PNE 4th at end of February

Posted on 1 March 2009 by Pete of MIP

PNE are sitting in a great position after 35 games. Todays game against Ipswich was a ‘six pointer’ and Ipswich were on a run so the 3-2 win kept them in the play-off position. Only Sheffield United can move them out by winning games in hand so it is largely in North Ends hands.

At the moment there is little consistency in the whole division so anyone in the top half could go up. You might think that a club who can only get 12,000 on a game that could keep them in the running in the division isn’t going to do much in the Premier League.  They are doing well enough in the Championship and the money in Premier League should allow strengthening.  I’d have little confidence of enough strengthening though. So savour the moment.

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House prices in Lancashire

Posted on 28 February 2009 by Pete of MIP

Have house prices reached the bottom yet? 

There are a few sources of prices but the Land Registry is the only one that bases them on actual paid prices. The data from them is a bit slower than the Halifax and Nationwide which base their prices on valuers estimates of property which you’d think would differ from actual prices and might have some slant on them.

In January 2009 the Land Registry said average prices in Lancashire were £121,000. In December 2007 they peaked at £137,000. That’s nearly 12% down.  An overall average might hide that only cheaper houses are being sold, so really a comparison of say semi-detached would be more useful.

In August 2007 sales peaked at 2871. Since then they’ve come down to 697 in the last figures which are November 2008. A massive drop and one that must hurt estate agents, furniture removers and solicitors.

The national picture is worse than Lancashire with a decrease around 15% although the average price is £156,000.  So did Lancashire not reach as frothy a peak or is it lagging? In the Times it said the North West wouldn’t recover till around 2016, later than most places. Assume that meant recover to previous peaks.

The decline has continued in every month since the peak although a small shallowing of the curve has occurred lately.  Spring is coming and interest rates are very low. The government is encouraging banks to lend.  Banks only want to lend to low risk customers.  Job losses are being regularly announced.  Is this the bottom?  Would you take the plunge?  The froth has come off the top but it isn’t clear that it’s the bottom.

We’ve bought 2 houses and in both the value didn’t go up much for 5 years but then increased sharply before dropping off again. Like now.

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Female Referees

Posted on 21 February 2009 by Pete of MIP

BBC Radio 4 went to Leyland (north of Preston I’m sure she said) in their ‘Today’ current affairs programme at 8am this week. The Lancashire FA are training female referees and this was national news. The FA are looking for more female referees and they might one day referee major matches. The taxi driver was interviewed on the journey back to the station and he didn’t seem to think it was a good idea. Something about ladies not going into mud he said. I don’t see why not, but I wasn’t impressed that it appeared on the radio that one of the ladies couldn’t blow the whistle very well. The pea had stuck maybe.

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Preston Vision

Posted on 21 February 2009 by Pete of MIP

This week there’ve been a number of comments about the proposed Tithebarn project in Preston.  Preston Council says that developers will pay for a number of  improvements like the Guild Hall if it goes ahead and the North West Development Agency will contribute.  Otherwise the money will be lost.  On the other hand Blackpool and Blackburn Councils are objecting to the imbalance if Preston becomes too attractive a shopping destination at their expense.

So who is right?  Probably everybody. You could think should people in Lancashire need to go to Manchester for decent shops?  Does it matter if the whole area is second tier rather than having at least one decent place?  Will the Tithebarn project deliver this?

Some steps are being taken that give the impression positions are being made. I just looked on the NWDA website and found a job advert for board members to head up Preston Vision a company comprising Preston City Council, Lancashire County Council, The University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN), South Ribble Borough Council and the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA).

I thought I’d record what this vision team is going to do according to their website, it is;

Preston’s Vision to become one of the top three cities in the North West includes key projects such as:
• Preston Tithebarn – the £700m redevelopment of the City Centre. A major mixed use scheme made up of around 1.5m sq ft of retail, leisure and residential development
• A 21st Century Central Business District
• Proposals to regenerate under utilised waterways and make better use of the river, canal and former docklands
• Green City Spaces – enhancement of city centre parks and spaces
• Improved accessibility of the City Centre

Like all visions it sounds aspirational. Let’s hope it is. I think I’m coming round to it and hope that something that stands the test of time, like the Harris Museum does, can be created and that it incorporates interesting heritage, not a clean slate.

The Harris Museum and Miller Arcades havn’t been remodelled.  St Georges / The Mall has, Crystal House has, the Bus Station and Guild Hall are scheduled for change. So two decent buildings have stood the test of time.  Several new buildings have looked poor very quickly.  Is there at least a bit of a lesson?

