pools main problem is the problem they have always had in being a bit of an outpost. they cannot joint those teams inside the M25 magic roundabout of non league players. one season at bromley, another at dover then over to barnet and wealdstone then another contract back at bromley again. all moving for a possible extra tenner a week. they can do all this without moving from say their home in sutton. for pools its really living in the area for just the period of time they are at the club. like everywhere even with cheap housing the area is not for everybody.

And without going into detail and upsetting people, there is a reason why the houses are so cheap. Unfortunately this age old problem you mention , looks like its going to get worse not better in future. The NE and its football clubs are getting left behind.

if there was money pumped into the NE where would it actually go. doubt hartlepool would see much of it. if its like the north west and yorkshire they cannot see further than manchester and leeds and everywhere else gets the drips off their noses at the best.

That was the plan though, City regions, the thinking being that if you pump money into the cities, the satellite towns will get some of the spin offs, WRONG !

Think this was originally the brainchild of the Labour Party as well that the tories have just carried on and taken to the next level, creating mini Londons in Manchester and very shortly Birmingham. Of course that may benefit clubs in those areas such as Salford and Solihull.

It's all catch 22. To get high tech jobs into Hartlepool, the providers of high tech jobs need to be interested in building their factories/research centres there and government their administration centres there. Then there's the problem of enticing the skilled personnel required to move to the town. What is the image of the Town to an outsider? What are the educational prospects for their children? What is/are the cultural situation/facilities? What are the transport links like? Where is the nearest hospital? What is the shopping experience like for reasonably well off families? etc etc etc. All these questions and more need answering.
It's not easy.

I agree, it isn't easy, and it's getting more difficult by the day, but what are we to do? we can't just let the region die, when there are more than a million people living in it. I could answer those questions as I'm sure you could, and the answers wouldn't make for good reading. First of all we need to accept we are shit, rather than pretending everything is hunky dory like some do, and then set about doing something about it. To do this though you do need a helping hand from the government of the day, thousands of well-intentioned volunteers won't enact the change that is necessary to get the region fired up again. Its a real shame , as the region has many things going for it and things going for it, that other regions lack, such as pride and passion etc.

I was down Seaton yesterday, and it was rammed ( not a good thing I admit regarding Covid ) and it made me think, if there was some investment down there, such as an amusement or even a licenced sex park, the place could be a goldmine. Seaton Carew, the UKs Amsterdam, think about it

I have often thought that Hartlepool with it's sea front stretching from Seaton Carew up to Crimdon could be developed into something spectacular, especially if it was linked with first class transport links such as a tram/metro service taking in the whole of the North East and running into the early hours, especially on a weekend. Turn the Town away from it's run down industrial revolution, flat cap image and make it the place to live and play whilst working elsewhere in the area. The key to all that is a transport system so good, reliable and reasonably priced that people from all over the World would be curious enough to take notice. If the authorities were willing to fund it it would create oodles of work in the first instance and provide a playground that would attract visitors from far and wide. The playground of the North East.
I am the ultimate visionary.

[quote="derwent"][


I have often thought that Hartlepool with it's sea front stretching from Seaton Carew up to Crimdon could be developed into something spectacular,
you do not have to live in the town or come from it to realize that. over the years i have taken many people up here for a day or holiday and everyone says the same. so much potential after really expecting the worst. however my old man used to say that the railway companies around the turn of the 20th century wanted to develop this area and were stopped every time by the landowners who were dead against the change. at least at crimdon and seaton you can walk on sand and see the seas. plenty of other places only have pebbles and binoculars to view the seas at low tide.

Turn that stretch of Coastline into a modern day boardwalk Empire.
The Eastside of the Brus Tunnel is a lovely part of our area.
Dog Walkers paradise on a hot summers day.

even better on a cold one when you have an alaskan malumute husky cross.

[quote="derwent"][

I have often thought that Hartlepool with it's sea front stretching from Seaton Carew up to Crimdon could be developed into something spectacular, especially if it was linked with first class transport links such as a tram/metro service taking in the whole of the North East and running into the early hours, especially on a weekend.
having lived in hemsby{a few miles north of great yarmouth} with worse road and public transport links than the hartlepool area they get thousands of visitors a year. nothing much to choose between both areas apart from the chips being far worse in norfolk.

North-East beaches are some of the best in the UK and free of most pollution in these post-heavy industry times. The weather is still what holds the region back as a tourist destination, but global warming may be on the way to fixing that!

