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Does Portsmouth need its own Poldark?

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Does Portsmouth need its own Poldark?

A surge in Cornwall related searches on property website Rightmove has been put down to the popularity of Poldark, the BBC"s latest period drama, which is filmed in the region. With Poldark1regular scenes of wild coastlines it is perhaps not surprising that interest in buying in the area has grown. However, this is not the 1st time this has happened - an appearance  in ITV drama Broadchurch apparently added between £25,000 and £50,000 to the asking price of a riverside chalet in Dorset when it went on the market last year.

Perhaps it is time we boosted our own property prices by getting some films or TV programmes made locally?

Portsmouth Dockyard appeared in the opening scenes of Les Miserables but as that was a scene of wind and rain swept prisoners being lashed, drowned and generally ill-treated, it is perhaps not surprising that the effect on house prices locally was not noticed. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the biggest corporation in the world wasn"t Apple or General Electric or Ford - it was the British Royal Navy, with supply lines and logistics stretching across the world to support the 120,000 men and 200+ ships (the 1889 Naval Defence Act stipulated that the Royal Navy should be at least as large as the next 2 largest navies in the world) - surely with a background like that one of the major TV channels could find a storyline that draws on this history.

How about Mr Midshipman Hornblower (CS Forester) strutting his stuff on Spice Island or Captain Aubrey (from Master & Commander by Patrick O"Brian) boarding at Sallyport, not to mention some true stuff like the Duke of Buckingham being murdered in the High Street or gentlemen officers living in Southsea before setting sail with Admiral Lord Nelson in the Napoleonic wars. Obviously we would need to skip over the cholera epidemic in Portsea in the 1840"s and a number of other less appealing aspects of our history - but there must be a good period drama hereabouts somewhere to boost our property values....

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About the author

Martin Silman

Martin began his landlord journey 30 years ago, while working in an international role for a global telecommunications company. Since retiring he has extended his portfolio, which he manages with his wife, but has always focussed on the ‘small student HMO’ sector preferring to offer homes in the community for small groups to the more common ‘pack them in and take the money’ mentality. He has chaired the PDPLA for the past 12 years and has overseen the Associations transition from small local self-help group to a much larger and more professional institution which is recognised and listened to nationally. Alongside his PDPLA role, he also has leadership roles in a number of other local organisations – bringing his unique perspective, driving for change and increased use of technology while respecting the history that brought us here.

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