Ramsey Pier To Be Demolished?

[guardone]

Ramsey town has 2 problems, of many, that can be addressed by an enhanced pier.

1.We all need more energy. A windmill farm, with possible wave power farms, can be built at the end of the renovated pier. Nobody likes the noise from a windmill, so out at sea sounds like a reasonable option. The energy generated will help subsidise the pier cost.

2.Someone mentioned the sewage problem. Sewage treatment tanks can also be built alongside the pier.

 

One side can be used for walking/fishing etc, the other for energy and sewerage. There will still be costs, but the town land will not be used for these necessary benefits and a few jobs will be created as well.

 

Bearing in mind that the Douglas prom was built on reclaimed land, the area between the harbour and pier could be infilled to support a modern gated dock for visiting boats, with carparking and new shops and a youth facility. I would not support more home building on this facility.

[Saltire]

What about demolishing Ramsey, but keep the pier?

[Triple H]

What about demolishing Ramsey, but keep the pier?

Er you said this in another thread -

No great surprise that the islands tourism is in decline if that's what you think of potential visitors. Remember this forum is available worldwide, not just to the island.

 

Try practicing what you're trying to preach.

[Pat Ayres]

Nice.

[ponderer]

... Grianane said, "The question should be: Here's £5 million quid for Ramsey, now what do you want?" it sort of made a point to me and as a person always willing to er... listen , then what really, would be the best thing for Ramsey?

 

For Ramsey, a Marina wins over a pier every time. There are far more linkages with Ramsey's wider economy with a Marina and far fewer ongoing maintenance burdens. An interesting survey on Piers in the Economist a few months ago puts the 'Ramsey pier' debate in a rather sober wider context.

 

It states....

 

"Of 81 piers round the British coast at their zenith, in 1908, 26 have gone. Of dozens in America (though America never knew the craze as Britain did), only seven major piers remain. Occasionally their bones still lie on the shoreline like the remains of behemoths, too costly to demolish and, in their way, a memento mori that people wish to preserve. .....

 

All that proud work is decaying and disappearing, as inevitably as the tides come in and out."

 

Source: The Economist 19 Dec 07

http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10278674

[Tugger]

The Times yesterday was more upbeat:

 

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol...icle4349958.ece

[gragor]

Unlike the Laxey Wheel or the Tower of Refuge, which are iconic parts of their locations, the pier is not that to Ramsey.

 

But it could be!

 

The lack of investment in Ramsey is shameful - yeah so there's a new swimming pool being built - but what has Ramsey got that's unique to the island? F*ck all is what!

 

The Pier in Ramsey would give the place a bit of respect again - even if it is just for Sunday strolls and ice creams, what's wrong with being Victorianesque about the place? It's only the same opportunities given in Douglas, Port Erin and Peel!

 

Hey. I came all the way from the west coast of Canada this May to visit IOM and we tried to take the ferry from Scotland to Rhumsaa that we had found in a '68 version of the Red Guide to the Isle of Man. Go figure. We would have loved to have gone from Glasgow to Ramsay by ferry and bypassed all the stuff in between. In the end we had to fly FlyBe.

 

I think you guys should get out of town a bit more, way out of town. Ramsay has lots going for it for a tourist from western Canada. Here we have virtually no history, no old buildings or definitely no old infrastructure. You have all of the above. We Goggled and Google Earthed you country for months before we went there. My wife even learnt YOUR language. We probably know more about Man than many locals do. We spent the whole time we were there ( 28 days ) conversing with Gaelic speakers, visiting historical sights, and enjoying your scenery via your most excellent public transport system.

 

We went up to Rhumsaa a few times to find a place to stay and hung out at some of the unique things there are in YOUR town. The Iron Pier is unique, quite beautiful and had lots of appeal to us, your swing bridge is also unique, the area around the man made lake - Morragh Park is beautiful too.

 

We got to stay in Rhumsaa for a couple of nights before the practises started and we couldn't find another place to stay. We had to move on to Jurby for another few days of great beach loafing.

 

If you think Rhumsaa is such a bad place to be why is that Rich F*ck with the helicopter trying to build condos on the Grand Hotel site and redevelop the foreground at Morragh. That is blasphemish. They should be confined to rebuilding one of the Edwardian buildings on the promenade instead. Possible "The Bleak House" site. I say "just say no to developers and run them out of town on the rail." It should be running by now. We missed it.

