General   (General discussion, talk about anything.)

First Mate: ‘Some reading material’

That is an insightful write-up.

The death of the high street’: town centres from post-war to Covid-19
Alistair Kefford, June 2020

(Dr Kefford is a historian & urbanist in The Netherlands)

“Some local authorities are taking matters into their own hands by buying up central area properties” (Wigan’s example - The Galleries) … “Although this gives councils a greater degree of control, it binds them to the profit-maximising imperatives of commercial property development, meaning that they will be *obliged to pursue only those forms of development which promise an adequate return on their investment … (which) may well prove to be inappropriate for towns in the longer term and offer only limited benefits to local populations.’

*Although, didn’t the Council buy The Galleries for a very reasonable sum, so in theory should’ve had more leeway when choosing what to do with it?