Interesting survey just published:

England’s ‘two track’ cities show different growth
09 July 2007

England’s cities are growing but at two different rates, according to a new report published today (Monday) by the Centre for Cities at ippr. The report includes a new index of performance indicators which combine different measures of employment, population and skills.

The report shows that, based on their employment, population growth and skills, England’s top five performing cities are:

Reading
Bristol
Southampton
Cambridge
York
The report also shows that, based on their employment, population growth and skills, England’s bottom five performing cities are:

Newcastle
Sunderland
Birmingham
Middlesbrough
Liverpool

http://www.ippr.org/centreforcities/pressreleases/?id=2787

Has any of those top cities ever accomplished anything else apart from appearing on modern stats?

Bollox to the lot of it, this stuff just reinforces poor stereotypes of Liverpool and its people. :PDT_Xtremez_12:

Just seen an interesting and well balanced feature on North West Tonight about this issue. The feature showed how the council accepts much of the reports findings as Warren Bradley admitted that North Liverpool one of the countries poorest districts has serious problems which need to be tackled.

It's no good sticking our head in the sand and pretending there is no problem when in places like Everton most people are on incapacity benefit when the city centre is booming. Is it a case of can't work won't work?

The City Centre may be thriving, even though it will soon be lego land blandness come 2008, but the Echo Arena is a godsend. Liverpool needed a big stadium for god knows how long.

But as Suburban pointed out, our districts are the sh*ts. Speke, Everton, Norris Green, parts of Croxteth are an eyesore. Ok maybe thats to do with the scum that ruin anything that gets put up for the community (see Norris Green Sports Centre with constant arson attacks) but the fact is a lot of these places are undernourished if you like.

And with all this work in City Centre, making the divide between the professionals who live in Luxury Apartments in the area and the working class struggling to make ends meet in other areas even bigger.

Liverpool is only growing in one area, and only people with money already are reaping the benefits. The rest of us are left behind with our blinded Scouse Pride.

The Echo Arena? Is that the name for the new Stadium?

Speke's more soulless that ****.

I responded to this news in the Deprivation in Liverpool thread elsewhere. I hate the way the term 'deprived' is used in this manner to reduce people to economic units. Overall, I take it with a pinch of salt because it's too generalised to be truly meaningful. The most deprived communities and the richest communities in the country are in the same city (London). Liverpool was rated 14th for employment growth (higher than London), so it suggests that that even by the criteria used for this comparative analysis it's not all doom and gloom!

Nor is the picture painted in this study universal accross Liverpool. Overall, south Liverpool (even including its deprived parts) performs at the national average or above in most areas. The majority of its teenagers go on to university, mortality rates are in the average range etc. Overall, property prices are higher in South Liverpool than they are in the city centre and amenities are better so Liverpool's prosperity is not exclusive to its city centre.

Bradley mentioned North Liverpool as an area of concern but I think it's a mistake to talk about north Liverpool as though it is some undifferentiated entity. There are lots of areas in the north of the city that are potentially every bit as attractive as areas in the south of the city, if not more so Walton, for example and a cleaned up (in every way) Newsham Park... The task is around enabling these areas to make the most of their potential.

They could rehouse a fair few of us in all those empty apartments they're throwin' up in the city centre. :rolleyes:

Where are all these empty apartments? Over 60 of the ones in One Park West have been sold and it's only just been started. Surely if there was such an abundance of empty flats, and hence no demand for them, these knew blocks wouldn't be being built? The developers aren't stupid, they want a return for their investment.

See '35% of city centre flats are empty (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/tm_method=full&objectid=18952102&siteid=50061-name_page.html)' by Caroline Innes, Liverpool Daily Post, 24/04/2007

Mmm, Reading or Liverpool? Know where I'd rather live? I think those statistics are a few years out of date although as many have said, we've nothing to be complacent about, esp. in the suburbs
Julie

I think the issues of greatest concern are the lack of educational attainment and growing gap between rich and poor in the city. These two matters are, of course, not unrelated.

Where are all these empty apartments? Over 60 of the ones in One Park West have been sold and it's only just been started. Surely if there was such an abundance of empty flats, and hence no demand for them, these knew blocks wouldn't be being built? The developers aren't stupid, they want a return for their investment.

Which is what is happenning for the developers, its just speculators are buying them off plan then leaving them empty before selling them on at a later date

I think the issues of greatest concern are the lack of educational attainment and growing gap between rich and poor in the city. These two matters are, of course, not unrelated.

