Axminster Carpets

Graham_Devon

Itismehonest wrote: »

Few people in Britain want quality in anything any more, unfortunately.

Axminster Carpets tried to sell some surplus land they owned for development but the NIMBYs came out in force.
http://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/update/2013-02-20/housing-development-could-have-saved-axminster/

The Save Our Parkland dropped their campaign at the end of February but, by then, it was too late.
http://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/update/2013-02-26/campaign-group-drops-axminster-development-fight/

They only dropped it because the company is now bust.

They knew before this that it was Axminsters only hope of survival, but carried on anyway.

Funnily enough, it would have not only gave Axminster a cash injection, but could have also provided work as it was stated any housing would use local materials where possible.

They may now have dropped the case, but they have done their damage. It's not just Axminster either, it's all the jobs which these houses would have provided.

It's wasted everyones time. The planning permission was granted, but taken to judicial review. Save our parkland was overuled at Judicial review and tnow they want to "help" Axminster carpets.

Itismehonest

Graham_Devon wrote: »

They only dropped it because the company is now bust.

They knew before this that it was Axminsters only hope of survival, but carried on anyway.

Funnily enough, it would have not only gave Axminster a cash injection, but could have also provided work as it was stated any housing would use local materials where possible.

They may now have dropped the case, but they have done their damage. It's not just Axminster either, it's all the jobs which these houses would have provided.

It's wasted everyones time. The planning permission was granted, but taken to judicial review. Save our parkland was overuled at Judicial review and tnow they want to "help" Axminster carpets.

I imagine they actually pulled out because they envisaged the possibility of getting lynched by several hundred redundant workers & their families.

grizzly1911

Graham_Devon wrote: »

They only dropped it because the company is now bust.

They knew before this that it was Axminsters only hope of survival, but carried on anyway.

Funnily enough, it would have not only gave Axminster a cash injection, but could have also provided work as it was stated any housing would use local materials where possible.

They may now have dropped the case, but they have done their damage. It's not just Axminster either, it's all the jobs which these houses would have provided.

It's wasted everyones time. The planning permission was granted, but taken to judicial review. Save our parkland was overuled at Judicial review and tnow they want to "help" Axminster carpets.

How long would it a staved off the eventual demise of Axminster as a large scale local employer? If it has failed to adapt what guarantee was there tt it would have done?

Is there a large demand (or would there have been) for housing in Axminster?

Graham_Devon

grizzly1911 wrote: »

How long would it a staved off the eventual demise of Axminster as a large scale local employer? If it has failed to adapt what guarantee was there tt it would have done?

Is there a large demand (or would there have been) for housing in Axminster?

Housing demand - yes. Hence wanting to build.

How long would it have kept them going? Dunno. Axminster has been hit by various issues.

One is that people don't buy their carpets for home use (at least not as much as they used to). Part of that is down to the fact were all buying as cheap as we can. Part of it is down to the fact that several years ago, to cut costs and increase profits, house builders stopped using them, especially as the smaller builders got bought out by the large ones. Axminster don't just make swirly patterened stately home carpets!) Part of it is that housing was being bought for profits, therefore, obviously such carpets weren't going to be used.

Got no idea how long they would have lasted, or if this would have sorted them out, however, as with everything, the vast amount of cash would have helped.

They have a LOT of land, so no doubt there will be huge interest in that.

Just amuses me that again, it's part of the local community. No one cared before, they just stated they were too expensive to even consider using.

Itismehonest

grizzly1911 wrote: »

How long would it a staved off the eventual demise of Axminster as a large scale local employer? If it has failed to adapt what guarantee was there tt it would have done?

Is there a large demand (or would there have been) for housing in Axminster?

