Story so far: By the end of Part Two, the brutalist Scottish Office has been abandoned. The fate of the St James Centre hangs in the air. Part Three: 2000 - 2020After a decade or so of going nowhere things began to move (slightly) around 2005. In October that year Coal Pension Properties (CPP) put the shopping centre on the market. Six months later it was … [Read more...] about Winners and losers on #MoultriesHill Part 3
regeneration
Once more with feeling: rediscovering local history ‘from the ground up’
The sign by the door says BATHS in big white letters. A voice in my ear says this is it. This is where Gina had her bath the night before she got married. What? Here in a swimming pool?Yes. Or maybe it was the morning of the wedding. Gina’s not quite sure. It’s a while ago. But not as long ago as you might think. Until the 1970s, it turns out, many local people came for … [Read more...] about Once more with feeling: rediscovering local history ‘from the ground up’
Regeneration: promise or threat to city vitality?
Regeneration. What does it mean? A threat or a promise? Who's it for? Who benefits most from the redevelopment of city centres, the transformation of community assets into commercial investments?Our thanks to Genghis the Gardener (a former citizen of Edinburgh now living in London) for sending his poem Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Council. Written for Haringey on Burns … [Read more...] about Regeneration: promise or threat to city vitality?
Who owns the town centre?
Sometimes the transformation seems magical. A rubbish dump becomes a wild flower meadow, blighted town centre turns into vibrant street market, forbidding wasteland twinkles with a pop-up cinema. But there is no magic wand. Community empowerment is a two-way commitment with a vital message for policy makers.Top down policy won’t transform those wasted spaces. Meaningful … [Read more...] about Who owns the town centre?