Beaten 4-1 at Reading in the last match of the season on Sunday 2nd May. General comment being a poor performance by Preston.
End of season position 17th with 54 points. One victory a month in March and April probably gives Darren Ferguson about 10 games to save his job. Hope he sorts it.
Blackpool in play-offs. Well done to them. Blackpool needs the publicity to help get its holiday industry back on its feet.
Years after the final episode of the Third Man can it be that next week Gordon Brown will still be in power from third position. After putting in a solid display in the third leaders debate it was widely said he was third after David Cameron and Nick Clegg. After the incident with Mrs Duffy and a car crash at his meeting we await the third incident. The stars seem to be giving a message that three is the number. But for who?
The Nick Clegg effect has made this election a lot more interesting and it would be good for the Lib Dems to get more seats and for there to be a change in the voting system. As far as policy goes though it isn’t so clear. Seems like they were selected based on being different from the other parties whether they were good ideas or not. Do we really want the jails emptying, an amnesty for illegal immigrants, join the Euro, defended less securely. Have we thought through the effect of having no nuclear power and no university fees. They slip off the tongue easily but all these things have uncertain outcomes and might cause a big and very expensive mess.
Labour have done a lot of good things particularly in new buildings for schools and hospitals, not at the RPH though. There has been a lot of social change and some of this is less comfortable for many. Their worse performance has been in spending too much so there were no reserves for the bad times and selling off gold at low prices to make it worse and whether you say banking regulation would have been different under any other leader. Also there seem to be a lot of processes creating red tape and an official excuse culture, excessive surveillance, a return of sleeze, and a form of denial about immigration as exemplified by Mrs Duffy.
The Conservatives seem to be offering to reduce the processes and blame culture and to stop red tape. Also David Cameron is a more mellow leader than previous ones in terms of social, education, health, environment and the EU. The downside is that the inheritance tax threshold increase is too generous and the school creation policy might be at the expense of other schools. Their message seems to be that they are a change from Labour.
No party offers you everything you want and they are always have policies you don’t like. Who-ever wins it’s going to be tough with the massive financial deficit. In conclusion if I had a say, on balance, Nick Clegg would be the third man. Who would be the first man – posted the vote last week.
Daily visiting an elderly relative last week at RPH. Got a bit of a routine of getting an Evening Post. Today a young woman was giving the counter staff a telling off for some slight and was oblivious to everyone thinking she was the problem. You never know what stress visitors are under in a hospital and the staff are probably used to it.
It’s a very busy place. Arrive around 2pm and security are controlling traffic as the car parks are packed. Even so, someone has conveniently left as I arrived almost each time, but at £1.50 a day plus an Evening Post it’s adding up. Long walk and climb the stairs. From above the buildings cover an area bigger than a football pitch on a single floor. 70’s style design looks inefficient. How about some car parking on that big flat roof.
The staff have been very good although there are so many people in different coloured uniforms and a lot of them say they’re only passing through or it’s not their bit. Finding who to talk to is a problem. The nurses have limited scope to advise as they are performing routines prescribed by the doctor and don’t make judgements. Finding a doctor is another matter, I haven’t found one yet. They seem to be on ward in the morning well away from visiting time.
On the ward each bed has a personal TV and Radio which seems good but it costs £5 a day. Who pay’s that much? Didn’t they have free TV on the wards before.
Visiting in the evening or weekend is recommended, being able to park easily makes it more relaxed. Overall I thought the hospital seems to be doing a good job but something should be done about the traffic and car parking and the price of the TV. Maybe a patient information point in the ward with an occasional doctor present would be useful. Think there’s another week ahead of the same.
Today at 5pm the Preston based national football museum closed at the historic Deepdale football stadium. The displays will next be presented in Manchester in 2011 in the modern Urbis building with the ski-run roof.
The trustees said there is still an opportunity for Preston to have a second NFM. Perhaps, and perhaps a platitude, not burning all your bridges or let’s leave safely, then whisper insults and blow raspberries when we’re out.
After the raspberry, here are the sour grapes. This move isn’t a sure fire winner. It’s very expensive. Urbis wasn’t a popular success despite plenty of advertising and it will be interesting to learn if the nearby new Peoples History Museum is a success. We’ve walked past a few times and never seen anyone going in. Manchester has one of the best science and industry museums in the country and it has the Imperial War Museum North. There are some good art galleries as well. Fitting in other lesser museums isn’t easy, so to date we’ve not fitted in the Peoples History Museum even though we park next door. Maybe it’s a different audience.
