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Which part of the country would you rebuild and ‘start again’

(92 Posts)
nanna8 Mon 19-Feb-24 02:17:02

I was listening to this topic on talkback radio this morning in the car. It was interesting to hear the responses. Several would like the main square in Melbourne, Federation Square, removed and substantially changed. I tend to agree with them and another one is a foul big brown glass building they have erected in the middle of our local town. No thought for any architectural design or fitting in with the rest of the buildings whatsoever. I shudder every time I pass it.

Mistyfluff8 Thu 22-Feb-24 02:21:43

Yeovil town centre once a busy market town but council have closed off the middle to suppose make it better(wasted millions)shops have closed down it was bad before No one wants to go there as nowhere to park and n wonder Somerset County Council are in a financial mess Doesn’t anybody negotiate contracts anymore

TiggyW Thu 22-Feb-24 01:10:56

All the ‘dark, Satanic mills’ which were a familiar sight during my childhood. Luckily many of them have now been demolished, but some of the chimneys have been preserved - God knows why! We can see one from our house. Even worse - some apartment blocks have been designed to resemble the old mills! 🙄 Obviously by architects who don’t remember the originals.

nanna8 Wed 21-Feb-24 22:34:54

Box Hill (Australia) is pretty frightening now. Not recognisable anymore, it feels like high rise hell, just so like Beijing. I think of George Orwell and 1984 when we drive through there. Glen Waverley is going the same way and Doncaster. Horrible, where are the town planners ?

Jannicans Wed 21-Feb-24 20:04:47

I would undo some of the badly created developments in the Adelaide Hills. Such a beautiful area and so much farmland totally destroyed.

Plevey08 Wed 21-Feb-24 16:21:45

Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire would be my choice. Soooo ugly, all of it!

RVK1CR Wed 21-Feb-24 16:12:01

Mamardoit

Smart motorways. They should never have been allowed.

Totally agree with you. They are dangerous and should be removed, especially the M25, but they are not safe anywhere

joycerousselot123 Wed 21-Feb-24 14:22:25

I worked there too in the 60s. To get a parking space easily, I used to go in around 7am .I'd walk around gazing at the orderly facades of respected institutions and expecting Night's Templars to jump out. No, I understand you have to pay some Godawful amount just to be allowed in. Don't know about parking but now we know the City is bankrolling the Mafia (that's not new) and Russian Oligarchs, it doesn't make you proud of your heritage. I don't know who dishes out building permits these days but they should be shot!

joycerousselot123 Wed 21-Feb-24 14:16:42

Do you mean managed by outlawing contraception?

Skydancer Wed 21-Feb-24 14:14:02

Torquay town centre as it is hideous. (The seafront is lovely). There are far too many shops. Replace some of them with high quality housing such as smart flats and town houses with black railings in front and little patches of green. People would love to live there so close to the sea.

Gwenisgreat Wed 21-Feb-24 14:12:48

I'd like all then roads resurfaced with plastic pellets so they last forever!

Nannan2 Wed 21-Feb-24 14:02:42

The one thing i would flatten & change is preston bus station its a huge 60's concrete thing with parking above it that unfortunately they have now been stupid enough to make a listed building (some architect or other who was made famous designed it!) They tried to do it up a bit inside (new toilets & a couple of new shops) but they can't even change the dirty old rubber flooring due to the preservation order.Not only is it an eyesore thats not fit for purpose its a dirty germ-trap.I could bear it no longer and moved far away from it a few years ago.Try to avoid it now.

Romola Wed 21-Feb-24 13:58:54

I'm in absolute agreement with M0nica about Londond. The way all the lovely City churches and little lanes, not to mention St Paul's itself, have been left to cower beneath the bombastic skyscrapers is a scandal.

Nannan2 Wed 21-Feb-24 13:52:39

I meant thats where id leave unchanged and start my life again

Nannan2 Wed 21-Feb-24 13:50:48

Northumberland with the Island and the beautiful natural landscaping and beaches.

Milest0ne Wed 21-Feb-24 13:25:23

Callistemon21

nanna8

I certainly wouldn’t look forward to a plummeting population. I think that is a cruel thing to wish for. They did their best with Covid I suppose but couldn’t quite manage it, thank goodness.

I think it could be managed with contraception etc.

Who would want to be a woman in an area of the world prone to famine or conflict, trying to feed yet another baby that has been thrust upon her?

Oh dear, think I'd better log off before I blow a gasket!!

I would be there with you Callistemon, ready to hand out sewing kits to the women for their husbands trousers.

Fairycakes Wed 21-Feb-24 13:04:12

I'd have all the huge, ugly flats that have been built on land that was once occupied by much smaller buildings, demolished. This has been happening an awful lot where I live and it's ruined the landscape, closed us in, and deprived us of the open land that once was. I saw photos of my area from the Victorian days and it was beautiful, with high hedges, open parks, brooks, over which small decorative bridges arced over. In its place we have busy roads with pot holes, ugly newbuilds, fly tipping in every alleyway, and very little greenery. Quite depressing 🫣😒

sarahcyn Wed 21-Feb-24 12:50:03

London again: The A4 which cuts across Hammersmith with a horrible flyover and then tears through Chiswick just by Hogarth’s house and Chiswick House It should be buried underground and the nasty, disintegrating A316 with it!

Lilyflower Wed 21-Feb-24 12:44:41

Live in not live on

Lilyflower Wed 21-Feb-24 12:44:17

I have always thought that architects should have to live on. The buildings they design for others. Then we wouldn’t see so many prize winning eyesores.

And Slough is a top contender for starting again.

Purplepixie Wed 21-Feb-24 12:30:52

The north east (UK) where all the little mining villages are. The pits were closed and industry gone and the poor people just left to sort it out themselves. The Government don’t seem to recognise or want to know the area. Lovely people and they should be given a helping hand to rebuild this wonderful and beautiful area.

Frenchgalinspain Wed 21-Feb-24 12:19:02

In Spain 32 years, and I would definitely renovate the main highways of Spain.

National 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Some of the areas are desperately in need of repairing.

Amalegra Wed 21-Feb-24 12:08:44

So many of our historically significant buildings, both the humble and the grand, are being destroyed, not only for commercial gain, but for badly needed new homes for an ever increasing population, estimated to top 70 million in a few years. Will this decline in our green spaces and heritage buildings stop? Go figure!

cc Wed 21-Feb-24 11:45:52

Mamardoit

Smart motorways. They should never have been allowed.

I absolutely agree with this, I'm actually worried about driving on them though my car is fairly new and reliable.

Lizzie44 Wed 21-Feb-24 11:36:40

I think we need to do more than just look at city layouts and the aesthetics of certain buildings. We need to to look at the whole infrastructure. In my local area, roads are frequently being dug up because of road surfacing problems, water leaks etc. These things concern me more than a few ugly buildings.

Grantanow Wed 21-Feb-24 11:33:58

Almost the whole of Wakefield.