Not sure though that first class transport links would make as much difference to the Hartlepool sea front as Mr. Derwent hopes - the Smoggies have already got Redcar and Saltburn beaches, the Mackems have Seaburn and South Shields and the Geordies have Tynemouth Long Sands and Whitley Bay. There are great beaches all the way up the Northumberland coast too.

I'm not just referring to beaches Mr F. I'm looking at a concerted improvement in the infrastructure related to the Hartlepool area. Improving the transport is only the start but it is a necessary start and has environmental advantages to boot. Public transport in and around Hartlepool is virtually non existent in the area thus restricting access to the proposed restructuring of the visitors experience. It is a massive task but, if done properly, would have a result.
The problem with Hartlepool folk is they always start thinking along the lines of why it won't work and very rarely start with "Right let's see how we can make this work".
What time are the last modes of public transport leaving Hartlepool? How many people from outlying areas use Hartlepool for a night out or a shopping experience? Can people from outlying areas get to a night match using public transport? How many women in Peterlee for instance would say to their husbands on a Saturday morning " I think I'll catch the tram to Hartlepool and do a bit of shopping" and perhaps get the answer " I'll come with you and we can go to one of those nice new bars on the sea front for a bite, then you go shopping and I'll go to the match." Then he might jump on the tram on a Tuesday night and go to the match again. You would have to attract new shops, bars and restaurants. Maybe a theatre and a really good theme park. There is no limit and don't say "you're talking about Hartlepool here". I know I am but it is a futuristic Hartlepool. Aim a bit higher and you'll be surprised where it takes you. One thing's for certain, sitting around doing nowt will achieve even more mediocrity.

Well it's got the windmills, and its certainly got the , now all we need is for Challinor to implement Total Voetbal.

I propose just to get the ball rolling.
A giant sackslide ( a bit like the old one ) somewhere just off the SC promenade.

A Ice Rink on Jackson's Landing.

A footbridge from Middleton to the Headland.
Must be a bored Billionaire/Trillionaire who wants to become a legend of our coastline.

many areas have had similar pie in the sky redevelopment plans for the future. the thing is whilst the plans are never fully put into operation some of them actually are. we can all live in hope, but in the post covid situations i doubt there will be enough money around even to replace a bus shelter unless people are prepared to pay a lot more money out of their wages in taxations.

Didn't developing the Marina bring in many of these benefits?

I beg to differ because post covid the Government will be looking for ways and means of creating new jobs and investors will be keen to get involved, looking for ways to get their investment portfolio back where it was and beyond.
One of the favourite ways of getting out of a declining economy is to build your way out of it.
That is what will happen and the areas where it will happen are the ones who produce the ideas and foresight that will attract the attention of the people who put ideas into reality.
Hartlepool has to fight it's way to the forefront of investor's attention because investors only think about one thing and that is a return for their investment. Find a way of getting them interested and you've found a way forward.
On the other hand................................was a glove.

That was a good start but the re development has stalled. They then redeveloped the transport interchange but did nothing about the fact that public transport stops at toddlers bedtimes.
The whole idea is interlinked and won't work unless people from the surrounding areas have access to the redevelopment.
I don't think Hartlepool Council have the collective know how, ambition or foresight to handle the sort of operation I am suggesting.
Maybe changing the dynamism of said Council would be the best place to start.
Was it more forward looking when the Town had a Mayor and the emphasis was diverted from political point scoring???????????

[quote="derwent"] They then redeveloped the transport interchange but did nothing about the fact that public transport stops at toddlers bedtimes.

only the people who brought in privatisation of public transport can be really blamed for buses finishing early. nearly every area of the country has suffered this way. back in the old days of the national bus company and council run services this would not have happened. not trying for political points but just a view on public transport.

[quote="accrington fan"][quote="derwent"] They then redeveloped the transport interchange but did nothing about the fact that public transport stops at toddlers bedtimes.

only the people who brought in privatisation of public transport can be really blamed for buses finishing early. nearly every area of the country has suffered this way. back in the old days of the national bus company and council run services this would not have happened. not trying for political points but just a view on public transport.[/quote]

I live nine miles South of Donny town centre and the last bus to our village leaves the Donny interchange at 11-03 pm. There is a bus stop less than 100 yds from my house and, during the day, the service is every half hour and every hour after 6 pm. The same service runs 9 miles the other way to Worksop. I have lived here for forty two years and the service has hardly altered in that time. I had an 18 month spell where I drove the bloody thing so I know.. So if it can be done here with a Labour council why can't it be done elsewhere.