This has dragged on for ages & is fairly complicated.
What seems to be at the root of it is the possibility of a relief road which another developer would undertake if allowed to build 700 homes elsewhere.
The following article is now almost 2 years old.
http://www.viewfrompublishing.co.uk/news_view/10297/21/1/axminster-the-big-cloakham-housing-debate

Graham_Devon

Itismehonest wrote: »

This has dragged on for ages & is fairly complicated.
What seems to be at the root of it is the possibility of a relief road which another developer would undertake if allowed to build 700 homes elsewhere.
The following article is now almost 2 years old.
http://www.viewfrompublishing.co.uk/news_view/10297/21/1/axminster-the-big-cloakham-housing-debate

Theres quite a bit of stuff on it.

But one thing which hit home for me is how these "ancient wool towns" which hold so much history wouldn't even have existed if it wasn't for these types of companies.

Houses were built around them to support the workers and the companies themselves. It's what we did best. Now it's all protests over keeping a field no one ever uses in order to keep house prices high.

Were sat in traffic james on old roads all because people don't want development. You can only squeeze business so much until they fold. You can only squeeze peoples income so much until they are unable to buy the local goods.

Itismehonest

I agree, in part.
However, I would imagine that most of the campaigners were thinking more of their 'quality of life' than the actual price of their home.
People who don't have to rely on local employment are more worried about the views from their windows & the amount of traffic passing their house or making life awkward for them when they go shopping etc.

Unfortunately, it's part of the ongoing problem of people not realising that the majority of the countryside can't just stay as it is. It isn't a playground or museum. It needs people to be able to work & bring up families there.

Just because there's a field opposite a house today doesn't give the divine right for there to be one there in future.
If someone wants to live where building is less likely to take place then it is possible but it comes at a premium.

grizzly1911

Interesting article.

Do the company own the land at Cloakham but not the "Permisson Land" where the proposed relief road would go?

I could understand residents wanting a "relief road" and trading this for development but it doesn't look as will happen quickly whatever happens.

Heard on the radio Axminster has 7000 residents, 700 (Permisson) houses would be a large increase wouldn't it even if phased?

From a cynical outsider looking in, with little information, I just wonder how committed they are to maintaining a large presence even if planning had gone ahead as requested?

It is sad to see big production employers go it is something vast swathes of the industrialised areas have suffered over the last 30 years.

wymondham

I'm still trying to get over Woolworth's...... I feel like my childhood was just a dream now!

Graham_Devon

grizzly1911 wrote: »

Interesting article.

Do the company own the land at Cloakham but not the "Permisson Land" where the proposed relief road would go?

I could understand residents wanting a "relief road" and trading this for development but it doesn't look as will happen quickly whatever happens.

Heard on the radio Axminster has 7000 residents, 700 (Permisson) houses would be a large increase wouldn't it even if phased?

From a cynical outsider looking in, with little information, I just wonder how committed they are to maintaining a large presence even if planning had gone ahead as requested?

It is sad to see big production employers go it is something vast swathes of the industrialised areas have suffered over the last 30 years.

Axminster may have 7,000 residents (taking what you have read as true) but the surrounding areas are too lacking in development.

There was supposed to be a new town with attached hospital etc, but after 10 years this has got shelved. Theres a lot of ork going on in Exeter though with a new town just off Exeter.

The services, the infrastructure, it's all bursting down here. We have lack of investment and a growing number of incomers, many of whom remove the need for investment. (Second home owners and the like). Therefore we also have a lack of jobs and low pay.

At the moment there is literally a black alert on Derriford hospital. Basically, this means the hospital is under extreme pressure. The same goes for another in Cornwall. This is all due to lack of investment. Nothing will move as were just surrounded by NIMBY's and corruption in councils. The investment has to start somewhere, otherwise were just going to get drowned out, and Axminster carpets is just another victim. It takes a lot of money to keep your business going when you are off the beaten track and having to haul materials so much further (fuel has an impact). Axminster announced a while ago that transporting the wool to the carpet mill was costing ever more.

With the country being so London-centric and fuel prices crippling people and business outside outside of cities, without investment, it will just die off, which has been happening for a while. Secondly, it's difficult to gain workers when your workers cant afford to live in the area. (To rent a 3 bed house in the same town would eat nearly 50% of an Axminster workers post tax income).