Made in Preston – Page 8 – Made In Preston

Tithebarn Public inquiry

I heard it on Radio Lancashire, the government have announced that a public inquiry is to be held into whether Preston should be allowed to have a project as large as the Tithebarn. In effect the government are sort of putting Prestons investment onto a back burner. Even in these times when money is too hard to mention and it will create good jobs in the short term.

Like the Casino announcement in Blackpool there is a Manchester element in this as people from Manchester have been players in both judgements. To cross the path of Labours pet city, Manchester, and a town with a senior minister as MP, Blackburn, is opposition that Preston will find difficult.

Sounds like there might be a new government before the inquiry is finished so it will be too late for a cost cutting exercise to save £800,000. Although knowing the cynicism of pubic financing the inquiry will probably be cancelled and counted as an £800,000 ‘cut’.

On the other hand I’ve never been fully convinced of the project as I’m suspicious of developers who like the bankers see only money as an outcome. I guess I’d be sympathetic to that except that as you get older, say 50ish, you begin to realise that the visible trail from long ago to now has a value as well. Even so a Public Inquiry costing £800,000 and taking a long time seems extravagent.

Bad day for Preston

Tuesday 15th September wasn’t a good day for Preston.

Job losses announced in the area at BAE SYSTEMS.

George Osborne saying he would cancel the Typhoon.

PNE lost at Scunthorpe in their first defeat of the season.

Sean St Ledger moves to Middlesbrough.

Maybe if you have a pension at BAE George scrapping the aircraft carriers and A400M won’t be good news either.

I’ll add more bad news as it comes in.

The weather was OK though.

Newspaper deliveries cancelled

Told today that a newsagent in South Ribble is stopping delivering newspapers because they can’t get anyone to deliver them.

We all need to run our own businesses as best we can but from what I heard this newsagent hasn’t asked anyone what they’d be willing to pay for delivery and hasn’t offered an alternative. I have no idea what a delivery person gets paid but I think I’d probably pay more than I do for my delivery.

Who is losing out here? If it was my newsagent I’d not go there anymore as it’s not in a place I normally go to. I wouldn’t get a paper every day if it wasn’t delivered. So both the newsagent and the paper would be losing and you’d think it in their interest to sort it.

As it is, newspapers are getting a lot more expensive. I noticed that mine now costs 90p a day and at the weekend a lot more. The weekend paper is full of supplements that go straight in the bin so there is a loss of value there.

The South Ribble newsagent must be losing customers due to high prices and the recession but just cuts off those who aren’t questioning the cost without making any attempt to keep them. Must be running a gold mine.

Harris Museum & Art Gallery

Thought we’d have a look in the museum this week although we were short of time and I now wish I’d written something earlier as I’ve forgotten the details.

The painting of Sir Richard Arkwright that the museum has bought with help from many organisations and shares with the National Portrait Gallery is still on display although the related adverts said its display had finished. It’s quite a large painting and you need to get close to see the detail in the dark bits. I looked closely into his face to see if any signs of his character could be found. He’s an inventor and an entrepreneur born 280 years ago. Maybe his wig and dress were too remote from today as I didn’t see anything that said he was such a person.

There are some large photographs of Preston taken around 1850. Around Avenham Park looking across the Tram Road. The locals thought the trams were noisy. Another room has watercolours of the area around Preston by an artist called Beattie. These are interesting and show some of the old pubs and churches as they were. The main display at the moment is one of fairytale art and for some reason it didn’t do much for me although we were running out of time.

I think my favourite painting is one of Preston in the 1950’s overlooking the rail tracks looking towards the centre. Pauline in the Yellow Dress has been moved a bit. That day for some reason I decided her undone dress was a bit unkempt when previously I’d thought the actual dress looked a bit prim all buttoned up.

The exhibition of the history of Preston has good content but it isn’t displayed very well. It seems a bit tired and old fashioned. Yet there is some good stuff going back to ancient hunters to a large model of Horrocks mill.

It is a fine place the Harris. The staff are always friendly and helpful but sometimes I think a guided talk would be good.

Baxi merge with Dutch company

Baxi the central heating boilermaking company who began life in Bamber Bridge over 150 years ago have merged with a Dutch company. The company is now based in Derby and owns the names of many of Britains best known central heating companies, like Potterton, Main and Valor as well as some overseas. It is now the 3rd largest boilermaker in Europe after two German companies.

It’s good to see some manufacturing still in the UK although I noted that they have just opened a lower cost factory in Turkey. Also that their biggest shareholders are Private Equity companies.

Some of North Ends best years not long ago were when Baxi was the name on their shirts.

Note: I since read in the LEP that Baxi still employ 600 in Bamber Bridge. If so that’s good news although last time I drove round there it seemed to be an estate of apartments where I recalled the office, factory and the famous Baxi duck pond on the bend.

Lancashire

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.

Made in Preston – first post

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……….