Hard not to want it to be a success in reality though.
Leaders Debate number 2 last night. Not riveting, these politicians can talk, but that’s what they do. Agree with Gordon that what they say is more important than how they look. Although you could add will they do what they say. Only Gordon has a history in office and many might say things never seem quite as advertised.
Then there is good old Dave standing as the person to bring change. There isn’t a massive message though, seems to be more a change from Gordon. Big Society was one but didn’t get much airing. Being in Europe but not a pawn of Europe seemed to be a theme although the European grouping that Dave has joined seems a bit unknown. Dave is looking a gentler leader than those of old and he needs to be as things have moved on a long way in the last 30 years in terms of care, sexuality, race and expectation.
Nick as new boy on the block, looks sincere and stands his ground. His policies seem a change but it set me thinking of the lyrics to Imagine by John Lennon. Imagine there’s no countries, it isn’t hard to do. Nick has no religion too. You may say that I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one. Their policies are left of the Labour Party and Gordons call to ‘get real’ on nuclear power and defence seemed a good point. Nick also likes saying buying more Eurofighters is a waste of money and that’s before his defence review, although the other parties haven’t played their hand on this one.
When it comes to putting an X in the box what actually happens might be a surprise. Protesting is one thing, but many might think 5 years of a similar government isn’t what was really wanted. There is a big question that a vote for Nick Clegg is a vote for Gordon Brown to continue as PM. Although the LibDems could say no partnership while Mr Brown is the leader, no-one has said that. He could continue as a minority leader and the SNP / PC and others might help it. Then again SNP v Labour could cost Labour a lot in Scotland, or maybe not. The Conservatives seem to be buffeted on conflicting currents relating to other parties and need to come forward with a big message to get back above it. Interesting couple of weeks ahead, so surprise or no surprise won’t be that surprising.
Since the leaders debate Nick Clegg has grown into a giant. A clever and catchy campaign slogan, unofficial perhaps and penned by Gordon Brown, of ‘I agree with Nick’ has become a mantra. The debate has brought the Lib Dems into the spotlight and seems to have brought a lot of younger people to take an interest as they have been enrolling to vote in high numbers. Both of these are good as it reduces the lack of choice argument and involves more people into the voting process. In countries like Australia it’s illegal not to vote, that might be a bit too far for most, but more involvement is needed.
The spotlight has also brought debate onto policies in the LibDem manifesto. There are what appear very good ones like raising the income tax threshold. Nick Clegg is against the police holding the DNA records of people not convicted and reform of parliament comes high. Some appear a bit over-enthusiastic: no prison sentences less than 6 months, quiet enthusiasm for the Euro, illegal immigrant amnesty, no Trident. Although listening to an explanation of these on the radio the spokesman appeared to water them down. Perhaps they’re not as clearcut, or they could be just a beginning of more to come. For example he said the amnesty is only for a select few, Trident could be extended and the alternative isn’t clear.
Trident is a key issue. Many would say it’s more than defence. It’s about a national position. To be able to promote UK interests and resist pressure to accept policies we don’t like. Either by being at the top table in international forums or bi-laterally with emerging nuclear states. Some people put a financial cost on this but it’s real value might be a way of life or more acceptance of other peoples preferences.
Today, flights all over northern Britain have been grounded because of volcanic ash from Iceland. Quite a coincidence to have these northerly winds at the same time as a volcano erupts. Look out for bright sunsets.
Many years ago a BA flight over Malaysia flew into a volcanic cloud, all four engines went out and the windscreen was sandblasted. A great story if you can find the full transcript. After gliding out of the ash the pilot managed to restart the engines but couldn’t see out of the windscreen. He landed successfully to much acclaim.
You might think the aircraft could fly lower or higher where there is less ash. Aircraft fly into desert airports with sand blowing about. Is this an over-reaction and total risk aversion. A bit of a surprise to wake up with this announcement when nothing had been publicly threatened as late as 11pm last night and the volcano has been erupting for some time. Also not a lot of news about how long this might continue and what flight alternatives are being offered people. Overall seems to be being covered more like a show than a major disruption. Few questions are being asked about whether it’s an over-reaction and why was there no notice.
