Plymouth Hospital / Saltash

[calsie]

Hi i have recently got a job at Plymouth hospital and will be relocating to the area from the North of England. We wanted to live in the Padstow area of cornwall but soon realised this was way too far. We have been recommended SALTASH AND TORPOINT areas.

Can anyone give any info on the hospital and of these areas please. I am moving with my hub and two young children so anxious to relocate to the right area. We want to be close to the coast and in a quiet area if possible.

Thank you

xx

[CrapBag]

I am assuming you mean Derriford Hospital?

Saltash would mean paying a toll every time you came in to Plymouth and if there is an accident or a lane closed then the traffic is awful to get back into Saltash.

Derriford itself is a very nice area to live. One of the better ones in the city. If I could afford it, I would live there, Thornbury is also down the road from the hospital and nice.

Roborough and Woolwell are not too far either and again, nicer areas of the city. They are also near the moors which is a great area for letting children run around. No where is that far from the coast here. Wembury is near the coast and very nice (and expensive) but isn't close to the hospital.

Torpoint would mean crossing a car ferry everyday, they can have very long delays if all of the ferries are not running, which they often aren't.

[ShirleySharpeyes]

It's a schlep to get to Derriford from either the Cornish (Torpoint, Saltash) or Devon (Turnchapel, Hooe, Wembury) coast. If you want to be near water then I'd consider some of the villages inland along the Devon side of the Tamar (Bere Alston and Calstock are nice, with good communities, and easy commute with no need to cross expensive bridge or wait for a ferry).

Alternatively edge of Dartmoor places like Yelverton, Shaugh Prior, Horrabridge are an easy (if busy) commute.

Plymouth itself has some excellent housing stock and some nice areas Peverrell and Mannamead are OK and are close to Central Park which is huge. There are also some not so nice areas but I reckon you'll work out which ones those are quite quickly! It depends on how much you're looking to spend and if you want to buy or rent I guess. You might also find this website helpful.

[NothingMoreScaryThanAHairyMary]

I live south hams (yealmpton, Brixton ermington, holberton Newton and noss) all of which are really nice with some lovely schools. Have loads of dr and nurses as parents at dc's school. My commute (work nr Derriford) is straight out onto the a38 takes about 15mins on a good run (most mornings post 9am).

Whilst not on the water (except Newton and noss) the villages are all really close to some great beaches. However prices are more than the average for the rest of plymouth.

[Lordofmyflies]

Saltash to Derriford is certainly very do able. You will qualify for a 'tag' which halves the price of the bridge fee to 75p only payable on your way into devon. In rush hour it can take 45 mins to get from Saltash to Derriford, but if you work shifts only 15 mins. Torpoint is more of a drag, ferries run every 30 mins and take 10mins, then factor in the drive to the ferry and to Derriford, it can easily take over an hour.

We live in a village near Saltash. It takes us 15 mins to get to our nearest beach (whitsand bay) so perfect for an after school trip if the weather is good! There are plenty of organised clubs and activities for primary age children. However, the location does mean it is more of a jaunt to go to the high street, ( saltash has a waitrose,lidl and soon tesco) but it really comes down to how rural and near the coast you wish to be.

[calsie]

Thanks for your reply. We love the padstow area but its just too far to commute. I have looked at so many places my head is spinning lol. Can you recommend any specific places in salt ash? I have seen one in Pillmere today which looks reasonable.

Its scary because we are relocating and know nowhere so any help is appreciated. What is Plymouth like? I have had mixed reviews tbh i would be working at the hospital so thats derriford.

I am moving with my young family so my main concerns are drugs and crime.
Thanks

[Lordofmyflies]

Pilmere is the reasonable bit of saltash, mainly because it is the new build estate of the town. There is a huge development in planning stage called broadmoor farm which will be going very close to pilmere in the next year. There is also another 450 houses approved to be built in the Latchbrook area. If you are after a new build and can wait to buy off plan it may be worth investigating.
Property in Pilmere is generally a fair bit cheaper than the rest of Saltash as schools and services are in the town itself therefore not on the estate and transport links are poor. There is also a fair amount of social housing and not much for old children.
I would look at Latchbrook if you are after a new ish build, or if you can afford it, period properties near the waterfront or at the east side of Saltash overlooking the river. These areas are much nearer the schools, town and not going to affect by more building. These areas feel very safe. Children still play in the streets, schools are good/ outstanding and the town has a nice community feel.

[Lordofmyflies]

If you are after villages, further west of Saltash, there is Landrake, (excellent primary), St Germans, which is lovely, good school too. These are nearer the beaches (10mins) away, but obviously much smaller so reduced services.

