SR

“Blueskies - I am perfectly chilled. I think its probably the people who make accusations about 'backhanders' that need to chill a little :0)
And I certainly don’t advocate banging things up around the City but neither does the Council.
I do agree that some mistakes are made but there are also some really good examples of buildings in the City which have been retained and the Council has supported that process (eg) Band on the Wall.
I just think we have to be realistic about how many buildings we can save and should focus our efforts more. I think really we have a similar view just perhaps express it differently.
I don’t like the approach that "the council" are always to blame, its a cop out and doesn’t really get to the root of the issues or solve the problem in the long run. On the whole I think the council does a pretty good job of helping to protect historic buildings in our city.”

“I don’t think it’s either realistic or desirable for Councils (and therefore the public) to hold on to decaying buildings and keep them as mausoleums to the past, particularly when there are good offers on the table to update buildings and turn them to profitable commercial use.
You do of course have to strike the right balance and there are times when a council should step in and help retain a building because it’s important to the City’s historical and cultural identity. I think MCC does that pretty well.
Personally I think making frankly libellous statements about Councils and sweeping statements about demolished buildings without reference to facts doesn’t help the debate!”