 

You know the ugliest building we saw in Ramsay and for that matter the whole of the IOM was that 10 story apartment block down town. You know the one built by the Canadians- probably Manx men named Quale. That new arena(?) across the harbour looks a little out of place too. Who designed that? Some English? I see it's made out of steel studs - that ought to last for a few years before it rusts into the ground.

 

Here they are building new piers for people to stand around on and people are standing around on them in between golfing, sightseeing, fishing, hiking, loafing at the beach, riding the train etc..

 

If you destroy your pier you destroy your history and a chance to build some of your future on your past. Ship building and fishing isn't cutting it anymore. We saw a bus load of German tourist come over to Ramsay to look at your pier for about 5 min and them off the lighthouse at Ayre. Too bad you never got to keep them around for a little bit longer. You could have impressed them with your hospitality and gotten to separate them from some of their cash. We left £350 behind in the 5 days we spent hanging around in the neighbourhood of your pier.

 

We went to the wine/sports bar for supper one night and that evening meal turned into the final game of the European Cup between Manchester and Carlyle. Never been in a sports bar before, never seen a football game before and never hung out with hundreds of excited fans. That will be a memory of Rhumsee we will always carry although we have forgotten the name of the bar.

 

You have a nice place there. Get over it and help it get better. Who ever it was that wrote that this website goes all over the world wasn't kidding.

 

gragor

[parchedpeas]

...top post about nostaligia and why we should keep it

gragor

 

Can't argue with it, really. But the real day to day life of Ramsey does not and will not ever support such a rose-tinted view of things. A small town will not thrive on a few tourists coming to spend twenty mnutes walking up and down a pier. They will still be off to Ayre for the lighthouse, and they will have left nothing with the town.

 

Me, myself, I would love to come back to Ramsey and walk on the Pier, safe in the knowledge that as tourist I will not have paid for it in my hard earned currency and as a town I will not have had to become defined by it as the only thing I've got.

 

Ramsey is SO unloved it is a shame, there is a lot there to like. A cash injection (unlikely) spent wisely by the town planners (even more unlikely) could transform the town into the thriving commercial town it derves to be. Unfortunately, there are some old timers still in charge of making decisions who will scrap (yard) any plans that involve CHANGE because they are clinging to the idea that a run down town centre full of second hand shops is the kind of town that people need and deserve.

 

The right money spent on the right things could change the whole ethos of the town, move the 'money' away from hoi poloi of Douglas and the Call Centre brigade and capitalise on a beautiful harbour area, high quality Tynwald Mills stlye reinvention of the shopping area, less Chippies serving the Manx National Dish of Chips and gravy and more exclusive accommodation. Unfortunatly, the people running Ramsey are pretty low class luddites who see any opportuniy for change as a sign of the degredation of society. Until those who elect them, locally AND nationally, realise this then the town is doomed.

[bluemonday]

The right money spent on the right things could change the whole ethos of the town, move the 'money' away from hoi poloi of Douglas and the Call Centre brigade and capitalise on a beautiful harbour area, high quality Tynwald Mills stlye reinvention of the shopping area, less Chippies serving the Manx National Dish of Chips and gravy and more exclusive accommodation. Unfortunatly, the people running Ramsey are pretty low class luddites who see any opportuniy for change as a sign of the degredation of society. Until those who elect them, locally AND nationally, realise this then the town is doomed.

 

A personal angle regarding this.

 

Some weeks ago, I had some people over. Whilst at Ramsey, I was persuaded by one of them, whose opinion I respect, to consider including Ramsey in a new project I'm working up and was discussing with him ( one or two people on here are aware of the nature of this, it's in a very early stage but is now progressing and has been well received by an MHK, A Minister and a gov department )

 

After mulling it over, I attempted to make an initial contact with RTC.

 

All I wanted was a simple contact point. Just someone to generally discuss the proposal with and get basic feedback from prior to even thinking about taking it any further as regards Ramsey.

 

I've had nothing back.

 

Not even an acknowledgement.

 

edit to add.

It wouldn't have cost them anything ( apart from a few minutes time ) and it wouldn't even have cost them anything when it is up and running.

[triskelion]

Ramsey is SO unloved it is a shame, there is a lot there to like. A cash injection (unlikely) spent wisely by the town planners (even more unlikely) could transform the town into the thriving commercial town it derves to be. Unfortunately, there are some old timers still in charge of making decisions who will scrap (yard) any plans that involve CHANGE because they are clinging to the idea that a run down town centre full of second hand shops is the kind of town that people need and deserve.