Pick a location nine mile from Hartlepool and tell me what time the last bus leaves Hartlepool for that village. What time is the last train out of or into Hartlepool. During my time living here in South Yorkshire I have seen massive redevelopment to the area, all achieved by Labour councils, especially with regard to travel and including an international airport, rail access to just about everywhere, a tram system, Motorway network, even canal restoration, to mention a few.

Shopping centres like Meadowhall, which are accessed by road, rail and tram. The total redevelopment of Attercliffe with retail outlets like IKEA, an Arena and Sports Stadium, also accessed by bus and tram. Park and ride facilities all over the place involving buses, trains and trams. The swimming facilities at the World acclaimed Pond's Forge. The Leisure Dome. The Yorkshire Wildlife park. Home of the world's oldest classic race on a course which is ever going forward through investment and innovation. A brand new cycling velodrome. All this and more is within easy reach of my front door. The only experience that has gone backwards is the football experience.
It is all a mixture of public and private enterprise and innovation and foresight with a huge dose of the will to improve. And the people still demand more. If they had to put up with the achievements of Hartlepool Council they would be suicidal.
That's what I'm talking about. What you called pie in the sky.

You will know more about Donny than me Derwent, but as far as I can see , its a great example of how a place can re-invent itself, obviously as usual geography helps , but us in Hartlepool cant forever keep using that as an excuse. Now for Donny, a town in the 70s not too disimilar to Hartlepool, but now twice the size, with what looks like on my visits , decent shopping centre, transport interchange and huge warehouses on the left as you leave Donny on the train.

In Hartlepool we have a mickey mouse transport exchange, far too small, and it was only built for the Tall Ships anyway otherwise it wouldn't have got built, not used by coach companies, because apparently whoever owns it, charges them £80 a bus. You used to be able to get direct to Washington, Newcastle, Chester le Steet and Bishop Auckland by bus, and Darlo by train , you can't now. Our local bus services in places like Blackhall seem ok at first glance, 4 buses an hour to and from Sunderland, but what they don't tell you is that they generally all arrive within the same 15 minute timeframe.

Aye, it's taken me forty years to achieve it but South Yorkshire is now a much better place than what was here when I arrived. The huge warehouses you refer to are Amazon.
Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster are a gang of four and work closely together. Around two million people.
When you consider the whole area relied on Coal and Steel, it is truly remarkable what we've achieved.
Investors used to say "What, do you really think we would invest in the Soviet, Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire?" (That's what it was called). They're queuing up now. Socialism and Capitalism working hand in hand, which is living proof it can be done.

Even though I've retired the momentum keeps going and I still have a few ears I can whisper into.

do think that what have helped the south yorkshire region is the road and rail network it has, M1 and sheffield and doncaster in particular being on a main line railway. wasn,t sheffield the first city with a modern tram system and had a far better bus network than many cities. being so much better it was harder to destroy especially with stagecoach about. on top of this the whole area being in one council area, south yorkshire helps where in hartlepool you have durham to the near north and north yorkshire below middlesbrough.

The bottom line is they have shown how it's done and displayed immense foresight in doing so. They are not a one council area but they have regional co operation. Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster all have separate councils.
The East coast main line goes through Donny but not Sheffield. All the towns connect with Donny but so do most places in the area, like Leeds, Hull, Grimsby, Lincoln and Scunthorpe.
Maybe you should make the various councils in your area aware that they too could follow the example shown by South Yorkshire.
The biggest bus company in South Yorkshire was South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive and they built the tram network.(The guy who was in charge of creating the tram network lives in the road behind mine,) he was a SYPTE engineer, now retired.). Those buses are currently operated by First Direct. Stagecoach operate the trams and a few buses. Local rail is Northern, Trans Pennine, Midland and Hull trains (who both operate trains to London but Midland go from Sheffield to London via the scenic route and Hull via Donny) Virgin cross country operate through Donny as do Grand Central but only the Bradford to London stops there, the one from Sunderland doesn't.
There are plans to extend the tram network around the county.
If we can do it so can you but first of all you need the will.
You need to concentrate on what can be done instead of dreaming up excuses for not doing it or even looking at it.
If you don't you'll fall even further behind.
Instead of selecting excerps from just about everything I post, use your time to badger your local authorities to get off their arses and get the job sorted.

1-1 - me passed out on a sofa littered with cans and fag ash.