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THE COST OF PROGRESS

Astoness

TRUE BRUMMIE MODERATOR
Staff member
i think we all all agree that progess is inevitable its been happening for centuries but how sad that it has to be at such a massive cost to peoples lives and lively hood not to mention losing historic buildings... graveyards dug up and bodies removed...ive just read all of the below report and was quite shocked at the unheavel change is causing and on top of this i have also been told that most of the shops along smallbrook queensway are boarded up now...for now i will bide my time and take a look at the city centre in 5 years time to see if it is worth a visit...until then i will do as i have been doing for the last 5 years and try to avoid it...much rather jump the bus or tram to west brom..walsall or other such places such as bilston indoor and outdoor market... :)

lyn

 
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Lyn,

Smallbrook Ringway was well advanced when when I left Brum - are they going to tear it all down again for something a bit more modern? As the days of High Street retail are now very depressed, such a decision could well be a drastic mistake, though I must admit that boarded up shops are not very attractive. And having persuaded everyone to move out of town, are they now hoping that they will all move back in again? The omens do not look good.

Maurice :cool:
 
Maurice
You will obviously not know this, but Smallbrook Ringway has looked decrepit and run down for a number of years. Although it did not look too bad when new, like the rest of Manzoni's "vision" it was not designed to last for centuries., and that shows now very well. .I do not know what is palnned for the Ringway, but it can scarcely look much worse than what is there now, even if a modern "architect" gets his hand on it. As to the comments in the article as to road closures, I have not studied them in detail, but people really should be looking towards using public transport more (I admit I speak, now, as a non-car-driver. London already has a large proportion of its inhabitants who do not own a car, not so much because of cost, but because it is easier to use public transport. I admit that Birmingham, though it has a reasonable PT system, has nothing to rival London, but that can be improved.
I foresee a large amount of disagreement concerning my views !!
 
Not gonna argue with that Mike. And if the effects of the pandemic in other cities is anything to go by with people moving out for a quieter life, working more from home etc etc, cities need a serious rethink. So in turn, what’s the effect on transport, roads etc ?

Afraid a rather pessimistic view, but I don’t think cities will continue to be the key hubs of workers they’ve been til now. Companies are seriously looking at more staff working from home, not just for the duration of the pandemic, but going forwards. So businesses in cities may suffer long term, not just now, and the transport provision will have to adapt. Maybe we could have a return to a few more leafy boulevards ! (Tongue in cheek).

Viv.
 
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There has been a trend in recent years for more 'home' working. I believe it was on a self employed basis for the most part, but I am sure those in the boardrooms o many companies will see the savings to be made by having some of their staff working from home - smaller premises, less heating and other costs and quite a few other incidentals being curtailed.
The principal issue I see is a question of security of information, particularly personal details.
When I re-insured my car, during the official lockdown period (I am still in lockdown and it seems likely to stay so at present), the young woman who dealt with the renewal was working from home.
 
Mike,

Agreed, the closest I have been to Smallbrook Ringway since 1961 was the roundabout at Horse Fair. I wasn't a driver when I lived in Brum, so provided you lived close to a bus route, travel by public transport was then quite good, but not so if you lived in a rural area away from buses or trains perhaps.

Viv,

It's been moving this way for quite a while with the collapse of high street retail. The pandemic has more of less "put the tin lid on it", as my father used to say. My worry about the home working is can some of the less stable marriages survive the strain of husband & wife living in such close proximity for many hours. Only time will tell.

Maurice :cool:
 
Not gonna argue with that Mike. And if the effects of the pandemic in other cities is anything to go by with people moving out for a quieter life, working more from home etc etc, cities need a serious rethink. So in turn, what’s the effect on transport, roads etc ?

Afraid a rather pessimistic view, but I don’t think cities will continue to be the key hubs of workers they’ve been til now. Companies are seriously looking at more staff working from home, not just for the duration of the pandemic, but going forwards. So businesses in cities may suffer long term, not just now, and the transport provision will have to adapt. Maybe we could have a return to a few more leafy boulevards ! (Tongue in cheek).

Viv.

agree viv...i used to love shopping in the city centre...all the shops on the streets and the markets but sadly i fear the idea is to try to herd people to shop under cover taking away a lot of community spirit...shops on the high st and corporation st have been slowly closing for a few years now so i do feel sorry for those businesses who have been forced out...however i do agree with mikes point about smallbrook ringway looking awful in the last few years and it does need a tidy up but no doubt those who have moved out of all the shops will not be returning...no idea what the plans are for that area but no doubt yet more high rise accommodation blocks and offices that will never be let...it all remains to be seen..

lyn
 
The principal issue I see is a question of security of information, particularly personal details.
When I re-insured my car, during the official lockdown period (I am still in lockdown and it seems likely to stay so at present), the young woman who dealt with the renewal was working from home.