 

The right money spent on the right things could change the whole ethos of the town, move the 'money' away from hoi poloi of Douglas and the Call Centre brigade and capitalise on a beautiful harbour area, high quality Tynwald Mills stlye reinvention of the shopping area, less Chippies serving the Manx National Dish of Chips and gravy and more exclusive accommodation. Unfortunatly, the people running Ramsey are pretty low class luddites who see any opportuniy for change as a sign of the degredation of society. Until those who elect them, locally AND nationally, realise this then the town is doomed.

Its never going to be a thriving commercial town though. All the big brand chain stores are in Douglas and are unlikely to move away from the bulk of the population, and why would people go to Ramsey for a Tynwald-Mills style experience when they can just go to Tynwald Mills, which is close and has better parking?

[Albert Tatlock]

Its never going to be a thriving commercial town though. All the big brand chain stores are in Douglas and are unlikely to move away from the bulk of the population, and why would people go to Ramsey for a Tynwald-Mills style experience when they can just go to Tynwald Mills, which is close and has better parking?

With the current level of immigration to the island e.g. census 2001, 2006, I would assert that Ramsey is going to have to become more of a thriving commercial town over the next 10 to 30 years. We can't just keep putting everyone in Douglas and expanding Douglas the way it is being expanded. The gov need to start thinking a lot more strategically about where the next 20,000 people, and the businesses that employ them, are going to be located. Ramsey is ideally suited for this expansion.

 

They could do their bit straight away by locating several major gov departments up that way, thus feeding more income into the economy via Ramsey, even encouraging more and more government employees and others to seek to live there. Ramsey will only ever change with new blood, and new demands for business and facilities etc. I would go as far to say that current gov policy is actually harming Ramsey at present - and in a few years they will regret this when Douglas becomes far too over populated.

[bluemonday]

IMPO Douglas has already reached that point now.

And now is the time for them (gov) to recognise that and look at solutions and they need to include Ramsey in that.

[VinnieK]

The right money spent on the right things could change the whole ethos of the town, move the 'money' away from hoi poloi of Douglas and the Call Centre brigade

 

Indeed, that money really should be spent on the long neglected elite and professionals that make up Ramsey's numbers. The thing is, if you want Ramsey to become a "thriving commercial town", you're going to have to attract the hoi polloi and call centre brigade. I would be worried that exposure to the scholarly air and down at heel nobility of Ramsey would just generate resentment and ultimately lead to something similar to the October Revolution

[triskelion]

With the current level of immigration to the island e.g. census 2001, 2006, I would assert that Ramsey is going to have to become more of a thriving commercial town over the next 10 to 30 years. We can't just keep putting everyone in Douglas and expanding Douglas the way it is being expanded. The gov need to start thinking a lot more strategically about where the next 20,000 people, and the businesses that employ them, are going to be located. Ramsey is ideally suited for this expansion.

 

They could do their bit straight away by locating several major gov departments up that way, thus feeding more income into the economy via Ramsey, even encouraging more and more government employees and others to seek to live there. Ramsey will only ever change with new blood, and new demands for business and facilities etc. I would go as far to say that current gov policy is actually harming Ramsey at present - and in a few years they will regret this when Douglas becomes far too over populated.

Argh, not the 'Deparment relocation' myth again. There are simply too few people working in areas that could be reasonably moved to make it worthwhile, or to make much difference to the local economies. Moving say, the 18 admin staff of the DHA to Ramsey is going to make very little difference. The DoT manages with the top of the Sea Terminal so not many there, DAFF is already based in St Johns, which hasn't had any real effect on the place.

 

It seems very unlikely that the next five years will see the level of immigration the previous five have; what with the global downturn and all. I'm not actually clear on what Ramsey has going for it as the Island's 'second town.' Its mostly residential at the minute, with a tiny bit of industry and lot of small shops. I'm not saying it doesn't have the potential, but its kind of typical to the whole debate that people aren't saying 'we need more businesses here,' they are saying they (really, really, really) need the Pier to be renovated, which isn't going to attract the kind of enterprise the town will really need.

 

Looking on Google Earth, Douglas actually doesn't look all that big, indeed Onchan looks much more formidable, though the lines between the two is somewhat indistinct, I suppose. You could easily keep expanding Douglas, but you would probably have to force out some of the inner residents as well to make way for more business developements.

[Tugger]

Argh, not the 'Deparment relocation' myth again. There are simply too few people working in areas that could be reasonably moved to make it worthwhile, or to make much difference to the local economies.

 

So you keep telling us. How many are there exactly? I presume you must now with a fairly high degree of precision because otherwise how could you make these very confident pronouncements with such regularity?