Final nail in the coffin

For HHP.

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How many f'in cinemas does one city need?  Surely if the council believed HHP was going ahead, they would never agree to this.

"Is the local economy strong enough to support and sustain another 13 restaurants on the Viaduct?

"How will this impact on the Barbican, the Hoe, and Royal William Yard?"

He said he wished the plans had reconnected the bombed-out Charles Church to the city.

Cllr Ian Darcy, the Conservative spokesman for economic development, was concerned about “cinema saturation” in the city.

"I doubt there is demand for a further 12 screens in the City Centre, less than a mile from the existing offering at Coxside.



Not a single mention of it impacting on HHP either!!

Bizarre decision by the council. Surely they must know the HHP is not going to happen otherwise why did they allow this?

Says this has been on the cards for 12 - 18 months. So it really is strange.

I must say this development makes Brent's look very amateurish

If they are building a Imax cinema then that's it for hhp. Brents plans ain't going to happen . The owners of drake circus are very good at this sort of project. Normally with British land if they get local planning permission then the project will go ahead not like hhp.

Frank Bullitt wrote:

Bizarre decision by the council. Surely they must know the HHP is not going to happen otherwise why did they allow this?

I thought the same Frank and Dane.

British Land, no problems with regards to financial backing and a proven track record of delivering such projects. I would suspect that Damon is correct.

Why would anyone tramp up to Home Park when there's an Imax within spitting distance of the Hoe, Barbican and main shopping/restaurant areas?

I would imagine Brent is getting very nervous indeed.

This just seems to be a more credible project.  Done and planned in the right manner

And in the right place.

Mr Brent 'plans' much 'higher quality' eating houses and there's a dental school and a dance space, thousands, nay millions will flock to that....   

I think it's a great idea, it should have been where Brent had his development in the first place with the old bus station crying out to be knocked down and replaced with something more fitting and vibrant for a city centre.

Whether another development to compete with Vue is required remains to be seen, but to make a quick comparison, Bristol which is roughly twice the size of Plymouth has three or four such venues and, then considering that Plymouth's surrounding areas are about to have a mini population boom then maybe this is the way forward for the City.

The interesting thing now is where does this leave the much criticised Akkeron development at Central Park and Argyle?

Whooooooaaaa! Brent got in first. He's in pole position. Surely this doesn't change that. IF he has the investors & the businesses in place then his will go ahead. However, if contracts have not yet been signed then this ought to cause at least further delays. If it at least gets rid of the sodding cinema at HHP it ought to be welcomed. And, GOB, I'd agree with that.

The HHP project is so far behind if the imax doesnt get built tho.

The 70% target just got that little bit - no a big bit - further away

Why doesn't Mr Brent build on that big patch of nice green grass he has at HP, it hardly gets used much, make a lovely Waitrose, Nandos, Juggling school, dog agility training space???????

Surely the cinema operator has been signed up at HHP already?

Nothing has been signed until all the ducks are in line - and they're not.

Confusing. I'm sure it had been said the main operators are sorted with just the remaining 30% of the other leases to be sorted.

The whole thing is nonsensical when you think about it. Brent sits on just about every type of board there is, there's no way he wouldn't have known about this yet he continues to want to create the most unpopular development the City has ever known and literally everyone predicts it as being a massive flop. He's managed to pish off a hell of a lot of Argyle fans by wanting to build a ridiculously sized mini stand. I have been told from someone qualified and pretty knowledgeable in construction that the Civic Centre hasn't a hope in hell of ever being evolved into a hotel. Tudor Evans who seems to be Brent's left hand man within the PCC kingdom is involved with the Central Park white elephant as well as all the other developments yet still sees a place for this white elephant at Home/Central Park. Even the car-park charging has flopped dead in the water. Not to mention the delay after delay to Oldway Mansion in Torbay.

Tis all very, very strange indeed, nothing makes any sense.

This certainly seems to be an election good news story. By the way, isn't Evans getting rather large, he's going to explode.

Councillor Darcy says "where is the need for another cinema complex in the city  ?"  How come he didn't say that when his Tory mate Brent was putting forward his laughable HHP project.
I would love to see Bretonside trashed and redesigned properly, but to be honest, I'm not sure this British Land plan adds up either. How would this pay ? A cinema and 13 restaurants ?   Can't see it. Are British Land a Quantitative easing bunch ? Doesn't make sense, as for example, land like the jigsaw garden can't find an economic use in today's market.
Again, I suspect it's another case of PCC selling it's assets cheap, and property speculators snaffling up any City centre land they can, knowing in the medium term these plots will turn to some form of residential use, as they will do all over the country.

What else can be put there, we already have shops closing since Drake Circus was redeveloped and if it was residential it would be too upmarket for locals as are the residential flats that are already built in that area.

There's so much spin when it comes to this sort of thing in Plymouth, lots of talk but never the walk. It would be nice to see something come off for a change and actually get built.

13 restaurants ? Wouldn't be surprised if these double up as wine bars etc and this area is going to become a night spot as well

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I know it's not over till the fat lady signs on the dotted line but HHP is definitely being marketed with Odeanas one of the anchor tenants

I think that is marketing speak for if it gets built Odeon are our cinema partners. If the shovels go in at Bretonside first you won't see Odeon at HHP.

PatDunne wrote:

Why doesn't Mr Brent build on that big patch of nice green grass he has at HP, it hardly gets used much, make a lovely Waitrose, Nandos, Juggling school, dog agility training space???????

Or give it over for allotments. It would get regular daily use then.

I saw this last week and was surprised. The coach station needs to be replaced. It's encouraging and good for the City - it'll create jobs. If they can sort that end of town and Colin Campbell Court AND the Civic Centre footprint, Plymouth wil be a very attractive city centre.
There's also the large investment in the Millbay area too - including an expansion of industry in that sector of the city.

I'm not sure this will really affect the HHP - it's not a nail in a coffin. Plymouth could house three cinema complexes. People travel in to watch a film - believe it or not - so it isn't just the population of Plymouth. I know a guy who owns a print company in St Austell and he travels up with his wife once a month to watch a film and eat out.

Good news - both Bretonside and the train station are a disgrace when compared with facilities in other cities of similar size. What a terrible first impression for visitors. And don't even mention the motorway and airport.