A battling win over Scunthorpe yesterday coupled with defeats for Sheffield Wednesday and Crystal Palace means that Preston will definitely be playing in the Championship in season 2010/11. Unless some amazing scandal creates a points deduction.
Although both Wednesday and Palace can in isolation get more points it is one of those happy coincidences that they have a game against each other, so one must fail to pass PNE.
In reality they’ll be lucky to get many more points at all but it’s good to have it settled.
With the pressure off they should play better and Darren Ferguson can get a proper look at the team. Sean St Ledger is getting a lot of criticism from the fans in the Evening Post, yet when he left on loan it seemed he’d taken the teams spirit. After believing that Neil Mellor would be the next Alex Dawson I’m no longer going to add my support for SSL but as big clubs think he’s good enough to consider, I’d be looking at other reasons than his skill for his performance.
Our fourth review seeking the effect of political parties on the region around Preston. This time it’s head to head with the Conservatives and Labour. Not only head to head but neck and neck in some places.
With no major policy announcements yet it isn’t easy to know who’s really the best for this area. The manifesto’s are due out next week and it will be useful if they have snappy bullet lists like the UKIP one rather than only being long-winded multi-paged affairs.
The most interesting seat in the area is South Ribble which is a key Conservative target. Yet this seat is said to have a high number of people working in public services and this might favour the incumbents as they have created a bigger public service sector. It’s also been said, in the Times newspaper, that a seat like South Ribble in the south of England would be a comfortable Conservative seat. How many Labour voting but secretly Conservatives are there in South Ribble?
At present only the Liberal Democrats have made statements about where they might seek to balance the economy, and defence is one of their targets with the locally produced Eurofighter specifically mentioned. The other parties are shying away from such statements in case it scares off voters because they’re so close. No doubt this area has benefitted from the large amount of work in defence.
The Conservatives by not increasing National Insurance appear to have more money to make up than Labour especially when coupled with their planned inheritance tax give-away and now a marriage tax give-away. Will this mean they need to tax more and cut more, elsewhere. How painless can this be?
The Social Services budget dwarfs all other budgets and is equivalent to education, health and defence combined. Both parties are making comforting noises about health and in reality defence is so small now that to get big savings could seriously affect our capability. That could affect how consequential we are in world affairs and business. Would we make it obvious we couldn’t defend the Falklands for example and cease to court American favour for our UN, NATO and IMF positions by reducing our commitments to their support.
This leaves Social Services and Education as the only meaty budgets left. The other way is to raise money from efficiency, taxes and perhaps taking an optimistic view on growth.
Other issues such as parliamentary integrity, and if we look a bit further afield into East Lancashire can we expect any reflection from the European Parliament election when the BNP won a place, might have more influence on voting for major parties than thought as little is being said about either at present.
At this time for those who are looking for a divide between the parties it isn’t obvious beyond traditional loyalties. So do we like Gordon or David?
David Cameron seems decent and genuine and it isn’t easy for a fair person to find a bad character trait. It’s difficult to criticise someone for being wealthy because of their birth when it’s said you can’t criticise for other birth traits like poverty, race and religion. It isn’t automatic that you are of a type because you’re wealthy, and frequently such an upbringing creates a more natural leadership style. You might worry whether those behind him have the same characteristic but you could say the same about elite school Tony Blair in 1997 and those believed to be class warriors and politically correct behind him.
Gordon Brown is defending opinion about whether he’s done a good job over 13yrs and there are those who criticise his style. In many areas like health and education things are better. The economy after following the post 1991 trend did well until late and Mr Brown says the current recession is a worldwide problem. Many will believe he must take some blame for Britain’s worse than most economic predicament. Claiming to abolish boom and bust, celebrating in light touch regulation and glorying in how London was beating New York because we had little regulation seem to now have been poor judgements. Countries like Australia had stronger banking regulation and no bank problem. Mr Brown also started the run on final salary pensions with a new tax, which is something that worries many. Then turning on the spending tap too exuberantly, causing a house price boom and selling gold at its lowest price might not have been good judgement. Perhaps if you’re around so long then such a list is bound to appear.
Then you could look at the teams. Preferences in the teams could be: Mr Brown has David and Ed Miliband and Liam Byrne who regularly give strong and likeable showings. David Cameron has George Osborne and Michael Gove as good support, although George Osborne sometimes has an image problem but has done well so far in the campaign. Nick Clegg has Vince Cable who is popular but often doesn’t come over too strongly. It is to be expected that the party in power has a stronger team as they have all the information and have been on TV more. Also the current government has refused to give access to information for opposition parties.
