Re SaveCQ, I remember someone on Twitter posted a comment along the lines off, do you want office space for 500 high paid FinTech and Cybersecurity jobs with an average salary of 50k, or do you want space for 100 creatives with salaries less than the minimum wage. Perhaps that's not an entirely fair argument, but it's obviously really difficult to strike a fair balance between giving people the opportunity to have a well paid career, while at the same time supporting people in the creative industries who are really struggling at the moment.
Not sure what the answer is...
I watched a documentary on NVTV about a year ago about the evolution of the Cathedral Quarter. Basically, the area was destined to be an afterthought of the Laganside redevelopment, until the Laganside Corporation (I think that was their name) realised that the best thing to do was to work with the 'creative' community as it's often derisively called and let them regenerate the area largely by themselves.
It turned out to be a good decision. Sure, plenty of the artists who still work there don't earn a lot of money, maybe even less than minimum wage, but there's a reason why it's an exciting place...it's largely because of the artists and the crowds they attract.
The other thing is that there are literally dozens of vacant sites within ten minute walk of CQ that are suitable for a new build for 500 highly paid fin-tech staff. The idea that all of North Street and Donegal Street needs to flattened to build offices, a department store and another three Premier Inns is laughable. Yet lots of people seem to love the idea.
Do SaveCQ actually do anything to improve the area? From what I've seen, over the years, they automatically object to and reject every proposal yet present no realistic alternatives.
From what I can see, some of the people involved in SaveCQ
actually created the CQ as we know it, but sure, what did they actually do to improve it? As for presenting realistic alternatives, what would you have wanted them to do? Hire their own architects and urban planning consultants to create their own masterplan of an entire city district? How much money do you reckon that would cost, and do you think it would be within the budget of a voluntary group? :lol:
I would prefer SaveCQ weren't associated with the silly 'gentrification is social cleansing' anarchist crowd, but I'm prepared to give SaveCQ the lions share of the credit for forcing the developer to change their plans into something more suitable. It was only last year that the developers wanted to build a giant department store and underground car park, at exactly the same time as two of the biggest department stores in the UK were on the brink of going bust. If the choice is have a pressure group stall the process by a year, or not stall it and risk something like this being built and left vacant forever:
...then I'm quite happy to see the project stalled by a year or so.
And all the while, the area they claim to care about so much becomes increasingly dilapidated.
I don't know how many times this needs to be said, but I'll say it again:
The area is dilapidated because it was landbanked by developers. It's nowt to do with SaveCQ, hippies, creatives, whoever. It's solely the fault of the previous owners.
. I checked out the following morning...
