Ipswich...opinions about the town..

[Tomahawk]

Presently in Ipswich Haven and had a walk into town. Thing I notice most is the number of empty shops and all the town centre "improvements" the council have done. I wonder if the latter is causing the former?

 

[Cantata]

Ipswich puzzles me. Some bits are really nice. Others are not. In many side streets there are rows of what were beautiful old houses. Some are boarded up, some are inhabited but in a terrible state externally, others have been resurrected and look wonderful. Sometimes all three varieties in the same road.

 

[johnalison]

I did my first job in Ipswich in 1963, so I have a soft spot for the place. It does seem rather patchy, but not as bad as St Peter Port that we visited this year. There were a lot of shut shops and the old antique shops have been replaced by cheap and nasty bric-a-brac.

 

[wingdiver]

The local council is totally obsessed by the waterfront - to the detriment of everything else.
This means the town centre fills up with charity shops (which pay very little to be there) or the units remain empty. None of that encourages visitors.
Then they go and spoil the waterfront experience by building blocks of student accommodation so you get loads of them hollering and shouting at all hours as they pass by the restaurants, cafes and apartments along their precious waterfront.
Plus the parking is rubbish and expensive.....

 

[xyachtdave]

Are we talking about the Ipswich at the top of the Orwell??

I'm not recognising the town I've wondered around from comments above!

You guys want to have a wonder around Chatham before judging it too harshly......

 

[wingdiver]

You want to try living in Ipswich for 43 odd years......:nonchalance:

 

[sailorman]

You want to try living in Ipswich for 43 odd years......:nonchalance:

where were your the other 20 yrs

 

[FullCircle]

I like Ipswich - like any other town in the UK, it is showing the scars of a Depression. That will slowly regenerate.

It is still a nice walk up through the town, I like going to Whittards for my fix of White Chocolate.
Mr D3B and myself have had the Doner Kebab tour of the Saturday Evening revelry.....

 

[Cantata]

I like it too. It's just a strange mixture.
And Chatham is on the up, I reckon, xyachtdave...

 

[Tomahawk]

I like Ipswich - like any other town in the UK, it is showing the scars of a Depression. That will slowly regenerate.

.......

Whist tis true we are in a depression, much of the empty buildings became vacant during the longest ever period of continuous "growth" we have ever seen. Which leads me to suspect there is something very amiss.

 

[photodog]

We had a very nice and reasonable home cooked lunch at a little cafe on the waterfront... It's next to the ice cream shop and owned by the same person ...

Recommended.

 

[xyachtdave]

You want to try living in Ipswich for 43 odd years......:nonchalance:

I'll put that on my bucket list!

I like it too. It's just a strange mixture.
And Chatham is on the up, I reckon, xyachtdave...

Yes and the sooner they get Sun Pier working so I can sail to Staples the better!

 

[DavidofMersea]

Plus the parking is rubbish and expensive.....

Try "Park and Ride" that is neither rubbish or expensive

 

[Sniper]

Try "Park and Ride" that is neither rubbish or expensive

Well, what is rubbish is that the borough council in its 'wisdom' pulled the plug on the park and ride at the west side of the town a few years ago. So much for encouraging use of public transport.

 

[Tomahawk]

The council thinking is that everything should be crammed into the maintowns such as Ipswich because they are well served by public transport.

Then they set up a public transport system that requires people to get into a car and drive a long way before they can get access to a decent bus service.

 

[wingdiver]

Try "Park and Ride" that is neither rubbish or expensive

It's further to the park and ride for me by car than to the town centre!

 

[wingdiver]

where were your the other 20 yrs

Chatham, Shotley Gate, Singapore, (bit of a RN base theme there!) Gt Yarmouth (as there are no married quarters on the grey funnel vessels!

 

[johnalison]

Try "Park and Ride" that is neither rubbish or expensive

Those of us with senility passes don't care about the cost.

 

[cookjwm]

Expensive parking? You are joking -try Colchester. and as for park and ride, our council having been failing at that for 30 years. We are just about to get our first one....I know people from Mersea. who drive to Ipswich to shop, and we certainly like a wander round when we are at Ipswich Haven, some good restaurants, big and little shops, and no more empty ones than anywhere else frankly. Sorry the cheese shop went tho....
We often say it would be nice if we were south Suffolk!....

 

[ex-Gladys]

St John's isn't bad for £3.50 per day...