| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Another one bites the dust | |
| Posted by: | Raymond Havelock | |
| Date/Time: | 18/08/19 21:18:00 |
| Just finished 4 months working on a project in Liverpool. A city I had never been to for more than a few hours before. Probably the smallest of my examples, Manchester and Oldham are probably better examples. Halifax as well. Took a lot of looking around over weekends not much else to do unless one loves shopping centres..Not.. For Liverpool, there are some parallels, a lot of dereliction and some awful redevelopments. But there is now a clear move towards renovating the best of what is left of it's heritage buildings, most of which is derelict and in Liverpools case, very little left, But a new wave of renewal using the heritage as a basis and making it better runs across both the North West and North East and what has been done in Birmingham around the Canal areas - very similar to what Brentford has and certainly had is superb. Similar in Newcastle. As for the Pubs, the latest threats to these are typical developers ploys. Just look what can be done with basket case pubs. The Black Dog, a pub no-one in their right mind would go into for the last 30 years. and the Brook, another tiny pub that seemed to have no viability and attraction whatsoever. Look at it now. The impossible achieved even though a same round has yet to cost the same each time!! plus The Express Tavern, The Griffin and the Royal Horseguardsman, all these have one thing in common. Landlords and Ladies with spirit, ability and know their markets and strengths. Hard work and enthusiasm and very much part of the communities in which they are located. The odds are stacked up on these local businesses, Parking restrictions with inexplicable extensions which make no difference to residents but damage local businesses away from the main strips. Business rates which risk viability and sustainability, and older landlords for whom the hard work keeping the ball in the air is just becoming too much with too many odds stacked against them and no help forthcoming. Then there's the sweeteners that some new local businesses are reported to be getting, KFC, Subway and Dominos and one or two others. What is that all about? Is it a level playing field one wonders? |