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COUNCIL SMASH AND GRAB
What is the latest news to come from
"smash and grab" Derby? We are now told
that we need a £33m centre for cyclists. It's
all visionary stuff, with an artist's impression
and enthusiastic comments from vested interests.
It's very similar to the current theme of
artists' impressions and projections for the
future, with the promise of golden opportunities
for tourism, jobs, cultural revival etc. Of
course, this might stand out if it didn't clash
with everything else that is happening in Derby,
from the demolition of old Derby for houses and
flats to the demolition of the bus station, the
old police station and the Five Lamps area for
roads, more houses and flats, casinos, shopping
malls and drinking havens.
We are told that it's for the good of the city
and important for the future of the city and the
people of Derby. In the case of the Company of
Cyclists, managing director Jim McGurn is quoted
as saying that his company chose Derby because,
"It's the right size and it hasn't got a
major tourist attraction." Generally
speaking, tourist attractions in cities tend to
be based on the historical context of the place
in which they are situated. Also, do we need a
"major tourist attraction" in light of
the fact that, in Derby, everything that could be
used to create one is being knocked down under
the pressure from profit-making conglomerates?
How about a scheme to build a tourist attraction
with a Viking theme where the only remains that
have been found and investigated archaeologically
are Roman? How about an arts centre where another
open space, a military memorial garden now
stands? What about a new Council House? Derby has
lost its way. The politicians who run it seem to
be a bunch of uninspired yes-men. Every major
building block that could help Derby to recover
from decades of neglect, from Elvaston Castle to
the Roundhouse, is broken up and thrown on to the
altar of private commercial interest.
Whatever happened to shrewd housekeeping, to
prudent and smart decision-making, to
statesmanship? The question must be: do we need a
city council at all? Why not just have a
committee of local businessmen? At least, let's
have people who might gain some advantage from
selling off the family silver, not a group of
people bumping into one another in the darkness,
trying to prove to the people who voted them in
their reason for being there.
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