tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9172766774137902766.post7351972156058687392..comments2023-12-23T09:28:20.869+00:00Comments on The View from Cullingworth: Is building new retail capacity in suburban Bradford such a good idea?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9172766774137902766.post-52229444189805417892018-04-21T21:19:18.863+01:002018-04-21T21:19:18.863+01:00There is a link here to the current ‘Windrush’ cri...There is a link here to the current ‘Windrush’ crisis. . . . <br /><br />In the 1950s & 60s, our governments had a choice, should we take the work to the workers or bring the workers to the work. The decided on the latter course, it appearing simpler in the short-term to ship available labour here, rather than shifting production nearer to both the workers and the sources of raw materials. The consequences on this choice are now clear, as we wrestle with a high population in an expensive place unsuitable for similar employment, especially as automation takes hold, in addition to the social stresses evident across the land. Had they chosen to move production elsewhere, that process would have transferred employment, creating development wealth and stability across the world, progressively levelling the gap between nations.<br /><br />Local councils make similar errors all the time, they plan through the rear-view mirror, rather than studying the road ahead. We can all see that the world of retailing is in trauma, its previous model of ‘bring the customers to the product’ is rapidly being replaced by ‘take the product to the customers’, leaving behind acres of unproductive retail space occupying obsolete sites. Precisely what germ of genius convinces any council that it can buck this irresistible trend is anyone’s guess, but it’s certainly not logical. <br />But hey, they’re only wasting rate-payers’ money, it’s not their own, so why worry – there’s plenty more where that came from.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com