Public opinion: Your blogs

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Public opinion is New Start’s forum for discussion. Blog entries are posted by site members from all over the sector, and discussion of the topics presented is encouraged. Becoming a member is completely free and gives you the opportunity to help contribute to the most exciting portal for regeneration, economic development and sustainable communities on the web. Site membership is now open, and you can be registered and begin submitting entries in less than 5 minutes! Just use the links at the top of the page.

blog entries

Crispin Moor

Austerity in rural England…. any glimmers in the darkness?

There has been so much speculation and projection about the scale and impacts of future public austerity measures. It’s mostly pretty depressing stuff. Let me add to this! The literature on this subject has largely been silent on the possible impacts on rural people and places.

So, we in …

Posted on Friday, 22nd January 2010 | This entry has 3 comment(s)

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Crispin Moor
Julian Dobson

If not now, then when? If not us, then who?

How serious are we about asking the difficult questions about our futures and grappling with the issues they raise? I thought last week's Regeneration Momentum conference might offer some pointers. What it offered was in insight into how far we have to go - and a realisation that …

Posted on Tuesday, 19th January 2010 | This entry has 3 comment(s)

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Julian Dobson
Simon Cooke

Why Heseltine is wrong man to lead on regeneration

Why, given the failure of all Michael Heseltine’s prior efforts at regeneration, are we bringing him back to advise the Conservative Party on a ‘green paper’?

‘Failure’, I hear you exclaim, ‘but surely Hezza’s a regeneration superstar?’ Followed I guess by talking about intervening every verse end, clearing …

Posted on Monday, 18th January 2010 | This entry has 6 comment(s)

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Simon Cooke
Toby Blume

US citizens lead charge towards better banking

A few months ago I wrote about what we can learn from the US banking system (albeit a system that caused the global credit crunch and subsequent recession). Last week President Obama announced a new "financial crisis responsibility fee" to claw back some of the public funds …

Posted on Monday, 18th January 2010 | This entry has 0 comment(s)

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Toby Blume
Hilary Burrage

The big WHY?

There's an awful lot of advice out there at the moment, about how to cope with / take advantage of / simply survive the new economic and social climate (not to mention the environmental one) which we are assured we now all face.

Well, I'm sure it's true …

Posted on Sunday, 17th January 2010 | This entry has 0 comment(s)

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Hilary Burrage
Matthew Scott

Community contracts - refreshing or recycling?

Are Community Contracts just another in a long line of recycled ideas indicative of a deeper poverty of ambition at the heart of government?

Surely we have had similar pilots since at least the 1970s.

What immediately arises from the …

Posted on Wednesday, 13th January 2010 | This entry has 0 comment(s)

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Matthew Scott
Julian Dobson

Five challenges on the way to rethinking growth

Unless you're a redneck, a dinosaur or a Pollyanna, you'll probably agree with the proposition that we need to reduce our collective impact on the environment.

If you're reading this, it's also probable that you're among the 20% of the world's population who between them use …

Posted on Wednesday, 13th January 2010 | This entry has 1 comment(s)

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Julian Dobson
Neil McInroy

Scrap the deluded principles of economic regeneration

At a recent conference, I heard an otherwise sane academic tell us that the principles of regeneration – which were sound in the good times – will see us through the bad times. 

What a delusion!  Economic regeneration worked in part, but failed in some key areas. …

Posted on Thursday, 7th January 2010 | This entry has 16 comment(s)

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Neil McInroy
Rosie Niven

Olympic organisers plan for festival atmosphere

Tim Henman may never have won Wimbledon, but the former world number four tennis player has made a mark on an even bigger British sporting event – the London 2012 Olympics.

You might remember that Aorangi Terrace, the Lawn Tennis Club's picnic spot, was dubbed Henman Hill after …

Posted on Wednesday, 6th January 2010 | This entry has 0 comment(s)

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Rosie Niven
Julian Dobson

Why is it so hard to be soft?

Soft and hard are strange words. They carry a lot of baggage, a lot of it gender-based. And much of it involves value-judgements that are questionable at best.

I've been thinking a bit about this as I've been researching the second part of a series of …

Posted on Wednesday, 6th January 2010 | This entry has 0 comment(s)

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Julian Dobson
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Most recent comments

You don't have to be a site member to comment on any of our blogs, but as a member you can contribute your own and start debate and discussion on what matters to YOU in the sector.

  • John I share your uncertainty and unhappiness around the ‘well yes its macro but we have to start at the local’ mantra. Aside of the technical and statistical aspects of this debate, there is also the impact on the more qualitative or ‘people’ side. People who are disadvantaged, excluded or …

  • Edward on 15th March 2010:
    Inequalities of motivation

  • Sorry to hear that the company has had to fold, Nigel, but really glad that you’re going to continue your involvement with West Rhyl First. At North Wales Housing we’ve become involved over the past year or so and we’re excited about what the project might achieve. We’ve completed work …

  • Paul Diggory on 12th March 2010:
    Phoenix from the flames: the rebirth of Rhyl

  • As the Chairman for the Anti Poverty Network Cymru, I would like to say how sad it is that the West Rhyl Community Company is closing its doors forever. WRCC have backed our organisation from day one and their help and support has been exceptional to the fight against poverty. …

  • Ian Mather on 10th March 2010:
    Phoenix from the flames: the rebirth of Rhyl

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