Public opinion: Your blogs

Celebrating an end to financial exclusion is premature

I went to an excellent conference organised by Runnymede Trust last week on financial inclusion and equality, which included a fine array of speakers and delegates from the financial services sector, community finance organisations and equalities groups.

 

 

Meanwhile in Worthing the revolution rolls on….

I took the now familiar trip to Worthing on Monday, not just to see Dan Thompson from the Revolutionary Arts Group (RAG), but 100 or so of his friends and colleagues who share his impatience with empty shops and the enthusiasm and drive to do something about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Public displays of construction present big opportunities to smaller firms

This year has presented tough challenges for firms of all sizes in all industries. There has been an urgent need to adopt a ‘business survival' approach to ensure the recession can be weathered.

But, despite many challenging financial pressures, one plus point for companies in construction and built environment sectors …

‘Welsh Rottweiler’ calls for harmony

‘It takes two hands to clap,’ Adrian Webb, chair of the Welsh Employment and Skills board told the audience at last week’s Welfare to Work Wales conference. ‘We need employment and skills systems that work in harmony.’

 

 

 

 

Tory plans will institutionalise Nimbyism

Not in my back yard objections have held up a number of new housing developments in the south-east of England, including eco-towns and urban extensions. One recent report (by the TCPA and Price Waterhouse Coopers) suggested Nimbyism was a major reason for the failure of government to deliver its new housing targets in the UK over the last ten years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seaside art leaves locals beached

I spent the end of last week at a conference at Butlin’s in Skegness which, as an academic interested in tourism and regeneration, seemed to me to be the perfect conference destination.

 

 

Exclusive trading

Reading a short biography of Robert Owen (by Stirling Smith, published by the Co-operative College) recently, a very short passage caught my attention:

 

‘...at this time great interest in the concept of exclusive trading, that is only shopping with retailers who supported progressive and democratic ideals. The chartists were particularly keen on this idea.'

The Yorkshire Expedition: Hard hats required

Our tour of Yorkshire last week covered 350 miles of road, seven locations, more than 20 speakers and countless exchanges of opinions and information.

 

The Yorkshire Expedition: Art at the heart?

At the end of Scarborough's Vincent Pier is a sculpture, the Diving Belle. Commissioned by the town's Civic Trust, it stands prominently at the entrance to the harbour and is illuminated at night. Some people hate it.

 

Localism needs a region

Localism needs to recognise that we do need some regional function/element. The regional development agencies and by association the notion of a regional tier of governance have been taking some flak in recent weeks.

It is now clear that both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats believe the RDAs need to be abolished. To date, the debate has largely been about form – the institution of RDAs. However, we desperately need a debate about function and what a localist agenda needs the regional function to do.