I don't see that as a problem. With 'ancient' systems there was opportunity to view everything. Now, with modern systems, and a 'tiered' access approach, it is easier to limit the Call Taker's access to what they NEED to know. And check if they have attempted to access 'data' that they 'don't need to know'.

Why do you consider someone working from home less trustworthy than someone sitting in an Office? The 'Data Trail' remains the same. It is just as easy, with a phone camera, to take an image of an Office terminal as it is a Home terminal.

And why would they want to do it? And what would they gain from it, except unemployment.
 
Ken
I think Alan was not considering people themselves working from home less trustworthy, but the possibility of there being less control over who uses the computer. Passwords tend to be written down and any device which might be used to authenticate access is probably next to the computer. The entire systems of many large companies who do not work from home have been accessed because security was not what it should be, so if the consol used is in somebody's home, then will that be as secure as it should be.?
 
Short term would be ok but I wonder long term regarding insurance as it becomes a work place plus H&S and confidentiality. Also people working from home would be isolated and not have the repartee with other people. A lot of pros and cons to consider
 
I have had one issue when recently reviewing an energy tariff. I seemed to me that the person I 'spoke' with (using a Chat system which is easier for me as being hard of hearing some foreign and strong regional accents are hard to follow) was quite sympathetic and said she would reduce the tariff if she could. It was only after I changed supplier that the original company got in touch, by e-mail, offering to discuss a new annual tariff. I informed them that it was too late, I had made my decision. I believe that had this been a normal workplace event and not a home worker one I might have been passed to a supervisor or other person in the first instance. But I saved money and that was what I sought. ;)
 
If the system had been properly developed and installed, I would have expected it to be able to transfer calls in the same way whether they were working in house or at home
 
I suppose I 'worked from home' since 1965, we lived over the shop and my workshop and petrol forecourt were just outside. :).
That business has disappeared in recent years as the customers decided village shopping was a no no and they drove their cars into town to the supermarkets for both food and petrol.

There are no shops in the village now and no bus service so it's the car or a taxi if they want to go anywhere.
 
I suppose I 'worked from home' since 1965, we lived over the shop and my workshop and petrol forecourt were just outside. :).
That business has disappeared in recent years as the customers decided village shopping was a no no and they drove their cars into town to the supermarkets for both food and petrol.

There are no shops in the village now and no bus service so it's the car or a taxi if they want to go anywhere.
Where did you live?
 
If you own a business. that was shut do to the virus, and work from home,do you have to pay buisness rates on your home?
 
Where did you live?
Clearwell Gloucestershire. It had three pubs, a church and two shops, one a post office, plus a small confectionery shop run from an old lady's front room.
Down to one pub now, the other two are currently closed and may not reopen, a shame really because one was a three star Michelin restaurant.
When I moved there in 1965 I was a bit concerned I may not be able to make a living in the garage because there were only three private car owners in the village, different now every house has two or three cars and it's a veritable car park.
 
Clearwell Gloucestershire. It had three pubs, a church and two shops, one a post office, plus a small confectionery shop run from an old lady's front room.
Down to one pub now, the other two are currently closed and may not reopen, a shame really because one was a three star Michelin restaurant.
When I moved there in 1965 I was a bit concerned I may not be able to make a living in the garage because there were only three private car owners in the village, different now every house has two or three cars and it's a veritable car park.
Similar story all over I'm afraid.
My sister-in-law lived in a village in Kent. When I first started going down there in the 70's there were two garages and a petrol station, a dozen pubs or more, several butchers, greengrocers, post office, newsagent etc
I think the first and the biggest blow to the village was when hop-picking and general farm duties became mechanised. People moved out to look for other work in the cities.
 
Insurance has been mentioned in a couple of posts in this thread. Insurers vision of progress has been quite detrimental for many former events that took place in towns and cities throughout the realm.
Many carnivals have been cancelled or curtailed as have many other entertaining events due to high insurance costs.
I am sure the list of those numerous events could fill a few pages here.
 
If you own a business. that was shut do to the virus, and work from home,do you have to pay buisness rates on your home?
If you are RUNNING A BUSINESS you could be liable for many regulations, council, building society, leaseholder etc etc.

If you are WORKING from home on your employers instructions then you could claim £6 per day for wear and tear on your house from the H.M.R.C.
 
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