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UK a centre of excellence for European rail manufacturing

Posted on 15 February 2009 by Pete of MIP

An interest in made in …. and trains got me to prick up my ears when Geoff Hoon announced this week he is going to make the UK a centre of excellence for European rail manufacturing.  This sounds encouraging but on closer inspection might be exaggerated. The manufacture seems to be assembly of imported parts so a low percentage of the build. There is already a plant in the UK and this will be another so an increase in capacity and competition which might improve price / delivery and export potential or make one less viable.

It isn’t clear to me if there is a strategy that might expand assembly into a bigger operation or how many trains are needed over the next 20 years that might enable this.  Many industries create supplier bases but if the parts are already being made overseas this might not be very big. Overall it’s better than nothing but whether it’s a European centre of excellence?

So what is manufacturing excellence? Take a look at this train that was made in Preston – click here

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First of the Few

Posted on 15 February 2009 by Pete of MIP

Watched a DVD – First of the Few – last night, a freeby from the Daily Mail. It’s a wartime propaganda film about the development of the Spitfire. A great story although the film has a few porkies. 

What has this got to do with Preston?  Afterwards, I envisaged the English Electric factories in the 40’s ‘headhunting’ a visionary designer, Petter, to produce the Canberra. The work of the team to produce that pioneering jet bomber followed by the supersonic Lightning fighter and pondered about its future.

The film shows a young RJ Mitchell, of Supermarine Ltd near Southampton, having a vision in 1922 to produce a plane like a bird rather than the string bound bi-planes of the time. His vision resulted in a monoplane of single fuselage/wing construction that won the Schneider Trophy. Vickers then took over Supermarine and its designer and eventually the design became the Spitfire. The film touches on the private funding by people like Lady Houston and Mr Royce that enabled continuity in the ‘peaceful’ thirties. Mitchell had visited Germany and was allegedly aware of their work beyond the treaty agreement and this drove him to greater efforts despite his illness.  

At that time the Spitfire and the Hurricane were the leading edge of fighter aircraft and designed at Supermarine(Vickers) and Hawker. It would be hard to imagine the changes in aircraft form just after the war with the jet engine and the decline of these companies. The all metal swept-wing, jet engined supersonic Lightning was built in Preston less than 20 years after the Spitfire. We can only wonder what lies ahead for our local aircraft manufacturing business.

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High Speed Rail

Posted on 12 February 2009 by Pete of MIP

A bit of doubt has been sown about the proposed route for the new High Speed Rail line and how far it will go.  Only the line to Rugby is being planned this year and then a plan will be developed for the ongoing route.

Reading the summary of the paper issued by the Department of Transport in January 2009 it is suggested that the line to the West Midlands will enable enhanced services to Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow with a link to  Heathrow and is part of a decision process on the feasibility of the line to Scotland. 

There appears to be a question about whether the route will go through Preston or even go north of Birmingham or Manchester. It’s difficult to know whether this slowly developing strategy is political, for example;  we’ll give you a line if we need your votes next year.   Though maybe that’s a bit cynical as there is some logic in the Rugby decision. Capacity of that line is said to be reached in 2025 and Rugby is allegedly the only firm bit of route.

The debate brings into question the future strength of the north-west outside Manchester.  For example Blackpool is already at a disadvantage because electric locos can’t get there. So add that high speed trains can’t get to Preston, say, and where does it leave you.  The corridor that has the best transport links will be where quality investment goes. I can imagine that every region will be saying the same though.

In conclusion in early 2010 some proposals about the route to Rugby will be made and then decisions about the route beyond. So it’s long term and sounds like 2030 or beyond before such a line will reach Preston.  In the next 12 months it needs to be emphasised that Preston is a logical place on such a line. Particularly that Glasgow is accessed easiest from the west coast and that the stretch to Lancaster is very fast rail country and Manchester / Liverpool are the southern fringe of the north west so the region needs deeper access.

There is a map in the report and it shows the line from Preston to Manchester being quite full and it would appear a logical case for electrification and then on to Blackpool.

What would the high speed 2 line mean in journey time?  Preston to London now takes about 2hrs 15mins and it is said the new line will knock 45 minutes off that making 1hr 30mins or 90 minutes for 200 miles – seems worthwhile.  Although if it went via Manchester it would be longer. On that basis Birmingham could be much quicker and become within reasonable commuting time. The line could change the face of Britain, or is that going too far.

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Fragile Heritage

Posted on 10 February 2009 by Pete of MIP

Yesterday I went to a talk at Alston Hall by Stephen Sartin on the subject of Characters of Preston. It made me think about the fragility of our heritage.  It’s easy to knock stuff down but it can never be put back. Often the new stuff only looks good for a couple of years and then it looks dated and starts getting grubby.

In the 1960’s there was little thought about preserving and refurbishing old properties. Better to knock them down and build new.  We got the ring road, Crystal House and St Georges shopping centre and for a few years they didn’t look too bad.  It seemed good to get rid of the smoke encrusted dark old buildings.

