Need for the city’s infrastucture to be improved, holding Argyle back.

[Abbotts Ann Green]

Genuine question - why don't ships want to come alongside here? As a total layman, I would have thought it is much easier for their passengers to disembark. I always thought trying to get a cruise line to start trips here would do wonders for the economy with guests staying pre/post.

Transport links. Southampton is on the end of a motorway from London, has frequent quick trains to London and has a small but great to use airport. Many of the passengers embarking and disembarking are Americans too and it’s much easier to use than Plymouth.

 

[Kevin Pedlar]

Yes - the club need to improve their own infrastructure and yes , we desperately need new investment for new players and ultimately get the ground capacity to 25,000.
BUT
I really think the chairman and board need to really start exerting some influence regards the city itself towards the council and local politicians.

We are forever held back with such poor transport links,terrible shopping centre and not cashing in on the waterfront potential. We need to become a major destination city to attract and retain good players and management, keep attracting large number of away supporters to the matches and generally kick start the huge potential to attract more events and make the city and club more high profile.

This city still needs an airport!!!
The current transport links are terrible and we remain so isolated and difficult to reach other parts of the country. This definitely impacts on players and staff staying here, as we have seen this season.As an example, Plymouth to the North West is a nightmare by road and current public transport offered.

The council need to redouble efforts to focus on making the city centre attractive to decent stores - ie John Lewis etc. By attracting someone like that, will bring in other decent shops. The current increasing spread of cheap discount shop and vape stores, is dragging the city down.

Then we have our great waterfront, not invested in. We should have cruise ships coming in and decent hotels to stay in, currently we have no decent hotels. Which can’t look good to not only potential players, but also puts off Plymouth hosting big events.

I don’t intend this to be political, but truly think it impacts on the club and its prosperity going forward.

The airport will never reopen! Spent many a morning up there when it was ‘open’ but fogbound. Not good enough for a provincial airport.

 

[jimbogreen]

Transport links. Southampton is on the end of a motorway from London, has frequent quick trains to London and has a small but great to use airport. Many of the passengers embarking and disembarking are Americans too and it’s much easier to use than Plymouth.

I appreciate those points and they are correct, however I know regular cruisers and they'd pretty much start wherever a ship is (cost and itinerary are the key motivators for them). Also we are a good amount closer to Spain/Portugal so I'm slightly puzzled why BF has added lots of Spain services from Pompey over Plymouth. Must be population concentration of the SE.

Still curious why ships don't want to come alongside though. Thats just part of an itinerary, not the start/finish

 

[Green Flash]

Don’t rea

Setting aside the political part of your post, what does the city wait for then? Shall we just send a message over to the Freeport team to stop bothering now because it’s a waste of time.

No offence intended, but this is an indicator of the problem that Plymouth (and other cities) have suffered for decades - basic inertia and/or finding reasons not to do something resulting in tokenistic facelifts of pavements and building facades. Job done.

The Freeport is at least a launchpad and any strategist worth their salt would bake in the likely change of government as part of a risk assessment. At some point someone has to thing big, think beyond, or the slow decline will just continue. For me it’s a microcosm of what we see at a UK level as well - Truss was a fool for doing what she did at the time she did, but principally she wasn’t far off. At some point someone needs to go for growth because we’re stagnating.

I now live 730 miles away so shouldn’t perhaps care so much, but my home city has so much potential it just needs people with the power to grasp the nettle.

I appreciate those points and they are correct, however I know regular cruisers and they'd pretty much start wherever a ship is (cost and itinerary are the key motivators for them). Also we are a good amount closer to Spain/Portugal so I'm slightly puzzled why BF has added lots of Spain services from Pompey over Plymouth. Must be population concentration of the SE.

Still curious why ships don't want to come alongside though. Thats just part of an itinerary, not the start/finis is not

Millbay is not deep enough for the larger cruise ships

 

[Frank Butcher]

The airport will never reopen! Spent many a morning up there when it was ‘open’ but fogbound. Not good enough for a provincial airport.

In the wrong place anyway. Interestingly, HMG’s Freeport blurb states that it supports ‘excellent port infrastructure (sea AND air)’. There’s a starter for ten then …

 

[Balham Green]

It's political.

We are not Tory heartland.

If there were Conservative MP's and Conservative councils in situ then we would get more funding from the government, but the Southwest are seen to be very Liberal with a smattering of labour councils in the cities.

That doesn't make sense. Plymouth has a marginal seat.

 

[jimsing]

That doesn't make sense. Plymouth has a marginal seat.

I'm talking about the South-West, Balham, not just Plymouth.

Rural South-West are traditionally a Liberal area with a smattering of Conservative from the farmers.

Labour generally do better in urban areas.

However, the upcoming General Election will have a say about our current Political allegiances and I expect Tory wipeout in the South-West. It will be interesting as to who will take the majority down here though.

 

[Frank Butcher]

I'm talking about the South-West, Balham, not just Plymouth.

Rural South-West are traditionally a Liberal area with a smattering of Conservative from the farmers.

Labour generally do better in urban areas.

However, the upcoming General Election will have a say about our current Political allegiances and I expect Tory wipeout in the South-West. It will be interesting as to who will take the majority down here though.

By my maths the Tories won 15 of 18 seats (2 x Lab and 1 x LD) in Devon and Cornwall in 2019. Fair to say that for the last 5 years it has indeed been a Tory heartland. In addition, it was only until recently they led many councils. Of course things will change at the end of this year but I’m not sure there is any substance to your argument - in a backward looking sense.

 

[jimsing]

By my maths the Tories won 15 of 18 seats (2 x Lab and 1 x LD) in Devon and Cornwall in 2019. Fair to say that for the last 5 years it has indeed been a Tory heartland. In addition, it was only until recently they led many councils. Of course things will change at the end of this year but I’m not sure there is any substance to your argument - in a backward looking sense.

The Tories did indeed take a lot of seats at the last election, but also from central and the north of England as well, but history tells us that there has been a Liberal stronghold in parts of Devon and Cornwall. Remember Jeremy Thorpe, leader of the Liberal Party in North Devon?

 

[Frank Butcher]

The Tories did indeed take a lot of seats at the last election, but also from central and the north of England as well, but history tells us that there has been a Liberal stronghold in parts of Devon and Cornwall. Remember Jeremy Thorpe, leader of the Liberal Party in North Devon?

Yes of course, but there is a difference between the SW being one of the LDs strongest areas versus a LD stronghold per se. Most SW constituencies have flip-flopped Tory to LD in my lifetime. But the point remains, 5 years of Tory domination has not seen much more money coming into the region - which will be to their detriment in the Autumn. Anyway, I think we’ve digressed somewhat.