Regeneration

I watched a TV programme this week about Liverpool, it was a follow up to its previous series were they were selling older houses for £1. It updated on how the project was progressing, and showed some completed ones. Another lady has got keys to hers now, and has been getting quotes from the builder, they are working on a budget she said of £25k. My question is, if Liverpool can spend money on the things you have spoken of, and one of these houses is going to cost a similar amount of £25k to become habitable why have the local authority sold them off in the first place.? There were several streets of these properties which formed a triangle I believe and yet the houses that had been allocated were randomly allocated so that people said they are nervous about leaving them because they could be vandalised. Wireless a whole street at a time could have been a better way of doing it for security to these people. I understand that originally they were not LA properties but privately owned. With the continual housing shortage everywhere, I think Liverpool have missed an opportunity to do all of these house up themselves and shorten the waiting lists so that many more people could be re housed. The rent/ revenue could pay for other things over time that are less essential ...in my view.

Would,nt a whole street....not wireless.

Because it has a Labour council-----enough said !!

Car-free daughter lived in Redland, Bristol for a couple of years, and thought the buses were great.
I visited the centre with her a few times and thought it was very pleasant.
My favourite bit was Gloucester Road, it being the longest road of independent shops in the country (so they say)

Our town is planning to 'improve,' the centre. Having seen the plans we were horrified. Flats above the new shops but very few parking spaces. An underground cinema! Never get me in there.
It's ridiculous. Apparently parking spaces will not be needed as we have a good train service into London. So all the new flat owners are not expected to stay here & support local shop? Total madness.

EllanVannin
I worked as a housing officer for 3 local authorities before retirement, I have quite a bee in my bonnet when it comes to seeing people struggling to find a place to live and homelessness, hence my stance on the above.

I live in Greater Manchester. Lots of development going on in the City, but outlying towns such as Wigan are deprived of finance, and slowly dying.

Unfortunately, you can only regenerate the surroundings but not the people in them! I live in Cheshire and drive to Liverpool a lot with work and see some sorry sights. I would not want to live there either. I think the issues in some areas go way beyond bricks and mortar!,

Hm999 I don't know how long ago you were in Bristol but you probably wouldn't recognise the city centre now, gardens have gone, all concrete, fountains which don't work a lot of the time and confusing and dangerous road layout.

I have just got back from a visit to Beaconsfield. That is a pretty market town completely clogged by cars. There are cars parked off every main road and instead of seeing the pretty buildings all you see are cars! There isn't even a designated car park anywhere.

Living in and visiting are two very different things.

I had a part-time job in east Bristol, living in north Bristol, driving for a daycare center. I would have had to catch two buses and take around 90 minutes to get to work for a two-hour shift, twice a day Driving was 25 minutes. Then we come to Friday evening, up to 2 hours driving.

The roadworks around Temple Meads has taken 2 years, so far and has caused traffic chaos for the whole time, even when no one was working for a long period.

We stayed one night in Bristol a couple of years ago and I completely agree with the comments about road works. We could see our hotel but couldn't reach it because so many roads were closed off - at one point we found ourselves stuck down a cobbled lane which had metal bollards at the end! We had to take a chance and go the wrong way down another lane to extricate ourselves the end. Thankfully a fine never turned up in the post.

Next day we had just as much trouble trying to leave the city. They appear not to know that WW2 is over, because road signs were few and far between and the sat nav was no use because it couldn't recognise all the rejigged road layouts. What larks!

SueDonim Please, please, please go onto the Bristol City website and post your experience! The only residents they listen to are those who ride bikes - if you can't walk or ride a bike then your opinion doesn't count!

That is probably, ChrisT, because they dither around instead of just getting on with the job!
The powers-that-be have spent nearly four years deciding what to do with a main A road with problems near us which means shutting it completely - having shut it and worked on it for 9 weeks they have apparently decided that what they have done didn't work, so it remains shut for at least another month. And that is only one of the problems with this road.

