Summary
ARE the best interest of the city of Plymouthand the bestinterestsof the citizensof Plymouththesame? I have been browsingthrough The Heraldforthelast12 to 18 months,and generally it makes for pretty dismal reading: recession, closure of businesses, bankruptcies, job losses (20 applicants for each available position in the City), closure of homes for the aged, an uncertain future for Devonport Dockyard and the transfer of council homes. We read of wealth and development being attracted to the city, but where do Mr/ Mrs Plymouth fit into the picture? Will they eventually disappear from the scene as have the 'real' Barbican people, being reduced to a minority in favour of expensive developments and yachting marinas for the affluent? For those on the affordable housing list, the prospect of owning a property on a prime development site has now been denied them. The original proviso for developers was to provide 30 per cent affordable housing for which local people would receive priority. However with the introduction of the 'New Market Development Plan' to help kick off regeneration, the requirement for affordable housing on the Rowe Group's Shepherds Wharf development at Sutton Harbour, the Oceanique development at Derry's Cross, the BBC's new HQ at Sutton Harbour, and 13 other prime sites has been withdrawn. Affordable housing will still be made available to those on the list, but 'in other areas'.
Where does the citizen of Plymouth fit into this plan? Answer: he doesn't, but he would like to be part of a prosperity reserved not for the affluent alone.See the full content of this document
Extract
Missing Out ; Your Say...
As regeneration developments...
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