North West: The Regeneration Game

Liam Fogarty
Politics Show North West

From Liverpool and Manchester to Preston and Barrow, our towns and cities are getting a makeover.

Manchester city centre has undergone a transformation

We are spending billions of pounds in the North West trying to put new life into run-down urban areas.

Everyone, it seems, is playing The Regeneration Game.

But are we getting the right sort of regeneration?

The Politics Show examines what difference can all those luxury apartments, shopping malls and round-the-clock coffee bars really make to city life.

Manchester - United City?

Manchester is re-branding itself as the world's first post-industrial city.

The city has undergone a transformation with vast new developments including Exchange Square and Castlefields. Thousands of people have chosen to return to living in the city centre, often in converted mills and offices.

But the city still has some of the poorest wards in the country, and critics say not every Mancunian is able to share in the benefits of regeneration.

Politics Show Reporter Gill Dummigan journeys from the boom areas of central Manchester, and the ultra-chic Harvey Nichols store, out into the suburbs, to see if there really is a ripple effect of greater prosperity.

Compost City

Greg Keeffe from Manchester's School of Architecture claims every thriving city needs a compost area, where artists, designers and other creative people can generate new ideas.

But Manchester's property boom is making it difficult for so-called composters to find affordable places to live and work.

Local landlord Anthony Hirsch pledges to rent out small units in Manchester's trendy Northern Quarter to small entrepreneurs for £50 - £60 a week.

But a lot of artists have already been priced out of the area.

Where next for Labour ?

As pundits and politicians pick over the significance of the Queen's Speech, a trio of North West MPs chew over Labour's plans for the year ahead. Jane Kennedy (Lab, Liverpool Wavertree), Nigel Evans (Con, Ribble Valley) and Andrew Stunnel (Lib Dem, Hazel Grove) join presenter Jim Hancock to discuss the Government's programme.

That's The Politics Show

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