I went along to the first lecture presented by The Sentinel from our ex mayor Mike Wolfe at the Mitchell Arts Centre last week to see what he had to say. Being an ex mayor and all i thought i might learn something from his address or get an insight into another view point from someone whose name certainly carries some weight….I must say i was pretty disappointed.
A few key points stood out for me…
• Flatten an area of the city centre and cover it in tarmac to create a unique open space for public events.
This is so low aspirational it risks making our city a laughing stock, as we are on the verge of starting phase one of our city centre public realm scheme, Mike Wolfe would be happy with a large tarmacced open space. Im sorry but when a festival/concert/something not happening this space would be pretty drab and dull…Tarmac is hardly fun. Another question is why would we need an area so large when he already proclaims we need another 50k residents to hit our critical mass.
• The putting down of the 6 towns and disrespect given to them by calling them “Things”.
I myself might not be a massive supporter of holding onto the past and advocate embracing the future of the city centre but i woudl not disrespect the more senior members of the community by calling these towns “Things” in jest or not. To many the 6 towns represent heritage and uniqueness and while they may not last in their present form for the next 50 years i would have used more tact.
• The disbelief that the East West shopping centre will ever happen.
It is happening and i cant wait to see it! It will let us make our city feel like a city, attract more spending in our local economy, help to recycle money through local jobs and the removal of the need for trendy 25-40 year olds jetting off to the trafford centre every weekend to grab a pizza express and shop in Allsaints. In fact i think there will be a very important announcement this week…..
• The disbelief that the bus station will become what is planned.
The building has started and i cannot wait to see it amount the ring road improvements, the new signage celebrating the ceramics industry and fire station and tesco ect ect ect….
• The offer of his help to the Chief Executive of the council to help get the city sorted.
Surely the leader of the council and his experienced cabinet can help, why would we need a man who talked with such low aspirations and negativity? Negativity does not breed positivity and that is what the city needs right now.
To be fair i did find one thing he said interesting about giving the derelict housing to local people and builders to regenerate. Not a bad idea but i could imagine it quickly turning into a nightmare and isnt the idea to move with the times and concentrate on working with housebuilders through gap funding and support to raise the quality of housing stock?
Anyway who am i to question Mike Wolfe and his ideas? I wish that they had been more positive….
I hope he comes back to do another in 4 years time after the next election perhaps and we will see who was right, hopefully we can do it in the same place at the mitchell arts centre. I might even grab some food and catch a movie afterwards at the East West….lol