In conclusion it seems that at present politicians are arguing about small issues when we want to know how economy will be fixed. Only the Liberals have directly threatened Lancashire jobs although all parties have hinted there are threats. We’ve had 13 years of Labour with the first half looking good and the last half deteriorating and then the party ending.
Is it 5 more years of the same, a short time of compromise, or time to give someone else a go? It’s still a close call. Will the manifesto’s and TV debates bring out anything new.
Bad run continues. Fortunately fan friendly Alan Irvine did us a favour with Sheffield Wednesday losing at home. Sheff W are looking sick but not dead.
Difficult to imagine that if PNE stay in the Championship that they will be transformed enough to remain in it next year. Also low expectation makes getting new players and retaining decent players more difficult. Particularly with the like of Leeds coming into the Championship.
They won’t sack Darren though, he’ll be given more time. A solution could be to bring in a mentor although hard to imagine who that would be, particularly with his father being a top manager, and so it won’t happen.
The bottom is getting closer but if they can’t get 3 more points they deserve to go down. Sheff Wed have a high probability of not getting more points than Preston currently have. At the moment it still looks like Sheff W, Plymouth and Peterborough to go down. Although all the games for Crystal Palace are relegation battlers or promotion contenders.
Remaining games:
Preston v Scunthorpe – fellow strugglers, but PNE will win 2-0 and kill the stress.
Coventry v Preston. Coventry have nothing to play for.
Preston v Leicester – Leicester are playing for promotion and are a point above Blackpool.
Reading v Preston – Reading should have nothing to play for by then but….
Sheffield Wed play Middlesbrough, Sheff U, Cardiff, Crystal P.
Crystal P play QPR, Derby, West Brom, Sheff W.
Scunthorpe play Preston, Bristol C, Reading, Doncaster, Notts F.
Watford play Plymouth, Leicester, QPR, Reading, Coventry.
A food market is to be held on Friargate in Preston in August selling only food made in Lancashire. If this can be achieved it will be a great opportunity to find out just what is made in the locality. There might be surprises.
Lancashire Cheese comes immediately to mind. Then again Rocky Bars are made in Kirkham, a stall of Rocky Bars sounds pretty good. Beeches chocolates made in Preston, not what you’d normally find on a market, as they try to be more up-market than market, but why not.
Is Bury classed as Lancashire or is it Greater Manchester – black pudding display. Thwaites Beer from Blackburn and maybe Boddingtons and Stella Artois from Samlesbury. What could be more Lancashire than Stella Artois. Cains from Liverpool, whoops Merseyside not Lancashire.
Fishermans Friend of Fleetwood, Burtons biscuits in Blackpool, not to mention a stick of rock from Coronation Rock, Greenhalgh’s bakery. Hollands Pies and Uncle Joes of Wigan not Lancashire. Warburtons of Bolton in Greater Manchester. Where is the boundary, is it county or palatine. Are unitary authorities in Lancashire. Don’t be pedantic.
Hope it’s not all eggs, sausages, pies and cheese.
It will be interesting to find out who Lancashire residents preferred suppliers should be. To find one new decent product made locally, bring it on.
The third of our political comments looking at what is being offered at the General Election. What will the LibDems do in the Preston region and what are their policies.
The Liberal Democrats got quite a good percentage of the vote overall at the last election but in our voting system the number of seats is no-where near representative. Although you can say that for the Conservatives as well who polled almost as many votes as Labour. The LibDems will support change to the system, it’s in their interest, and the election after this one should be the target, unless it’s in 4 months.
Reading the LD policies on their website there are some good ideas. Although I don’t find any mention of the opinions frequently expressed by senior party members that seem to effect the biggest wealth generators in our area. For example Sir Menzies Campbell, Norman Lamb and Vince Cable frequently express strong distate about the defence and nuclear industry and conflicts in general. Although don’t we all, but to different degrees. It isn’t known what exactly they would do if they had any mandate as their website isn’t very precise on defence. It says:
‘Move away from a Cold War-style posture towards a more relevant armed forces structure. If we are to continue to have the capability to be a force for good in the world we need far greater cooperation with our NATO and EU partners. Liberal Democrats do not believe that the UK can afford the billions of pounds the Government wants to spend on a like-for-like replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system We believe that less expensive alternatives should be considered.’
