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Going ... Going ... GONE! |
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Disappearing Dover (4) - St James' |
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| The picture above, taken in the late 1960s, shows Dolphin
Lane, in the St James' district. This was the last of the old Dover
lanes to retain it's original stone pavement, although the central drain
had been filled in with cobblestones. The stone wall on the left surrounded the site of one of Dover's many breweries - the Phoenix -long since closed down and demolished, although a few of the buildings are still in use today for other purposes. The picture below shows the same area 40 years on. The multi-story car-park that replaced the brewery is now itself closed down and awaiting demolition. The house immediately behind the Lord Nelson pub (above) was demolished in the early 1970s. The tall building in the background just to the left of the pub was the Coach Hotel in Townwall Street - also demolished in the 1970s and now a car park. |
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| This area is due for total re-development (2006), so
virtually everything in this part of the town will be flattened to make
way for a supermarket. What Dover needs is something to attract people to visit the town and something to keep people in the town - we currently have to travel miles to find a theatre, cinema, bowling alley, or even decent shops. With the increasing cruise liner trade in the port, it would be an ideal opportunity for the local council to repair the damage done to the town over the past hundred years and put some life back into it. A supermarket here can only have a detrimental effect on the town centre shops and the out-of-town superstore at Whitfield. |
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| Whilst eyesores like this clearly needed to go (because they were not kept in good repair), a little more thought needs to be given to what should take their place. | ||
