Build it and they will come...

[manxchester]

7 minutes ago, Shake me up Judy said:

Port St Mary is beautiful, no question, but there's nothing there. If it was in the south west of England you wouldn't be able to move for people, shops, restaurants etc. You certainly couldn't afford to live there. It's a real marker of how the Island has failed to redevelop and regenerate itself since the end of the tourist heydays. It took forty odd years to develop the old Bay Queen site. It's a lovely village to walk around on a Sunday morning but you'll hardly meet a soul.

I think that's one of the reasons I like it so much there, probably my favourite place on the Island and where I plan to retire to if I don't move back to England.

[The Bastard]

17 minutes ago, Shake me up Judy said:

Port St Mary is beautiful, no question, but there's nothing there. If it was in the south west of England you wouldn't be able to move for people, shops, restaurants etc. You certainly couldn't afford to live there. It's a real marker of how the Island has failed to redevelop and regenerate itself since the end of the tourist heydays. It took forty odd years to develop the old Bay Queen site. It's a lovely village to walk around on a Sunday morning but you'll hardly meet a soul.

IMHO it's not necessarily a failure to redevelop and regenerate, more that there just aren't the numbers of people required to generate income to regenerate and redevelop. Mass tourism disappeared as soon as jet aircraft became a thing , and you can't blame people - why spend a couple of drizzly weeks in a Methodist fishing village when there's sun, sangria and sex in a sunny Mediterranean resort for less money ? No matter what we do, the tourists aren't coming back, and the number of failing businesses that are reported on here is ample evidence that you can't invest a load of money and expect it to be propped up by a small number of residents. The only businesses that are actively doing well are financial, and that doesn't equate to huge investment in the community, since there are only a small number of beneficiaries. You'll see some yachts and Lambourghinis, but no real change within the community itself. I think we're past the peak, we've seen how busy and successful the island once was, but those days are long gone, and expectations need to be limited. It's never going to be what it was again. 

[Gladys]

45 minutes ago, Happier diner said:

You have been once....but its not open yet is it?

It has been open for months. 

[Shake me up Judy]

4 minutes ago, The Bastard said:

IMHO it's not necessarily a failure to redevelop and regenerate, more that there just aren't the numbers of people required to generate income to regenerate and redevelop. Mass tourism disappeared as soon as jet aircraft became a thing , and you can't blame people - why spend a couple of drizzly weeks in a Methodist fishing village when there's sun, sangria and sex in a sunny Mediterranean resort for less money ? No matter what we do, the tourists aren't coming back, and the number of failing businesses that are reported on here is ample evidence that you can't invest a load of money and expect it to be propped up by a small number of residents. The only businesses that are actively doing well are financial, and that doesn't equate to huge investment in the community, since there are only a small number of beneficiaries. You'll see some yachts and Lambourghinis, but no real change within the community itself. I think we're past the peak, we've seen how busy and successful the island once was, but those days are long gone, and expectations need to be limited. It's never going to be what it was again. 

There's a lot in what you say but it's primarily been the failure to develop brownfield sites in our towns and villages. I know it's all been said many times, but the landowners, farmers, and developers have made a killing on land values and greenfield development. It's been government policy since the '70s. Still is.

[The Bastard]

3 minutes ago, Shake me up Judy said:

There's a lot in what you say but it's primarily been the failure to develop brownfield sites in our towns and villages. I know it's all been said many times, but the landowners, farmers, and developers have made a killing on land values and greenfield development. It's been government policy since the '70s. Still is.

I guess that redevelopment needs a driver. During the tourist era, a lot of high-end businesses sprang up out of nowhere because there was money to be made from the hundreds of thousands of people visiting in the season - theme parks, beach resorts, dance halls, trains and trams. You're right, it would be amazing to see regeneration, but at the moment, I can't see where the driver for that regeneration is coming from - there's a small number of residents, a small number of tourists and a few HNWIs that get on a plane when they want to do something exciting. It does make you see why there are efforts to increase population, since running a business with such a limited pool of customers is close to impossible in some sectors. A big negative is that we don't have the stores, entertainment and amenities to attract residents and tourists here, but none of those things will open without the presence of those customers in the first place, since they'd quickly go under.  

[Moghrey Mie]

1 hour ago, Shake me up Judy said:

Port St Mary is beautiful, no question, but there's nothing there. If it was in the south west of England you wouldn't be able to move for people, shops, restaurants etc. You certainly couldn't afford to live there. It's a real marker of how the Island has failed to redevelop and regenerate itself since the end of the tourist heydays. It took forty odd years to develop the old Bay Queen site. It's a lovely village to walk around on a Sunday morning but you'll hardly meet a soul.

They need to get rid of the rotting seaweed for a start.

[Happier diner]

1 hour ago, Tinpot said:

It’s been open for weeks.  What are you on about?

Have you clicked on the website and/or googled it. 

[Happier diner]

39 minutes ago, Gladys said:

It has been open for months. 

Someone needs to tell their website 

[Happier diner]

1 hour ago, Tinpot said:

16 reviews on FB going back to May.  
 

You aren’t very good at this internet malarkey are you 😂

Better than they are. 

[The Bastard]

1 minute ago, Moghrey Mie said:

They need to get rid of the rotting seaweed for a start.

The sea generates seaweed, no surprises there. Clearing up a bit of seaweed isn't going to revitalise a whole village though. 

[Moghrey Mie]

Just now, The Bastard said:

The sea generates seaweed, no surprises there. Clearing up a bit of seaweed isn't going to revitalise a whole village though. 

Well it would be a start. The PSM Commissioners should have a plan for the village and be leading the way.

[Tinpot]

4 minutes ago, Happier diner said:

Have you clicked on the website and/or googled it. 

Yes.  The website is out of date, they often are because people don’t really use websites much, they tend to look on social media which is much easier to keep up to date.

I would have thought you would have remembered that from when you made yourself look a bit silly over the Ravens opening hours.

Social media for up to date info.  Websites and Google listings are often not up to date.

[Jarndyce]

4 minutes ago, Happier diner said:

Have you clicked on the website and/or googled it

Website says open “Spring 2024” - it’s now autumn.

Not unreasonable that it might have opened sometime between those two points.

Also, irrespective of the website (which is not inaccurate, although might benefit from an update), are you suggesting that everyone who has actually been there are suffering from some mass delusion?   It’s really open!

[Jarndyce]

1 hour ago, Happier diner said:

Its not open yet. How did you manage?

As above: your comment doesn’t refer to the website - you just stated that it wasn’t open yet…

[The Bastard]

4 minutes ago, Moghrey Mie said:

Well it would be a start. The PSM Commissioners should have a plan for the village and be leading the way.

Clearing up some naturally-occurring seaweed isn't the start of a plan for the village. There's far bigger issues stopping regeneration and redevelopment that a small group of commissioners aren't going to fix. They can't change the economic realities of a small population and negligeable tourism by clearing up some seaweed.  Isn't seaweed something you expect in a village by the sea ?