Exeter Ikea store "not a disaster for Plymouth"

“Now that means Bodmin eastwards is therefore in the catchment as well as Honiton and probably Bridport further to the east as well as the southern suburbs of Bristol)."
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Well that is gilding the lilly.

Why would anyone drive 70-80 miles from south Bristol to go to an IKEA store when they could drive to their local one which is 6-8 miles away? They might if they wanted an all-round day out but not otherwise.

The congestion around the M4/M5 junction where additional lanes are being installed will be no more by the time the Exeter store is open so this overblown enthusiasm that the catchment will extend to Bristol is fanciful.

The same sort of thing was said when IKEA opened its Cardiff store a few years ago but, other than people wanting a day out, they still go to their local store.”

“"I'm sure retailers like that will come here in the future," Mr Parlby? You are joking of course sir. The last twenty years has proved to the people of Plymouth that this will not happen. Look at the empty beautiful Derry's building, for example. Obviously no retailer is interested. If they had been, it would have been occupied by now. I wonder if it has 'something' to do with hidden rental charges. Look at the Woolworth's site. Just because 'some people' did not want the 'temporary mess' involved, the skyscraper building project which would have put Plymouth back on the map was thrown out. What is going to happen to that site? Let's face it, Plymouth's retail future is in a mess, unless Plymouth Council take some pride in the city centre and have some passion like the the people of Exeter.”

“AIRPORT, RAIL LINKS, AND BETTER ROADS.”

“CharlieBob: last I heard, your personal knowledge of Exeter was based entirely on passing through it once on the train when you fled Leicester, while most of your Amazing Facts About Plymouth appear to come from Wikipedia.

Fact: Ikea did their homework without the benefit of your opinions, and concluded that there's a lot more disposable wealth in and around Exeter. If you ever went there, you'd soon notice that.”

“"Nihilo" you are perfectly right in what you say about Exeter historically being the well heeled county town etc.The political and religous centre which the rest of Devon has always historically gravitated to.While Exeter has its "black sheep" like anywhere the big difference is Plymouth is overwhelmed by them in comparison.A combination of Exeter's county town status and Devon's geography is why historically transport links,road,rail and air have developed in the way they have to Exeter's favour.Major businesses and organisations in the 21st century like the meteorological office,John Lewis and Ikea are now simply taking advantage of Exeters demographics and better transport infrastructure.When the prestigious and highly paid meteorological Office were looking to relocate from Bracknell in Berkshire back in 2003 they short listed three cities Bristol,Norwich and Exeter,one of the key requirements for them being fast rail links to London.Exeter being only 2 hours by rail from London was chosen and continues to be the first place that anyone outside our region looking west considers first and foremost now when considering setting anything up serve the wider Devon and Cornwall area while at the same time being easily accessible from London and elsewhere and lets be honest that situation really wont change will it.”

“Oh dear, the key issue isn't transport links, it's history. Exeter is the county town, seat of county government, church, etc and home to a large middle-class, professional population serving the interests of the county set. By contrast, Plymouth is a working-class city built on the back of its now declining strategic importance for the navy and is essentially working class with relatively low incomes.

The fact that Plymouth is more remote does not help, but we need to face up to the reality that Exeter will always dominate because there's more money there, therefore a higher likelihood of inward investment. Yes, our MPs should all be doing more to promote Plymouth's interests, but local councillors can only play with the hand that's been dealt by how Plymouth has developed and declined.”

“Depsite the perfectly sized empty shops (Derrys/woolworths etc) Ikea like all other major retailers will never invest in the city centre because the political elite cream off millions of rates via a bid levy to fund their own interests, whilst starving airports, rail and road of much needed investment.”

“No major retailer will ever invest in the city centre whilst the Plymouth city centre company and their political elite, cream off millions of rates via a bid levy to fund their own interests, whilst starving airports, rail and road of much needed investment.”

“IKEA is chronic - bit like Habitat and they went”

“And Plymouth has got a list of famous people and artifacts as long as your arm, from Lt John "they don't like it up 'em" Chard of Rorkes Drift, all the way through the Mayflower to Tom Daley's trunks, but what claims to fame does Exeter have?”