Noting the word ‘considered’ which isn’t ruling anything out including keeping Trident, although that seems unlikely. I’d be surprised if the RAF and Trident survived without big cuts. To be fair George Osborne also hinted at RAF cuts on Typhoon. The case for Trident includes that other countries are moving towards nuclear options, international security has a tendency to sudden change faster than our defences can change, the nuclear option provides an ultimate deterrent and greater influence in the world not only in defence but well into the ‘food’ and status chain, a joint European force with France and reducing dependance are interesting options.
The LibDem defence policy makes me immediately quite hostile but the rest of their policies have some interest. From their website:
‘Raise the threshold at which people start paying income tax from current levels to £10,000, cutting the average working age person’s income tax bill by £700 and cutting pensioner’s income tax bills by £100. These plans will mean that almost 4 million people on low incomes will no longer have to pay any income tax at all.’
It seems ridiculous to pay tax when you’re on the minimum wage and I’ve long thought this LibDem policy their best and I’d expect them to do it without caveat unlike the other parties.
‘Liberal Democrats are the only party which believes university education should be free and everyone who has the ability should be able to go to university and not be put off by the cost.’
Doesn’t actually say they’ll make it free though and the term ‘who has the ability’ is adaptable. That the UK should have universities that equal the best in the world is required as well and this needs a lot of money.
‘Drive a massive programme of investment in renewable energy sources such as wind, wave and solar. We will also transform the National Grid into a smart decentralised grid which will respond dynamically to the changing patterns of energy demand.’
No nuclear station at Heysham perhaps, will the hills be alive with the sound of windmills. This could be a very expensive policy.
‘Unlike the Conservatives we oppose all airport expansion serving London and the South East and so would block expansion at Stansted and Gatwick as well.’
Not really relevant to round here except it isn’t clear how this will effect the UK’s prosperity if decision makers for example find it easier to go to Paris and Amsterdam to do international business. The thought-to-be over-paid people are the ones who place 1,000’s of jobs so we need them here.
‘We will scrap central targets and guarantee that you get your treatment on time. We will give people the power to stop hospital closures in their area through elected local health boards.’
Laudable, although I had a course of serious treatment and the doctor assured me that the target setting would ensure I got the speedy treatment I was asking for, so I’ve never been sure about people making statements against targets.
In conclusion a selection of policies for a kindly Britain making fair and decent decisions in a world that in general doesn’t regard fairness or decency too high a requirement. This doesn’t sound like it will work for me. I have a fear of being part of something that is too decent to know they’ve been had.
As the season changed to spring so Preston North Ends season became autumn. The draw with Sheffield Wednesday put an end to hopes of a play-off place. After being ahead 2-0 a mad couple of minutes threw away 2 points that should have been in the bag.
Most supporters are now saying the playing has improved and there is some optimism about. Getting 8 more points doesn’t sound too difficult. Yet at Middlesbrough last night the impression was that PNE threw away points. The Championship has no guaranteed results there are a lot of decent teams who can turn it on given an opportunity. Getting those last points can’t be taken for granted although it would be a shock if it didn’t happen.
It was a surprise to read that clubs keep all their home gate receipts. If that is the case then PNE have definitely exceeded expectations and Trevor Hemmings is to be thanked even more. Yet Burnley and now Blackpool are above PNE and their gates are worse. It used to seem best if PNE went into the Premier League only if they had a team that looked like it might not get thrashed every week. That view seems a bit out of place with clubs like Hull and Burnley always looking for the taking but winning bragging rights. Best to have your day in the spotlight. Billy Davies was North Ends most recent best chance and another season for him would have been a very strong bet, but for whatever reason he went. So now all hangs on Darren Ferguson and he knows he also hangs on his results as PNE are on a pivot point in this phase of their existance.
Yesterday I attended a 4 hour talk at Alston Hall by Stephen Sartin, one of Prestons most knowledgeable local historians as well as art expert. The subject was ‘Preston through its maps’. The subject of Preston and of maps creates double appeal to myself and I wasn’t disappointed. Even though Stephen did his usual trick of having enough material to talk for days even though I think he could talk for days on a single slide and no-one would mind at all.
