Promenade - Megathread

[Roger Mexico]

But at least the band on the Titanic didn't have to pay for the iceberg.

[Non-Believer]

1 hour ago, TheTeapot said:

Paparazzi 

Seriously....somebody needs to forward that to Baker and those dicks at the DOI.

[Derek Flint]

5 hours ago, Non-Believer said:

Seriously....somebody needs to forward that to Baker and those dicks at the DOI.

There’s a real disconnect on the public relations side which doesn’t seem to be addressed. I don’t think even putting this outside Costa in the sea terminal, where the DOI hierarchy would see it every time they come down the stairs, would make a bit of difference.

[Boris Johnson]

4 hours ago, Derek Flint said:

There’s a real disconnect on the public relations side which doesn’t seem to be addressed. I don’t think even putting this outside Costa in the sea terminal, where the DOI hierarchy would see it every time they come down the stairs, would make a bit of difference.

There shouldmt be, I am told on very good authority there are 4 full time PR people on the prom.

[gettafa]

4 minutes ago, Boris Johnson said:

There shouldmt be, I am told on very good authority there are 4 full time PR people on the prom.

Can one of them answer the question, why wasn't the promenade refurbishment carried out in sections?

 

[WTF]

10 minutes ago, Boris Johnson said:

There shouldmt be, I am told on very good authority there are 4 full time PR people on the prom.

with the silent 'icks' it seems.

 

i saw a sign in the craft shop window opposite boots opticians  welcoming people from guernsey and apologising for the state of douglas,  quality.

[Boris Johnson]

6 minutes ago, gettafa said:

Can one of them answer the question, why wasn't the promenade refurbishment carried out in sections?

 

It was/ is - 3 setcions - the 2 ends and the middle bit. Just big sections, thats all. :-)

[Boris Johnson]

2 minutes ago, WTF said:

with the silent 'icks' it seems.

 

i saw a sign in the craft shop window opposite boots opticians  welcoming people from guernsey and apologising for the state of douglas,  quality.

Even when the prom is finished that sign would not be out of place.

[Max Power]

7 hours ago, Derek Flint said:

There’s a real disconnect on the public relations side which doesn’t seem to be addressed. I don’t think even putting this outside Costa in the sea terminal, where the DOI hierarchy would see it every time they come down the stairs, would make a bit of difference.

There's no doubt that the prom is a big(ish) job but I can't help feeling that planning to blitz the thing over twelve to eighteen months, with more people working, would have mitigated the loss of business for owners? Surely the costs over a shorter timescale would have been the same as the (supposed) three years planned? I imagine this is all to do with annual budgets and Treasury projections, rather than common sense! 

Other places tackle similar projects and complete them in a sensible timeframe, why the IoM has to be such an exception is anyone's guess? Keeping twenty five blokes employed for three years instead of fifty for one year may be their way of thinking, and to hell with the population! 

Edited August 9, 2020 by Max Power

[Boris Johnson]

1 hour ago, Max Power said:

There's no doubt that the prom is a big(ish) job but I can't help feeling that planning to blitz the thing over twelve to eighteen months, with more people working, would have mitigated the loss of business for owners? Surely the costs over a shorter timescale would have been the same as the (supposed) three years planned? I imagine this is all to do with annual budgets and Treasury projections, rather than common sense! 

Other places tackle similar projects and complete them in a sensible timeframe, why the IoM has to be such an exception is anyone's guess? Keeping twenty five blokes employed for three years instead of fifty for one year may be their way of thinking, and to hell with the population! 

Good post Max and I agree but I think, and this is from personal experience, there is a shortage of skilled men to do the work. The building industry used to be where everyone who was not "A" stream at school went for a job. Now it is very unfashionable and "b" stream people are going for useless degrees and then when qualified not prepared to do something as "menial", to them, as building.

A UK main contractor would have had the same problem getting local staff and they would have imported men from the UK causing outrage on here and money going off island to their family's. The lack of skilled tradesmen/ building workers started in the late 90s and has got steadily worse over time. It is not much better in the UK but you have the Polish and other immigrants willing to do a days work.

[Derek Flint]

9 minutes ago, Boris Johnson said:

Good post Max and I agree but I think, and this is from personal experience, there is a shortage of skilled men to do the work. The building industry used to be where everyone who was not "A" stream at school went for a job. Now it is very unfashionable and "b" stream people are going for useless degrees and then when qualified not prepared to do something as "menial", to them, as building.

A UK main contractor would have had the same problem getting local staff and they would have imported men from the UK causing outrage on here and money going off island to their family's. The lack of skilled tradesmen/ building workers started in the late 90s and has got steadily worse over time. It is not much better in the UK but you have the Polish and other immigrants willing to do a days work.

We were awash with imported trades when I moved here. Big projects like the hospital kept a need to import. 

[thesultanofsheight]

15 hours ago, Non-Believer said:

Seriously....somebody needs to forward that to Baker and those dicks at the DOI.

It wouldn’t make any difference. The DOI seems to be completely bemused by the fact that people need to earn a living in order to survive when all they have to do is turn up to work and get paid. I think sentiment is starting to change. Many traders have lost a shit load of money and the government schemes are coming to an end. Many aren’t going to tolerate this shite any longer if it’s still helping them to lose even more money. We should be focusing on getting the economy back up and running so that traders like that can maintain employment and keep their heads above water. Not continue to fuck them about and drive almost every consumer out of the town centre. If you look at where that sign is - there isn’t even a pavement anywhere near their premises to allow a potential customer to spend money within them. After three months of being shut for Covid on top it’s an absolute fucking joke and an insult to hard working industrious people who contribute to our economy. Someone needs to just put the DOI “management” on a boat and cast it adrift in the Irish Sea. 

[dilligaf]

2 hours ago, Derek Flint said:

We were awash with imported trades when I moved here. Big projects like the hospital kept a need to import. 

Our island was also awash with loads of VAT money. Different times to where we find ourselves now though.

[Non-Believer]

3 minutes ago, dilligaf said:

Our island was also awash with loads of VAT money. Different times to where we find ourselves now though.

The way some Govt Depts seem to be intent on continuing, somebody needs to advise them of the situation then? I was being told of a duplicated order for electric buses today but I can't vouch for its validity.

[TheTeapot]

14 minutes ago, dilligaf said:

Our island was also awash with loads of VAT money. Different times to where we find ourselves now though.

Its not that different, the VAT thing has gone back up a fair bit, been linked on here a few times.