[promisedyouarosegarden]

I wouldn't base myself in Saltash out of choice if I were working in Derriford - the traffic can be dreadful in/out of Plymouth. Same goes for Torpoint except that doesn't even have the benefit of being particularly nice.

There are plenty of nice areas far closer - Derriford itself is good as mentioned, Roborough/Woolwell fine too. Tamerton Foliot could be worth a look, has a nice villagey feel. Then there's Plympton which has plenty of good schools.

Personally I prefer living more centrally, and the naice areas of Plymouth itself would be Stoke, Mannamead/Hartley, and Peverell. Leafy with good schools. Areas to avoid within Plymouth would be Devonport, North Prospect and Stonehouse - these are the more impoverished parts if you want to avoid drugs and crime! Mutley, Greenbank and Lipson are the studenty areas so again avoid those if you want a quiet life.

What is Plymouth like? It's a mixed bag really. The city centre is pretty souless due to being rebuilt after the war, and is still lacking shops that you find elsewhere - no John Lewis for example. However the Hoe and the Barbican, walking distance from town, are lovely. The Royal William Yard has been regenerated and has lots of good restaurants. We have a very good theatre.

Primary schools on the whole are better than average, and there are 3 excellent grammar schools. Plenty in the vicinity for children - close to the coast and the moors.

The pace of life is pretty slow and crime rates below average. Job opportunities are not great though.

[CrapBag]

We looked at moving over to Saltash recently and DH works in Plymouth, we decided against it because traffic can be awful and even with the tag for the bridge, it added about £60 per month to our travel costs. If we could afford that it wouldn't have been the end of the world but the traffic alone, particularly if there is an accident or bad weather, was enough to put us off.

Derriford is one of the nicer areas for houses. In particular the streets of Looseleigh Lane have some very nice houses (I would buy one there in a heartbeat if we could afford it) and its a 2 minute drive from the hospital.

If not, like above, Mannamead, Hartley and Manadon is nice, as is Woolwell and Roborough and these are all within short driving distances. These areas have good schools too.

Plymouth is ok, its near to many places. The Hoe is lovely for children and the Barbican is a great place to go out on a Saturday night in the summer. Town isn't great really but its not too far from Exeter if you wanted to do some proper shopping. People I know who aren't from here seem to really like it.

[littlesupersparks]

I wouldn't go for saltash personally. If you don't mind a drive, have a look at looe, polperro etc if you are after that seaside/padstow feel.

To be honest I would try to rent in Plymouth for a bit if possible before deciding.

[SantasLittleMonkeyButler]

We have friends in Plympton - seems nice enough there & they like it!

I've no idea how far it is from the hospital though.

[calsie]

Any thoughts on St germans? we have seen a aproperty in this area which we like as the schools seem excellent.

[CrapBag]

I dont know the area but it is a bit of a commute and you still have the bridge issues.

We went across it today and they only had 1 lane open going into Saltash and the queue was horrendous, really far down the A38 and getting worse when we passed. Even with 3 lanes going over into Plymouth the traffic was bad and there wasn't even anything wrong. Then on Thursday because of the strike, the torpoint ferry wasn't even running so goodness knows what the traffic was like then.

[Cumberlover76]

There is a mainline train station in St Germans and Plymouth is 20 mins by train with derriford a further 20 mins ish by bus if you didn't want to drive to Plymouth. Nice village, pub ok. Good festival on the estate in the summer (Port Eliot Festival). Drive to Plymouth OK, but traffic and accident delays likely in rush hour.

[piratecat]

it's saturday, it's always busy going into town on saturdays.

[CrapBag]

Yes it is, but it will also be busy at rush hours as well.

Train could work although I think 20 minutes by bus from the train station to derriford is ambitious .

[calsie]

Hi all,

Well we are still looking were to move and its driving me insane. I will only work 3 days so not concerned about the toll charge and will work 7-7 so should miss the traffic.

an anyone tell me were the main social housing is and what these areas are like? were i live these estates can be quite dangerous.

We have been looking at pill mere saltast etc would love st germans but its hard to get a rental tbh.

[shifferBrains]

My best friend lives in Plymouth and works at the hospital I will ask her the areas to avoid and report back

[sophiap]

jumping in on this thread as we're also looking to move to saltash. traffic not a concern to us as our jobs are flexible so won't need to be doing much rush hour travelling. my main concern is schools - we'd love my eldest to go to bishop cornish but it's full. anyone got any views on burraton these days??? seems to be the only saltash primary with spaces. which is a shame as we'd need to drive there from the house we're trying to buy, instead of being able to walk to bishop cornish :((

[sophiap]

calsie did you decide on where to move to? would love to hear!