Regeneration

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.?

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

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

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!,

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.

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.

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.

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)

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

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

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.

I think if you are visiting a big city for a break, stay in a nice hotel near the attractions, you will see the best bits - but if you live there and have to travel to school, to work, endure the daily traffic, the pollution it is quite a different matter.

They regenerated our little market town a few years ago
This meant that they removed all the short term parking in the middle of the town, replaced it with ‘art’, a couple of benches and plenty of different ground levels.
This means we all have to negotiate the uneven cobbled streets and remember to pick our feet up when we get to a different area. Lots of AoverTits!
The Chamber of Trade fought this with everything they had but the Town council loved it all. I think it won some sort of award.
Just about killed the trade though. Out of town businesses started banking on the next town where they could park next to the bank. Locals stopped popping in for a paper or a loaf of bread and when to the big supermarket instead.

Regeneration?!! My friend lives in an area of Liverpool which has had a lot of work completed locally - she's still worried about going on holiday and leaving her house empty. Still hates walking around the area and is desperate to move. She had 2 youths attempting to kick her door in last year ( 20 mins before police arrived!). I love the city....it was my home for many years but I think the focus needs to be on crime and the litany of anti social behaviour.

Our city (Birmingham) has undergone quite a transformation over the last few years. Anyone who hasn't visited for a while wouldn't recognise it. The city centre canals have been opened up and there are lots of bars and restaurants, pretty flower displays. There are several skyscrapers going up which I assume are student accommodation. They are closing car parks and intend to bring in a congestion type charge. Fortunately the public transport system is OK.

What an interesting take on Bristol.
The buses are awful and have always been so. The roadworks have been going on for years, in fact they stopped for a while.
The centre is in at least it's 4th incarnation in my lifetime and still doesn't work.
I'm so happy to have escaped from there after 62 years.

from the EU via the British taxpayer other directly from the Government

Where does the government get their money from?

My Dad always used to say, 'There's no such thing as government money, all of it is our taxes.'

Yes, there is a lot going on everywhere; regeneration projects and many roadworks.
It will all be better in the future, but, of course, in the meantime we have to put up with the inconvenience.

Some money has presumably come from the EU via the British taxpayer of course, other directly from the Government.