It's official.

[Paul6754]

Same jhere..I love all that but at the end of the day that's nostalgia

 

Is that the image SoT wants cos a lot of people outside of SoT see it as some sort of backwater that's stuck in the past.

 

I don't see S-o-T as some sort of backwater and I haven't lived there for 40 years. Devon is a backwater, its economy based mainly on tourism and little else beside farming.

[JohnJames]

For business reasons I ended up driving from Talke to Church Lawton upto to Mount Pleasant,Mow Cop then Thursfield then Packmoor then back on the Pittshill by pass. Very pleasant much more so than going from say Brownhills to Walsall.

[JOHNNYAITCH]

So what are these radical changes that the proactive folk of East Devon have brought about then let's hear them....

 

I'll give you some recent examples (last 18 months or so)

 

Stopping the district council from relocating (petitions and marches)

StoppBlcokinging building work in various AONB (ditto)

Stopping closure of local community centres

Forcing the council to rethink it's policy on community hospitals (i.e forcing it to keep them and maintain them)

Forcing the council to revisit it's Local Plan by pointing out how it didn't meet it's own rules

Forcing the council thru peition and marches to make land available for industrial development

Blicking conversion of Port Royal area to a car park; it's to be a leisure facility instead

 

Local politics is very very active down here

[JOHNNYAITCH]

I don't see S-o-T as some sort of backwater and I haven't lived there for 40 years.

 

Many would disagree..many would agree.

 

Devon is a backwater, its economy based mainly on tourism and little else beside farming.

 

I've never claimed that Devon isn't a backwater..in some ways (mainly due to location) it is. SoT is supposed to be an industrial city in the heart of England so you'd IMO expect it to be..more prominent at least.

 

I prefer to compare the cities rather than a whole county.I don't know but are you familiar with Plymouth and Exeter? Exeter is for example the fastest growing city in England and recent successes include winning the Met Office relocation (just an example)..it's a fast growing dynamic city. It's university has also been voted amongst the best..7th -10th in most rankings last time I looked.

 

The University of Plymouth does not do so well but is still some 30 odd places above Staffs. Plymouth is thriving..although I don't like the place :(

 

Yes there is much tourism and farming which is vital to the local economy but it's a myth that there isn't a significantly large industrial sector down here.

[JOHNNYAITCH]

Just found this which some might find interesting http://www.citiesoutlook.org./summary/stoke?goback=%2Egmp_3836568%2Egde_3836568_member_229730733#%21

 

Not looked at it in detail myself

[JOHNNYAITCH]

Find it mildly amusing that you band about words such as parachial and backward whilst residing in Devon.

 

I have no idea why you find it mildly amusing..I in no way deny that large parts of Devon are parochial and backward looking (although Plymouth and especially Exeter are not). A city like SoT cannot afford to be parochial and backward looking

 

The examples you give above are nothing special, happens the country over when people get together. But East Devon Council are still looking to relocate as are North Staffs Council protest or no protest, so lets see what happens...............

 

I know they happen everywhere..you asked me for examples and I gave you several. For me what makes it different is that this is safe conservative (small c and big C) Devon and yet the people are prepared to fight and get changes made and to vote councillors out who support policies they don't agree with.

[Harry]

I live in stoke on Trent ( Weston Coyney ), I'm 51 years old but have only worked in sot for 18 months of my entire life.

 

I left the RAF in 1986 & worked for wedgewood for 18 months up Hanley duk.

 

I was genuinely shocked when I worked for wedgewood at the poor levels of pay & poor Dickensian working conditions & my thoughts were "ever likely stoke is such a poor run down area".

 

However I met some lovely people on that factory.

 

I now work in the power industry because at the time the only way out of the low paid pot bank job was to get a job in the then nationalised power industry.

 

I stayed in the stoke on Trent area for one reason , the property prices were relatively low, and there are some nice areas in s o t .

 

My other half is originally from Wolverhampton, and she says if you think stoke is bad, you should have a look around Wolverhampton.

,

[JOHNNYAITCH]

However I met some lovely people on that factory.

 

'tis treu, Sot is full of lovely people

 

I stayed in the stoke on Trent area for one reason , the property prices were relatively low, and there are some nice areas in s o t .

 

All very true

 

My other half is originally from Wolverhampton, and she says if you think stoke is bad, you should have a look around Wolverhampton.

,

 

She may well have a good point there :) Although the worst area I have ever been to is Silvertown in East London ahead of a Vale match (against Charlton I think)....made Fegg Hayes look like Eden :)

[JOHNNYAITCH]

That's one of my strongest memories of the place..the Tate & Lyle factory. Coincidentally I once bought a car that had been used as a executive company car there to ferry people to and from Heathrow

 

As to Grimsby, having run a few IT training sessions in the docks there (and at Teesport) I have to say it's very smelly, rather grim and generally rather unpleasant (nice enough people though).

[For Us All]

On the other side of the coin.

 

http://ind.pn/1gTza50

[Heatwave]

I live in a nice village just north of Wolverhampton. Trouble is, that means you get the dreaded WV postcode.

 

A couple of miles up the road and I'd be in ST19. Grrr.

[philpvfc]

Wouldn't argue with that, Bristol is a great city........

 

Agree......been looking to move to Bristol but house prices are so expensive, bought a house just outside Weston and moving next month.

[JOHNNYAITCH]

There are some pretty grim areas in Bristol byt generally it's a very nice place..perceived as a thriving go ahead sort of place too

[JOHNNYAITCH]

Doesn't get any better...now SoT is voted the most miserable place in Britain

 

Feeling worthwhile (the bottom 3)

 

Glasgow

Dundee

SoT

 

Happiness (bottom 3)

SoT

Merseyside

Bedford

 

Satisfaction with life (bottom 3)

Newport

Inner London

SoT

 

The article in the Sun written by a "Stokie" is supposed to help but the guy just goes on about oatcakes, Reginald Mitchell, salt of the earth people..all true but Jeez we need a lot more to sell SoT to investors and industrialists etc

 

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/5219762/Most-miserable-city-in-UK-revealed.html

 

The mayor is quoted as saying SoT has "some of the friendliest people in the country"..true but it aint going to help get investment in the City..why doesn't he say hard working, versatile, that SoT has excellent communications/infrastructure and business facilities etc etc

 

Even the Mirror gets in on the act http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/you-live-happiest-place-uk-2486099

 

See tables 10 and 11 in the link below

 

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_328486.pdf

 

Demand more, why is the mayor banging on about nice poeple instead of selling the place for business investors

[JOHNNYAITCH]

Are you happy with the mayor going on about nice people instead of trying to sell SoT to buisness? I'd be contacting him to complain, contacting the Sentinel, Radio Stoke etc..it's not good enough

 

I sometimes wonder if SoT and it's elected representatives realise that the city is in competition with the likes of Sheffield, Exeter, Bristol etc for business investment