Starting at Ptolemy in AD150 the Ribble estuary was clearly shown. Roman routes and then through time to maps of the 19th century along with pictures of what the maps were showing. The story of the Battle of Preston was presented as a battle commentary, John Simpson eat your heart out, using a map showing the burning houses and troop positions. We followed the progress of the troops coming up from the river and the fighting and burning along Church Street. As well as the positions to the north of the town and their push into the centre.
We were treated to the development of the town from its core in the Flag Market and Town Hall. The speculation about the origin of the orchard or garden now under the covered market. Also the story of the fine alibastar church mantle given to Preston by Queen Mary and possibly also buried under the covered market which was the site of the vicarage of St John’s. An excuse to dig up the floor of the covered market is required to check this.
Mr Sartin gives regular talks at Alston Hall usually about Preston with a couple more coming up soon. Not to mention the magnificent lunch that Alston Hall is renowned for and its coffee break refreshments especially the cakes after the talk. A good day. To be recommended.
While I’m on the theme of strikes, todays papers say 8,000 British Gas fitters have voted to go on strike over bullying by management. The BBC say the union haven’t told British Gas what the dispute is about although it seems a bit improbable. The GMB website says the workers are being pressurised to provide customer satisfaction and in contradiction cut costs and says that is bullying.
Standing at a distance it seems another case of a union bringing out its sledgehammer over what seems a minor issue although a large number have voted in support. Are the unions taking advantage of this period before the general election because they think the government will try and sort it behind the scenes rather than it appearing to be another 1979 winter of discontent. Union leaders and politicians scent weakness and like to make the most of it.
Rail strikes threatened. The RMT union are very busy at the moment with threatened strikes about whether signalmen work 3 days or 4 days and about re-structuring of maintenance staff resulting in 1500 redundancies out of 18,000 staff. In Scotland they’ve been on strike about who opens train doors. In all these cases the staff and union are claiming safety issues about the changes.
It appears the signalmen are looking for a lesser action than a strike although that usually results in a more prolonged dispute, they’ve already been talking about these changes for 3 years so there’s no hurry for them. While the maintenance men seem enthusiastic about taking redundancy, leaving the safety issue as a lone factor. Another curious thing is that the strikes are being spoken of as being at Easter but the leader of the RMT, Bob Crowe, said the railway is usually shut for maintenance at Easter and buses are used. Bit of a surprise. So he’s saying passengers aren’t inconvenienced at Easter. Although the maintenance will still need to be done and if safety is their worry and they’re not maintaining the track it seems a bit of a double standard.
Ever increasing regulation and improvements to standards will result in costs that we can no longer afford. Efficiencies must also be found. From what I can gather no-one has been threatened with compulsory redundancy on the railway and surely the managers and regulator have safety at the top of their agenda. So should they be on strike. Is there more to this dispute? No doubt, but what agenda; is it politics, opportunist power with the government vulnerable at this point in time.
Meanwhile, like at British Airways, will you be planning a trip using the railway if there is another way? Many will, but I wouldn’t. Then again with the pot-holed roads the car has square wheels and loose suspension, not looking forward to its MOT. Perhaps best to not go so far this Easter.
The LEP reports that the sale of Miller Arcade has fallen through. The building is looking in good condition and quite welcoming although it doesn’t have many shops in it and seems a bit isolated. It’s on the corner of the shopping area with nothing beyond it to create passing trade. Although it could be said that the new bus station, if it’s ever built, will rejuvenate that area. But perhaps not as both routes into the current bus station aren’t what you aspire to with a building like the Miller Arcade.
Miller Arcade is beautiful building fully worthy of its Grade II listing. When inside with the doors it’s quite welcoming and sheltered although perhaps the doors deter entrance and make it less obvious what is inside. With an uncertain future it can’t be guaranteed that it will be properly maintained and many buildings in such a situation get lost to fires. It is said the council are hoping the Heritage Lottery Fund will provide some cash although what would be done with it isn’t said, as the building looks alright on the surface. The problem appears to be location.
Recently Blackpool Council made a bid to buy it’s two iconic buildings, the Winter Gardens and the Tower, with the help of a European Re-generation Grant. That the Conservative Blackpool council is taking buildings into public ownership while the Labour Preston Council is seeking private solutions appears to be the wrong way round. Buildings like Miller Arcade are more than commodities to be bought and sold. St Georges was sold and personally I wouldn’t worry if it disappeared. But Miller Arcade is irreplaceable. The council should be involved at least in the investment to ensure it is maintained as one of Prestons icons and that the main shopping area is driven more in its direction.
