If you don’t support Plymouth, Plymouth’s businesses and the initiatives to promote the local shops then we might as well close down half the city and turn Plymouth into a huge Drakes Circus ran by corporations that care little for our city.
Plymouth’s city centre is currently divided in two, with the larger shops in and around Drakes Circus and the smaller shops in the independent quarter. Plymouth City Council and Plymouth City Centre Company and working together with retailers to bridge this gap.
One such idea is to chop down 12 trees on Cornwall Street and turn them into sculptures as part of “The Big Cornwall Street Tree Transformation”. This will not only improve the visibility of the shops, increase the levels of light which is currently affected by the large, overgrown trees.
This idea has been met with overwhelming bad press and negativity from the public. I can understand why, nature is important and nobody wants to see Plymouth turn into a concrete jungle. However, we are talking 12 trees out of 62, there will still be 50 trees in Cornwall Street, trees that will be able to flourish as they are currently unable to due to having too many trees on Cornwall Street.
The proposed idea isn’t some wacky idea that someone has decided will be a great plan to save the independent quarter, the 12 trees are currently damaging the pavements and in some cases causing structural damage to shops. The trees have to be dealt with. One way is to chop the whole lot down, costing thousands of taxpayer’s money, but by turning this into a community project, with sponsorship (around £1500 per tree) it turns the whole ordeal into an event, attracting families to Plymouth and the struggling independent sector.
There are lists and lists of things that Plymouth City Council and Plymouth City Centre Company are attempting to do to help Plymouth. Many of their plans seem to be faced with negativity or a reluctance to move forward, this reluctance has to change.
An interesting comment was made by Ash Mashhadi, a well-known figure in Plymouth’s business scene. Paraphrased, he said that “businesses, especially in the independent sector need to do something exceptional to get people into their shops. They need to do something exceptional to ensure their business stays on the public’s radar.” Are the shops doing that right now? The simple answer is no.
For the general public reading this, I urge you to support your local businesses, I urge you to take a walk through Plymouth’s independent sector and Plymouth’s City Market and really look. You’ll notice fair priced fruit and vegetables. Locally sourced, freshly cooked chilli. Ethically sourced products and a whole host of other local independent businesses who need Plymouth’s support.
If you don’t support Plymouth, Plymouth’s businesses and the initiatives to promote the local shops then we might as well close down half the city and turn Plymouth into a huge Drakes Circus ran by corporations that care little for our city.
Steve Cadman . “Pannier Market” 09 July 2011. Online image. Flickr. 26 January 2014. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevecadman/5940191713/>
Eglos . “Plymouth Market” 14 February 2003. Online image. Flickr. 26 January 2014. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/jameslogan/2802552417/>
