Oh Dear...

[steveL]

"Christopher Akers-Belcher, the leader of Hartlepool Borough Council, said the Trincomalee was an important part of the future for Hartlepool.

He added: "When we launched the Hartlepool Vision master plan, part of that was very much around making Hartlepool an excellent place to visit, and for HMS Trincomalee to be a full subsidiary of the National Museum of the Royal Navy is great news for the town.

"What better way to increase the visitor numbers and boost the local economy. We very much look forward to working further with the HMS Trincomalee Trust and the National Museum of the Royal Navy".


http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/business/bid-to-make-hms-trincomalee-an-international-royal-navy-star-is-well-under-way-1-6672547

[mk1]

How many times have we been here before?


http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/whatevers-happened-to-hartlepool-a-new-historic-seaport-a-mall-with-versace-and-armani-a-marina-and-a-museum-designed-by-norman-foster-jonathan-glancey-meets-the-man-with-a-pounds-1bn-plan-for-teesside-1384314.html



We sit outside an 18th century tavern (or what looks like one). 'The tavern didn't exist a day before it opened', says Hall. 'We had a set designer fit it out in less than 24-hours'. Today, it is jammed full. 'It'll be more popular next year when we open the biggest and best bingo hall in the country here.' The quay is expected to attract half-a-million visitors in 1995.

'There's no attraction to match this within miles. You've got York Minster and the Norvik Centre, Durham Cathedral and Beamish Open Air Museum, and that's it. By December we'll have Jackson's Landing, a mall of between 25 and 30 big name designer shops - Armani, Versace, the lot, and eight class restaurants. They'll come from miles away to shop here.'

Will they? Hall cites the example of the designer shopping mall opened recently in Street, Somerset where coachloads of shoppers pile down from Liverpool, Manchester and the West Midlands every day.

'The other dock is the site of the new Imperial War Museum. It's by Sir Norman Foster. We've got him on a design and build contract so we can get it built and fitted out in 52 weeks. We're also building 800 new homes around the new marina. We've sold most of them. You tell me which are council flats and which belong to yachties. You can't, can you? I like to see everyone mixed together, real life coming back to the town.'

Although not quite yet. Towns do not grow or repair themselves quickly. The encouraging sign is that the marina, quay and mall are linked to the town centre, unlike, say, the new marina at Southampton. Duncan Hall and his team are learning from the mistakes of earlier development corporations.


The Mail says they get  50,000 visitors a year so the initial target of 500, 000 is still an aspiration......