with a mate gave it the following one-line synopsis. Can't say I can disagree with him really...... I went in April 2006 with a mate, only stayed in Douglas, was a bit rough looking & VERY expensive, went to Laxey, lovely clean looking place, not much for kids to do over there though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauren66 Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 I think people should stop redeveloping anything that douglas has left into f**king apartments. A lot of the old skool culture and sights have gone. Douglas was never meant to be modernised to a huge extent, so just leave it be before it's too late to be salvaged!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeky boy Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 I wonder why the powers that be don't look at some of the successes in the UK and apply them here For example, Hastings is a faded seaside town not unlike Douglas. At one end of the prom is a collection of old timber fisherman's sheds, a handful of fish shops plus a top notch chippy and a fleet of beach-launched fishing boats The local council wanted to drop the lot and build a retail park, luckily the area was saved and has become a mecca for visitors and sparked a renaissance in the old town The once scruffy and unloved old properties in the surrounding area have been renovated now support many small delis, bistros & bars Five miles down the coast at Bexhill the De la Ware Pavillion has been restored, this Art Deco masterpiece has now started a similar revival in a place where previously people only moved to to to die Probably a bit much to expect any inspired ideas from a corpy whose members look to Benidorm or Basingstoke for inspiration Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempus Fugit Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 why do we have to make Douglas look like somewhere else ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebees Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 The harbour could be good, but its the council inst it? not the smartest bunch of people on the Island. £30K seagulls, £20M for putird blue everywhere and a crappy logo, someone thought up on the plane. Ahhh but we are twinned with Ballacountydoryclaire - Who cares? Probably a bit much to expect any inspired ideas from a corpy whose members look to Benidorm or Basingstoke for inspiration LOL, you've met them too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeky boy Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 why do we have to make Douglas look like somewhere else ? We don't have to look like somewhere else, we just don't need to carry on making the same mistakes that other places have made. Look at the impact developments like the Eden Centre in Cornwall or the Guggenheim in Bilbao have had, the problem we have here is lack of vision The island is run by the greedy, the artless and the uninspired. you only have to get off the plane and drive to Douglas to realise that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pragmatopian Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Some ideas: (1) a roving cleanup squad to deal with rubbish and vandalism. (2) a roving death squad to deal with litterers and vandals. But seriously, immediate and disproportionate action against anti-social behaviour rather than threats of action or half-arsed action. Consequences need to be more certain, more immediate and more unpleasant to dissuade offenders. (3) law allowing compulsory purchase orders for landowners who fail to put their property in good order after one year of warnings (and a demonstrated willingness to follow the threat with action). Again, make the consequences of doing nothing more painful and you increase the chances of action. (4) stop on-street parking in lower Douglas and crack down on illegally parked cars elsewhere in the town (an hour's warning and your car is impounded). Provide free or cheap off-street parking. (5) use offenders for special clean-up projects e.g. clearing and landscaping wasteland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hannahsmummy1 Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 I live just outside Basingstoke (in a pretty little village) and whilst it is a pretty miserable & depressing place to live, since being voted one of the crappest places to live in the UK they have tried really hard to shake off that image. They painted everywhere, hanging baskets everywhere, festival place shopping centre is now just as good as the oracle in reading (with much better parking!) At least Basingstoke town council & planners had the sense to realise what a dive basingstoke was/is & do something about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Look at the impact developments like the Eden Centre in Cornwall... Yes a great opportunity missed there when redeveloping the wedding cake and our seat of government - an Eden project style dome - the BlunderDome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Power Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 The island is run by the greedy, the artless and the uninspired. you only have to get off the plane and drive to Douglas to realise that There's a whole new thread in that statement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voyeur Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 As the Isle of Man is such a lovely place to live, I agree with the comments that say 'why make it look like some where else?' But something DOES have to be done about Douglas..........for starters!! It looks drab and scruffy and it's getting worse by the day. A simple face lift and clean up would do it wonders. I only wish the 'brains' that seem to keep getting elected to 'care' for our beautiful Island would get a clue, actually spend some time here, and realise it would be a hell of a lot easier to keep it nicer if they could manage to, instead of opening yet another wine bar/pub, find some other form of entertainment for the locals!! That might stop the drunkards and underagers finding their own form of fun!! Even Sean Hughes who was here for a day could see the main 'entertainment' in Douglas other than drinking would appear to be sodding tribute acts at the Villa/Gaiety!!!! Not Good!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manxman27 Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Wasn't the winning project in the Manx Executive Challenge on this very subject? Perhaps they should implement some of their findings. I think the main problem is that there are too many run down areas like Peel road where there are run down building that are waiting for developers to buy them, or there are a few buildings that developers own and they are waiting to buy other properties around their buildings to make the development plot big enough for their needs. Perhaps govt should be looking in to these and help some of these schemes get under way or demand that they are fixed up or demolished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinnieK Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 I wonder why the powers that be don't look at some of the successes in the UK and apply them here Aye, but a possible problem with adopting the same tactic is that towns in the UK can often in part expect their developments to draw increased numbers of visitors, which helps spread the cost. I'm not saying we couldn't do it, just that we've got the Irish Sea and the expense of getting across it standing between us and the visitors if we're to build or develop anything really beyond what our numbers suggest possible (i.e. small run down market town fare), which makes things a bit more difficult and risky. Ultimately what makes a town what it is is commerce and culture, but we're in a tricky position thanks to geography and the smallness of the market we can offer to both industries. Also it's true that Douglas looks a bit run down, but then so do a lot of places on the Island: Ramsey looks like something out of a documentary about how grim the 70's were, and Port Erin looks like somewhere someone started building but then got bored and stopped halfway through. The problem being that any proposal to tart up Douglas a bit has to first be justified to the rest of the Island which has seen itself even more neglected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopsticks Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Ramsey looks like something out of a documentary about how grim the 70's were, That's an insult to the 70s! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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