Run-down centre

“Well said Carrie, Plymouth is one of the few cities that built a brilliant and expensive water feature that used to run down through Armada way and looked great but shut it off to save water and never switched it back on again. You are right in all of your comments the town centre is the pits, grubby semi derelict and thoroughly defunct. You ought to do yourself a favour next time and go to Portsmouth or Exeter instead nothing to see here as you have found out. Decades of Tory and Labour incompetence has seen to that.”

“Add to it now a near complete row of shops empty except for a lack lustre Orange shop now that jjb has shut it looks terrible”

“Plymouth has suffered from an alternating succession of lacklustre Lab/Tory councils over the past 15 years, they couldn't run a whelk stall let a great world-famous city..:)”

“Whereas Llanrug is obviously like Beverley Hills isn't it? Caernarfon Castle is rhyming slang in my house.”

“Have to agree with previous comments - there is very little maintenance and care. The latest 'horror' to my eyes is the Island House on the Barbican. A building of great historical significance and yet they have allowed the cafe owners to stick a huge plastic multi coloured ice cream cone on the front. Hideous!”

“In principle I agree with you JT but I would hate that Plymouth became a "tacky" tourist centre.
After many years of leaving Plymouth I visited in 2010 and again in 2011. Simple things as painting Smeaton's tower had been neglected. The beautiful barbican has garish low market facades to the snack bars etc.
Many buildings in the Hoe area ( imposant houses etc.) have flaking paint exteriors and many B & B 's etc have bright blue/red and yellow paintwork. Neutral colours give a more quality impression.
It's also a pity that the Portland stone facades of the city centre aren't cleaned.
Good maintenace of buildings, streets, flower beds, fountains etc. gives that "feel good" element for the tourists , not forgetting the residents of Plymouth.City pride is imperative to a good society.
Less of the badly planned new developments and more of the safe guarding of the beauty that we have ! I'm proud to be a Plymothian but I despair at neglect.”

“...then there are the hundreds of broken or loose paving slabs, the rusting eyesore overhanging the former Woolworths, general grime and disrepair. Does this stupid council not understand the concept of tourism?

As to the Hoe, well thanks to nature for a dramatic coastline and just a few businesses providing food and beverages, it's acceptable but in terms of amenities, a very long way short of what you would find in other south coast towns and cities.

Plymouth city council hasn't yet grasped the concept of tourism and how damaging bad perception can be. Can we please have some new paving (PROFESSIONALLY LAID...not by the idiots responsible for the half-baked Madeira Road patch-up), a bit of cleaning and the occasional lick of paint?

This stupid council and the one before it just don't care.”