The government announced its proposed 250mph High Speed Rail link plan today with a Y shaped network. The line to Birmingham from Euston is to be first followed by a line to Manchester and a separate one from Birmingham to Sheffield and Leeds. With the first full speed trains running all the way to Birmingham around 2027.
Sounds great but still a lot of questions to be asked. The biggest one being will it ever reach Preston.
Will there be a full capability link to Scotland. Will it go up the west or east coast or both or remain a slower line. Liverpool is on a spur from Manchester so will Glasgow be on a spur from Edinburgh via Newcastle on the east coast. That could mean Preston missing out.
Protests from people living on the route will be considered with one person in the Chilterns saying they aren’t convinced of its value – yet living only 20 miles from London it has no value to them. Although I wouldn’t want the line near us particularly if it spoilt nice areas of green. The M40 cuts through the Chilterns and has created an ugly gash in Englands green and pleasant, lets do better than that. Maybe using the existing West Coast Line in that area is a better solution although it might lead to years of unacceptable disruption.
The Conservatives are listening to the people on the route and looking at a line via Heathrow. That seems to have some sense as cutting out flights is one of its purposes. Although a line further west via Heathrow might be less politically messy for the Conservatives or is it just expediency not to announce it now.
The other issue is the timeframe. It’s so far in the future that it might be overtaken by technology. The Conservatives have said they’ll pull it 2 years forward which sounds better but not good enough. It should be planned for it to run to Manchester in 2020 at the latest although it is said we can only afford £2bn a year and the London crossrail is spending that till 2017.
The technology will probably all be imported into the country that built the first trains. Surely we can do better than that, where are the British companies that can do this.
Other countries are now building trains that run on magnetic fields and by 2027 will the HST begin to look like the stagecoach and horses. The canals and original railways were built quicker.
Another influence will be for Preston to be the link for the north west, outside Manchester. Building Tithebarn will make Preston that much more of a convincing destination.
This line, if it was available now would change the idea of travel and bring more wealth to every area it touches. It would be possible to commute to London. Birmingham would be a stones throw away from most regions. Reducing flights from Manchester to London as well. The downside of that is that the prices would need to be high or the line won’t have enough capacity. To have fast trains from Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds converging with the Birmingham trains on one line will have an almost constant frequency.
The French found that they built too many stations and it slowed the line and reduced capacity so the regional philosophy sounds about right.
The line is planned to within 5 metres it is said so lots to think about, need more information.
Council taxes have hardly increased in 2010 / 11. That appears to be good news although I’m a bit sceptical about why, just before a General Election. Mustn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
Preston has increased its Band D from £1566 to £1577. Doesn’t sound a big increase but it sounds like a lot of money. Considering it’s a tax paid after tax. Add on your income tax, National Insurance and it really costs around £2000 per household at the mid-band, D. Some houses pay twice that and there are proposals from the Liberal Democrats to add an extra tax for houses over £1m. They also propose a local tax that will get rid of council tax.
Fire and Police are about £200 for all regions of Lancashire.
Preston has its own rate and that is added to Lancashire’s which is £1108, unchanged. Unitary councils like Blackburn have the one rate which at Band D is £1476, up £30 this year. While Blackpool is £1516, up £40.
Other parts of Lancashire like South Ribble pay £1521, Fylde £1486. Although many of the rural villages have Parish Councils that charge up to £30 on top of that.
Overall the people of Preston pay the highest council tax in the region.
The National Trust list of properties doesn’t have much in this area. Rufford Hall and Formby are the two most local sites. Gawthorpe Hall is in East Lancashire. Then you head into Cheshire or Cumbria for the next ones.
Across England; Lincolnshire and Norfolk seem to be similarly poorly represented. Is it that these were more cut-off when large properties were being built, are they in private hands or council owned. Probably the first. In the area I can only think of Lytham Hall that might be of enough stature to become an NT property although it hasn’t much inside it.
At over £70 a year for a family membership you need to visit at least 6 properties a year to get value from your membership, although some might not view it that way. After a while Dunham Massey, Quarry Bank Mill and Tatton Park become a bit too familiar. Speke Hall is quite good but it’s a bit close to the city and not as relaxed to reach. The best houses in Cumbria are privately owned: Holker and Levens.
National Trust, what are you doing for Lancashire?
