Thinking about the future
Comments (1)
I have decided to throw my twopence worth into the stadium debate because one point that I feel hasn't been made is that of the political future of the 'Kirkby' region.
The Lyons Review of local government will inevitably lead to the biggest shake-up of local government in many years and local authorities will ulitmately take a more leading role, as opposed to the traditional one of following central government.
What this could mean is unclear at this stage yet with the expansion of the Liverpool-Manchester 'corridor' set to continue over the forseeable future, nobody would bet against possible economic regeneration deals and even boundary changes. Until the white paper is published, we are all in the dark.
How can we know for sure that when the next generation of blues turn up, the 'Liverpool' and 'Kirkby' we know will be gone and new local government structures/partnerships will be put in place? One thing is certain, as much history as it has, a new Goodison Park, on it's own, won't regenerate L4. The council left it for dead years ago. A sad truth but a truth nonetheless.
To be the centre of a regional development, as we would with the Kirkby project, is an opportunity I think is too good to turn down. Not for us, but for the kids in 25 years time. I hope nobody minds me justifying my 'yes' vote; it hurts me to think of leaving Goodison. I just think that, this time, we will be fools to think short term about a decision that should be about the next 50 years plus.
Jon Welsh,
Stockport Posted 26/07/2007 at 15:57:20
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Ray Said
Posted 27/07/2007 at 22:42:11
Jon Re;your article ’thinking about the future’.
I posted this article on TW earlier this year detailing the ’City Region’implications as it impacts the ground move
City Regions (updated article from 2006); are EFC, Tesco and Knowsley ahead of the game?
Firstly, I don?t think it?s a wise move to relocate too far from the Goodison heartlands, although it?s obvious that we need new facilities in order to have the club grow back to its rightful place as one of the greatest clubs in Europe.
However that said, the way government thinks about what cities are has changed and it is possible that E.F.C., for once, are ahead of the game. I direct you to today?s Echo which contains confirmation from Central Government that the City Region will become a reality.
A report from the Office of Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) called ?Urban Research Summary; A Framework for City-Regions?, published in November 2006 describes City-Regions as ?the enlarged territories from which core urban areas draw people for work and services such as shopping, education, health, leisure and entertainment?.
The City-Region is described as having ?greater economic and cultural resonance than current administrative regions and local authority districts?.
Regions are generally seen as too large to capture the most important functional linkages and the geography of everyday life while districts are invariably too small to be considered ideal ?units? for strategic decision-making in key areas such as transport, economic development, planning and housing.
Serious interest in City-Regions has grown as the ?reach? of core cities has expanded, making their formal boundaries increasingly out-dated (my italics).
Understanding the reach of the boundaries of city regions is not simple. The ODPM uses commuting data to examine travel-to-work flows to identify a set of local districts that form the tributary areas for England?s major cities; in Liverpool?s case this data includes Knowsley.
Recognition of the economic role and potential of City-Regions is already central to the design and delivery of the Northern Way growth strategy. The State of the Cities report puts the strengthening of city economies at the forefront of the urban policy agenda and provides a context for a focusing on the economic role of City-Regions; this would mean creating a new national geometry of City-Region governance.
To make this a reality the ?tent poles? of the local economy need to be shifted and the other centres of the City Region need to be re invigorated hence the redevelopment of Kirkby town centre and Tesco?s involvement. This is the reason why councils are keen to spread wealth creating business like EFC around the city region.
When I discussed the ramifications of all this with a mate, he summed it up brilliantly as ?so we get Kirkby back then?? and it could end up like that.
In 10 years time Liverpool City Region will look like the old Merseyside Council shape and Everton, even if we move to Kirkby, will still be in Liverpool- albeit Liverpool City Region.
Ray Said
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1 Posted 27/07/2007 at 22:42:11
I posted this article on TW earlier this year detailing the ’City Region’implications as it impacts the ground move
City Regions (updated article from 2006); are EFC, Tesco and Knowsley ahead of the game?
Firstly, I don?t think it?s a wise move to relocate too far from the Goodison heartlands, although it?s obvious that we need new facilities in order to have the club grow back to its rightful place as one of the greatest clubs in Europe.
However that said, the way government thinks about what cities are has changed and it is possible that E.F.C., for once, are ahead of the game. I direct you to today?s Echo which contains confirmation from Central Government that the City Region will become a reality.
A report from the Office of Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) called ?Urban Research Summary; A Framework for City-Regions?, published in November 2006 describes City-Regions as ?the enlarged territories from which core urban areas draw people for work and services such as shopping, education, health, leisure and entertainment?.
The City-Region is described as having ?greater economic and cultural resonance than current administrative regions and local authority districts?.
Regions are generally seen as too large to capture the most important functional linkages and the geography of everyday life while districts are invariably too small to be considered ideal ?units? for strategic decision-making in key areas such as transport, economic development, planning and housing.
Serious interest in City-Regions has grown as the ?reach? of core cities has expanded, making their formal boundaries increasingly out-dated (my italics).
Understanding the reach of the boundaries of city regions is not simple. The ODPM uses commuting data to examine travel-to-work flows to identify a set of local districts that form the tributary areas for England?s major cities; in Liverpool?s case this data includes Knowsley.
Recognition of the economic role and potential of City-Regions is already central to the design and delivery of the Northern Way growth strategy. The State of the Cities report puts the strengthening of city economies at the forefront of the urban policy agenda and provides a context for a focusing on the economic role of City-Regions; this would mean creating a new national geometry of City-Region governance.
To make this a reality the ?tent poles? of the local economy need to be shifted and the other centres of the City Region need to be re invigorated hence the redevelopment of Kirkby town centre and Tesco?s involvement. This is the reason why councils are keen to spread wealth creating business like EFC around the city region.
When I discussed the ramifications of all this with a mate, he summed it up brilliantly as ?so we get Kirkby back then?? and it could end up like that.
In 10 years time Liverpool City Region will look like the old Merseyside Council shape and Everton, even if we move to Kirkby, will still be in Liverpool- albeit Liverpool City Region.
Ray Said