If you wish to deprive a nation of its soul what better way than to take away all that is familiar from its surroundings?.  No previous generation saw the need to commit visual vandalism in the way that this one has, we must inevitably question the motive behind what has happened.

This is a perceptive and excellently written article by a gifted writer.

I dont know David Why are you asking me an opinion. You must know that I am going to disagree with you!!! Can you not write about something you like for once? You just like moaning and grumbling dont you? ;0p

I am for preserving old buildings but strictly against imitation!

First of all I was thinking about the Parisians and their anger directed towards a new construction in the middle of their lovely town and all the endless petitions aimed to stop building. Fortunatelly the fearfull old backward- thinkers were ignored and Eiffel tower was build. Everybody loves it now.

And than I remembered my first few days in Dublin (similar type of architecture like the one you like) I couldnt find my way around it! All the houses looked the same! In Slovakia when you want to remember way back, its like: walk straight and turn by the pink house straight again until you see blue house and so on... but this concept didnt work in Dublin at all because all the houses were in brick .

diversity is beatiful, stagnation is malicious and leads to death- ceasing of life. Get over it and enjoy unexpected.

love and light

Adri

Great piece

I am from Bolton, which has an impressive Town Hall, and a wealth of attractive civic buildings, but its fair share of ugliness. I now live in London, but paid a visit to my home town recently, and took a trip to the Lowry Centre in Salford. The centre itself is OK, so-so, but the new buildings just don't look right. As for Birmingham, it's really terrible what was done there.

Norfolk seems "conservative" in the best, unpolitical, sense of the word.

Mary, treat yourself to a break in Sheffield! The people are so warm and frienly but what has been done to the city is appalling.  I understand Leeds is similar.

There is no need for it.  Even York and Cambridge have modern shops.  Cambridge built the large Grafton Centre outside the city so the two can co-exist.

I note the people who criticise me always misunderstand what I have written  I always make poisitive suggestions on what I think should be done.  Actually, I am offering a Conservative version of town planning and I think my critics don't get that.