I agree, and added to this there appears to be a strong dependency culture in some parts of the city in which there is a belief that someone, somewhere is to blame for not providing them with the housing, employment, lifestyle that they deserve. I'm not denying structural inequalities and the mindset this gives rise to but ultimately unless people find their way out of it (through initiative, hard work, education, Big Brother, luck, whatever) they will risk being stuck where they are.

I agree, and added to this there appears to be a strong dependency culture in some parts of the city in which there is a belief that someone, somewhere is to blame for not providing them with the housing, employment, lifestyle that they deserve. I'm not denying structural inequalities and the mindset this gives rise to but ultimately unless people find their way out of it (through initiative, hard work, education, Big Brother, luck, whatever) they will risk being stuck where they are.

I agree completely. To say that there has only been growth in the city centre is wrong. Over the past ten years countless new schools have been built and new schemes created in areas like Everton and Kensington to help people get into work. Thousands of jobs have been created and the number of people on benefits has fallen dramatically and over the next year or so it will fall even more.
As the report stated Liverpool has seen one of the highest employment growths in the country which shows just how much work is being done. At the end of the day you can't expect to have a job handed to you. If you need a job and you want to get out of the benefits system and improve your life, you have to work for it and put the effort in.

I agree completely. To say that there has only been growth in the city centre is wrong. Over the past ten years countless new schools have been built and new schemes created in areas like Everton and Kensington to help people get into work. Thousands of jobs have been created and the number of people on benefits has fallen dramatically and over the next year or so it will fall even more.
As the report stated Liverpool has seen one of the highest employment growths in the country which shows just how much work is being done. At the end of the day you can't expect to have a job handed to you. If you need a job and you want to get out of the benefits system and improve your life, you have to work for it and put the effort in.

I don't expect people to be simply handed a job to them, sorry to say but there is a hardcore element in this city that will never accept a job because they prefer living on benefits, which has ruined the reputation of the local genuine unemployed who now play second fiddle to the hardworking Poles. But there must be a bit of common ground from those who govern us. Only have to look at the Big Dig and all the out of town construction companies working in the yet again modernised City Centre whilst our own Joiners and Bricklayers are having to travel out of town or sign on until something comes up.

Schemes in Kensington and Everton may help the few who get of there arses, but the areas are still rundown. Thats down to either bad or red taped policing, councils putting them low on agendas regarding repairs or bad management of the council itself. Some of the conditions of the houses are a disgrace and shouldn't house dogs never mind people. Saying that, its too good for the thug scum who will never allow an area to progress. But the working class of them areas are stuck in a rut.

Yet go the City Centre with the Luxury apartments which the average production worker would have to work 8 days a week to manage will have clean street by sunday morning following the saturday night festivities making the area a lovely place for the rich professionals and for bigwig visitors. Priorities in the City Centre to a degree is justifiable but there is a lot of neglect in other areas.

Which is what is happenning for the developers, its just speculators are buying them off plan then leaving them empty before selling them on at a later date

What is probably happening is the classic property speculation. A speculator buys "off-plan", gets a discount and an even larger one if he purchases more than one flat. He then pays a deposit with the full amount due on the flat's completion. The knack then is to sell the flat for an inflated price before the final payment is due. Those who get in early benefit from price inflation before they sell on. That way all that's been spent is the initial say 10% deposit on the discounted price. So in reality there is a two tier market in the purchase of these flats, one for the speculator and one for the average person who actually wants to live in the flat and gets no discount. This essentially means the average purchaser should avoid such properties like the plaque as they cannot compete with the property speculator who has access to large funds.

House freeze
Jul 11 2007
by David Bartlett, Liverpool Echo

HOUSE prices in Liverpool froze last year, making it the only city in the country to see zero growth. The average city house price stayed at £159,112 over the past 12 months.

Source: Liverpool Echo (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2007/07/11/house-freeze-100252-19438720/)

LIVERPOOL’S Capital of Culture status has helped attract the biggest share of foreign direct investment in any UK region outside London and the south east. Read (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/business-news/2007/07/04/08-attracts-record-foreign-investment-100252-19402871/)

With speculation comes risk, you take the risk of purchasing off plan, it could work out favorable but what happens if say another building is built right in front of your luxury penthouse that wasnt their at the time of purchase of your off plan apartment? And why not invest in property if you have the means to do it? Investment always carrys a risk off plan could carry significantly more.
kat