It continued with the Guild Hall and it’s shopping centre and the bus station. That looked smart when it opened although the Guild Hall always seemed like it wasn’t meant to be in that position. Now it looks like it doesn’t fit and the shopping centre is very pinched. The bus station is badly located, inaccessible and has a few design problems but is quite an unusual building and quite impressive in size.

The difficulty is that what looks fashionable now soon looks like last years style. It is a worry that in this decade there has been a lot of new stuff all built looking very fashionable. So what will it look like in 10 years?

A new project in Tithebarn is talked about.  Care is needed that a new modern blandness isn’t built for the glory of the designers and council rather than what is needed to balance modernity and heritage. Liverpool One might become a template and from what I’ve seen in photos it represents a developers dream and modern blandness. If you go to Manchester they have used old buildings like the Triangle and kept old arcades and King Street and St Annes Square.  If a centre has no character might as well go to the Trafford Centre, it has free car parking and is weatherproof.

So what did the talk by Stephen Sartin include. One of the people discussed was Hibbert, architect of the Harris Museum, and how that building was conceived. Then there were the investors in the Preston Gaslight Company which put up some of the first gaslights in the country on the corner of Fox Street and Fishergate and a building  that still stands in Fox Street that was one of the first to have gas lighting inside.

Protect Prestons heritage, you only have one chance!

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National Football Museum

Posted on 7 February 2009 by Pete of MIP

Been some debate about moving the Football Museum to Wembley. Don’t see why. Wembley gets big crowds for the few games it holds but is miles out of the centre. I only see it when travelling at 100mph on a train and it takes ages to get into Euston even at that speed.

They say people can’t be bothered to travel a couple of miles off the motorway to Deepdale on fairly straight roads but they are expected to rattle about in a tube for an hour taking most of a day out of a 3 day London break to see it. When I go to London it’s very rare I travel out of the main tourist areas.

They say Wembley has history and catchment, so has Preston – 8 premier league grounds within an hours travel of the museum door, the oldest ground in the country.

Finally it’s part of the old story that many think only London can have national showpieces. Yet I’ve found that as I’ve got older I prefer to travel to quieter places and want to be able to drive in and park my car easily and safely. That’s where Deepdale can win easily as the car park is big, free, outside the door and well away from areas where you might worry about your safety.

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Lancashire

Posted on 6 February 2009 by Pete of MIP

Writing the opening blog post set me thinking that there is another matter that can’t pass unsaid.  In 1974 they re-organised local government so that the border of Lancashire changed and it became a lot smaller.  Manchester and Merseyside took a third each and other bits were transferred between Cumbria, Yorkshire and Cheshire. Even more annoying that Yorkshire retained its name in three areas and later got back the fourth.

Just to add a bit more confusion places like Blackpool became unitary authorities and now have signs saying ‘welcome to Lancashire’ as you leave.  On that basis York isn’t in Yorkshire either although I doubt there is a sign saying ‘welcome to Yorkshire’ as you leave.  I do admire that Yorkshire solidarity, they wouldn’t dream of calling themselves non-Yorkshire whereas Manchester and Liverpool have a strong identity of their own.

Someone probably understands the borders between:  County, County Palatine, Duchy, Sheriff, Lord Lieutenant, unitary, metropolitan, non-metropolitan, borough.

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Preston city crest on buses

Posted on 6 February 2009 by Pete of MIP

Last year there was a debate about whether the Preston city crest should be on the city bus fleet. With the takeover by Stagecoach this has been fulfilled without any controversial political decision. Stagecoach have been very fast at putting their moniker on the buses.

An interesting comment that Stagecoach are using the old Ribble garage at Frenchwood and that a question mark stands over the old corporation bus depot at Deepdale.

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Made in Preston – first post

Posted on 6 February 2009 by Pete of MIP

It’s just another blog on the wall.  Made in Preston, including the surrounding area in Lancashire and the North West of England.

Linked to the website www.madeinpreston.co.uk

The website started mainly about aircraft and buses. Soon it got a bit of football, Preston North End. Then a bit of history and food. Then instead of deeper it got broader, spreading out into the region. Where will it end?

So this blog is a bit of an experiment with the technology of a blog and to add some topical ramblings of my own. Although the website does have a few of those already, particularly on the Preston North End page.

Anyway I’ve had a bit of a mission as I’ve never been happy about those buses not being made in Leyland. Then there are the aircraft, they are still made around here.  Making things is what we’re all about. Is man meant to sit in front of a computer screen? In fifty thousand years we’ll be all head and no body, if Darwin is correct. He probably is, but I’d think some marauding barbarians or maybe robots will appear and trample on them before that happens. So lets celebrate a bit of made in……….

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