Hi To my fellow Staffordians
Although this is my first post on the Stafford forum, I have been an avid reader of the forum for some years but only recently just plucked up the courage to start a thread. Please forgive me in advance if this thread has been done before....
Like many of you I am dismayed at the number of empty retail units in Stafford even though we are told that the current ratio of vacant units is far better than the national trend. This led me to think what Stafford needs or what could enhance Stafford and I have come up with a number of ideas. I welcome your comments and thoughts on my suggestions.
1. Beer emporium/wine merchants - Over recent years Stafford has seen an influx of really real ale pubs and there are a host of local brewerys producing excellent beers namely Slaters, Lymstone, Titanic and Joules. I am constantly raving about these beers and therefore would love to see a beer emporium where all these beers can be sold and showcased and maybe even some history into the brewery. This retail unit would be in a similar vain to the excellent Greengate Deli run by the Lewis Partnerships which does a fantastic job of showcasing locally produced food. The farmers market is always a great success and shows that there is a market for people who want to purchase locally produced beers and wines.
2. A town creche - This would be similar to the play centre that has recently opened in Cannock, however this would be in town location, preferably one of the large retail units and would be a wack warehouse type venture. This faciltiy would allow adults to shop in peace and experince some of the great bars, cafes and restuarants while their children are looked after.
3. A youth club/bar - I may be showing my age, (I have only just turned 30) but I dont like seeing gangs of children hanging around the streets or in McDonalds especially when they are shouting like they were last week when i attended with my young nephew. Therefore I would like to see a venue where there youngsters can chill out, play games, watch movies and get some career advice/guidance. I envisage this venue to be an 'american style diner' but with a twist, i would like to see the staff encourage the youngsters to become involved in the community and take an active role.
4. A tapas/bistro - This would ideally be housed in the St Marys mews development. Although the Swan and Post House offer excellent food, there is a limited selection of restuarants in Stafford when you compare our town to Lichfield/Shrewsbury etc, especially if you want anything other than a curry. Curretly those Staffordians who would like a Tapas meal are forced to travel to Birmingham.
5. Reintroduction of the canal link to the River Sow - I would really love to see a boat bus and narrow boats in the Town centre, not only would this enhance the river sow, which looks a mess but it would also bring a different type of person to the town centre. The boat bus would be similar to what is currently used at Brindley Place to the Mailbox but the Stafford version would operate over a smaller route and the boats would be far smaller. My vision would be for those boats to operate from the proposed residential home at the now Riverway Council offices to Sainsbury's with regular stops along the route ie at the Borough council, Yard, College and then finally Sainsbury's.
My last suggestion for those of you that are getting bored of my ramblings.....
6. An activity centre for young adults and big kids - This centre would cater for more active individuals and would house rock climbing walls, wave machine, and a bmx track. This would obvioulsy be an expensive venture but would attract people to visit the area.
I am now being hounded for the computer so some of my suggestions may not be quite as coherent as they could of been due to me rushing to appease the girlfriend. I welcome all your comments/suggestions and criticisms.
From Ben0239
Although this is my first post on the Stafford forum, I have been an avid reader of the forum for some years but only recently just plucked up the courage to start a thread. Please forgive me in advance if this thread has been done before....
Like many of you I am dismayed at the number of empty retail units in Stafford even though we are told that the current ratio of vacant units is far better than the national trend. This led me to think what Stafford needs or what could enhance Stafford and I have come up with a number of ideas. I welcome your comments and thoughts on my suggestions.
1. Beer emporium/wine merchants - Over recent years Stafford has seen an influx of really real ale pubs and there are a host of local brewerys producing excellent beers namely Slaters, Lymstone, Titanic and Joules. I am constantly raving about these beers and therefore would love to see a beer emporium where all these beers can be sold and showcased and maybe even some history into the brewery. This retail unit would be in a similar vain to the excellent Greengate Deli run by the Lewis Partnerships which does a fantastic job of showcasing locally produced food. The farmers market is always a great success and shows that there is a market for people who want to purchase locally produced beers and wines.
2. A town creche - This would be similar to the play centre that has recently opened in Cannock, however this would be in town location, preferably one of the large retail units and would be a wack warehouse type venture. This faciltiy would allow adults to shop in peace and experince some of the great bars, cafes and restuarants while their children are looked after.
3. A youth club/bar - I may be showing my age, (I have only just turned 30) but I dont like seeing gangs of children hanging around the streets or in McDonalds especially when they are shouting like they were last week when i attended with my young nephew. Therefore I would like to see a venue where there youngsters can chill out, play games, watch movies and get some career advice/guidance. I envisage this venue to be an 'american style diner' but with a twist, i would like to see the staff encourage the youngsters to become involved in the community and take an active role.
4. A tapas/bistro - This would ideally be housed in the St Marys mews development. Although the Swan and Post House offer excellent food, there is a limited selection of restuarants in Stafford when you compare our town to Lichfield/Shrewsbury etc, especially if you want anything other than a curry. Curretly those Staffordians who would like a Tapas meal are forced to travel to Birmingham.
5. Reintroduction of the canal link to the River Sow - I would really love to see a boat bus and narrow boats in the Town centre, not only would this enhance the river sow, which looks a mess but it would also bring a different type of person to the town centre. The boat bus would be similar to what is currently used at Brindley Place to the Mailbox but the Stafford version would operate over a smaller route and the boats would be far smaller. My vision would be for those boats to operate from the proposed residential home at the now Riverway Council offices to Sainsbury's with regular stops along the route ie at the Borough council, Yard, College and then finally Sainsbury's.
My last suggestion for those of you that are getting bored of my ramblings.....
6. An activity centre for young adults and big kids - This centre would cater for more active individuals and would house rock climbing walls, wave machine, and a bmx track. This would obvioulsy be an expensive venture but would attract people to visit the area.
I am now being hounded for the computer so some of my suggestions may not be quite as coherent as they could of been due to me rushing to appease the girlfriend. I welcome all your comments/suggestions and criticisms.
From Ben0239
