"Just walked round Ipswich shopping centre and to say the shops are dead is an understatement! London it is!!!" He apparently also said the town centre was 'rubbish'. There is a lot to be admired in the beautiful old tavern street, Cornhill and pedestrianised Town Centre. Id much rather shop there than Oxford Street, although of course there are far better shops in London. Particularly at Christmas, Ipswich town centre is a magical place. On yer bike, son.
He's got a very valid point Yorkie! The only way to improve Ipswich Town Centre is to drop a dirty great bomb on it so that we can start again! The buildings in St Matthew's Street are a bloody eyesore and should have been pulled down years ago! I don't live in Ipswich any more but it is a bit of a dump!
He says it was banter between him and his sister who lives in Ipswich! Very public and inappropriate banter methinks!
according to the BBC News (yes News - its a biggish story) website he said it was only a joke as his sister comes from Ipswich and he has been a regular visitor here. I like the fact the Council Leader said words to the effect of 'your time would be better spent getting our football team out of the ****!'
What an overblown story over nothing IMO. He didn't say it in a condecending way and tbh the town centre (and alot of the outskirts) does look like some eastern block country, it's pretty awful, infact I've been to quite a few towns and I can't think of a worse one tbh!! It hasn't got alot going for it really. We've got some very nice parks, the Waterfront is ok and St Nicholas street is okay but other than that it needs some serious work done to it!! Suffolk is a nice place and it deserves a decent County Town!!
It is a very overblown and rather pointless story but it does go to show that with modern communication tools some people really dont help themselves fit into a new environment. Its one of those stories that doesnt bother me but I can imagine lots of people opening their papers tonight and having a groan.
Yes it was one of those things said in a jokey way, he's almost putting accross politely, it's not as if he said "Ipswich is a **** hole"!! But as we all know Twitter is full of idiots and obviously the press don't have alot to report atm. I can imagine the reporter asking the MP and him thinking "I've got to try and defend the Town centre even though it is shocking!!". I don't think McLean has done anything wrong here tbh!!
Thats the problem PTC, anything written down is difficult to tell the right context. 'why do you live in this dump' can be taken so many ways when written down. I dont think he has done anything wrong,. I read it on the BBC website this morning and thought surely they had better things to do today! but its has started the ball rolling* and so may have been wiser to either do it by text or not at all just so people couldnt make it into a story. *To be fair, most people wont remember it in a day or two, but I can imagine the evening star starting one of their campaigns and start getting opinion from shoppers in the street etc etc.
I hope that something positive can come from this and the residents of the Town can have an open and honest debate about the state of the Town Centre. It hurts me to say it about the place of my birth but it is very unnattractive and desperately needs a revamp starting with St Matthew's Street. The buildings were thrown up in the 1950s and 60s and look so out of date. Lets have a meaningful debate in the Town about making it more attractive and fit for purpose in the 21st Century!
Nah, I don't want someone like that playing in our football team. Whether he meant it or not we need people who want to play for the badge. Also, there is a difference between wanting great shopping like Liberty of London or the shops on Carnaby St. Contrast it with the High Street shops on Oxford St and having to fight through the crowds and I think Ipswich town centre comes out well on top. St Matthew's Street could do with a makeover but I certainly wouldn't describe any of it as an eye sore.
You must walk round the Town with your eyes shut mate! Walk down Norwich Road into St Matthews Street and the buildings are horrible and tatty. If the Town is to compete as a major regional centre then there must be some big investment made in the building infrastructure of the Town. The Civic Centre/Civic Drive/Spiral Car Park comlex are ghastly examples of 1960s architecture and should be demolished.
Even if he was deadly serious with his comments what difference does it make, I don't expect everyone that works in Ipswich to pretend its a Utopia without faults and that everything is perfect to them. Nonsensicle drivelisation of epic proportions...... in my humble opinion
JWM I understand your comments to a certain extent but how about going shopping at Kilburn or Wood Green shopping centre, or Portsmouth City Centre? As i mentioned there are a couple of places you could sort out but I think people who visit Suffolk are going there to get away from everything you're talking about doing with it. If you want a day out for serious shopping then hop on the train to London as we did when we were teenagers. It serves the town well and there will never be the demand for anything more than high street chains and a few local boutiques.
I'm not too bothered by the quality of shopping Yorkie but more the look of the Town Centre! Surely it is not beyond the Borough Council to come up with a plan to revamp the whole of the Town Centre! The waterfront looks really nice so why can't they make a big effort in updating the commercial district? Ipswich is the County Town of a beautiful County so why can't they improve the Town Centre to attract more tourism and with it more money into the local economy!
I have to say for the first time I whole heartedly agree with you JWM!! It's about time the town centre had some serious money spent on it!! I think it was starting to with the waterfront and with the new University but the crash came at the worst time for Ipswich really!! I know it's never been the most vibrant of places but 5 years ago there was the odd sign that it was getting better!! It's true there is some horrible architecture around the Town but there is also some very nice in the centre but you just don't notice it because of the cheap tacky shops!! tbf to McLean he did say he loves everything to do with the club and the area just not the town centre!! I get your point Lancs about not wanting to be a shopping town but it really is dire, it should be much better than it is. Bury is far superior and it's not exactly a shopping haven. The town would be far more prosperous if it improved considerably and would attract far more people to the area.
Banter or not players need to be careful of what they write on social media. Situations like this could be avoided if people chose to think about the fallout of posting things like that.