Sunseeker it was two years ago so I imagine they'd take even less notice now of any comments!

I wish they were investing in my town..... in two years we e lost M&S, BHS, Debenhams is on the brink of closing, we lost little woods way back. All we get in replacement are coffee shops .... charity shops..... 99p shops... it’s depressing. Our beautiful river setting is the only saving grace... thanks goodness for River Great Ouse.

sunseeker
Hi
I went to Clifton, Bristol in April (2019) to meet and stay with a young mum and her family who I chatted to last July at the Harbour Festival.
We went to the zoo and park, on a boat trip and various walks.
Last July I travelled to BTM and caught a no8 bus to Millenuim Square where I sat near the water fountains people-watching and eating a delicious ice-cream.
I later boarded a bus to see and walk over the Suspension Bridge and it was scorching hot as I sat on a bench watching the graduates and their families having photos taken on the grass areas.
Loved the houses with colourful doors, shutters, flowers and wrought-iron balconies.
Later, a bus back to the harbour which had the festival weekend going on so stalls and music and lots to see.
I stayed overnight on an airbnb boat called Kyle Blue, right by all the cafes and action. There were 18 others sharing the boat later I ate at

So many areas of the country are undergoing regeneration, and what a good thing too, who wants to stagnate, after all?
Salford (Salford Quays) being a case in point.
Saggi the demise of the High St. in many towns ( not all)
Is the result of high rents and the rise of convenient online shopping, it’s inevitable really.?

Gabriella Sounds lovely, glad you enjoyed your visits to the city.

It is somewhat different if you live in one of the suburbs (Clifton is fairly central). Getting to one of the many festivals and events happening centrally is difficult, as buses are expensive and unreliable, parking is very expensive if you can find a space. Millenium Square is lovely but just a short stroll brings you to the city centre which has been ruined by various councils.

Having said that the natives are friendly

...oops! sent too early.
I was recommended to eat with some of the yacht sharers, at the River Grill (Grille?) which had great food and views then 3 of us opted for a last stroll before turning in.
The following day I met two ladies who lived in church housing near Sion Place who offered tea and cake, all very interesting as they had a wonderful garden beyond the walls and filled me in on the history of the building in particular and Bristol in general.
Buses were pristine and very very frequent even though the roads and roundabouts near or in town were heavily disrupted with roadworks.
I was impressed by both the people and the areas I saw. 10/10.

My initial reason for visiting Bristol was to see Hart's Bakery under the arches near BTM station. It's matchless, superb...I brought home cakes, pastries and the best French bread ever.
My tips on visiting Bristol are:
Buy a railcard
Use your bus pass ( if you have one)
Book airbnb where the owner actually lives in the property.
I've had fantastic rooms with Molten Brown or Korres bathroom products and 5* breakfasts in the garden in summer or dining room in cool weather. Towels and sometimes even new cotton slippers provided.
You meeting interesting people.

Suedonim you must have missed the bypass in Aberdeen ,my friend tells me it saves her at least half an hour each way on her travels from Laurencekirk where there have been Electric charging stations installed for cars...no petrol station there though

The area where I live is neglected by the local council roads are terrible ,bus service is very poor , houses are being thrown up with no thought to how schools , doctors etc are going to cope . Driving and parking atrocious I could go on ,we would move but family live near .

Bristol is awful, the traffic and buses bad and the pollution horrendous. I rarely go into the city now despite only living 8 miles away. It takes me about1.5 hours to get to the centre, so instead I go to Cardiff. 50 mins on the motorway, free parking outside Cardiff and traffic free cycle ride into the centre. All this talk of doing up Liverpool is probably election talk. Promises, promises, we have the same with the railway they are going to open in about 100 years time. Always peaks when there is a look of an election.

In my little part of Scotland, we never see any money being spent by local or main government! We are on the border of 2 different local councils, but n
All we seem to get is our bin emptied once a week. Makes me so angry, we pay the same council tax as Glasgow and Edinburgh but never seem to get anything back!