There’s a strange rumour doing the rounds in Shropshire’s housing circles:“Homes England has taken over Wrekin Housing Group.” Now, this is only partly true — but the truth it reveals is far more interesting than the rumour itself. Because once you dig beneath the polite announcements and the PR gloss, a picture emerges that’s lessContinue reading “THE INVISIBLE HAND THAT BUILDS SHROPSHIRE (AND IT ISN’T THE COUNCIL)”
Tag Archives: travel
The Roundabout That Wasn’t Round
How Shrewsbury Reinvented the Wheel and Drove It Into a Wall Welcome to Shrewsbury, where we took a perfectly ordinary road junction, spent £4 million making it worse, and called it progress. Behold the Station Gyratory — a dazzling feat of civil regression so baffling, it could only have come from the bowels of aContinue reading “The Roundabout That Wasn’t Round”
THE HOUSING MACHINE THAT NOBODY ORDERED
How Homes England, the Councils, and Their Favourite Friends Built a System Only a Bureaucrat Could Love Opening: The Gloves Come Off Let’s begin with a confession: I used to think house building was simple. A bit of land, a few bricks, and a council officer who hasn’t mysteriously gone home at 3.45pm. But thatContinue reading “THE HOUSING MACHINE THAT NOBODY ORDERED”
Cornovii Part 3 – When the Paper Trail Starts to Sweat
There comes a moment in every local local government saga when the spreadsheets begin to twitch, the meeting minutes start to shift uncomfortably in their folders, and the once-confident PowerPoint warriors develop an unexpected fondness for the phrase “commercially sensitive.” For Cornovii, that moment is now Because while Shropshire Council continues its noble tradition ofContinue reading “Cornovii Part 3 – When the Paper Trail Starts to Sweat”
Cornovii: Building Success? Or Just Building Debt?
Cornovii: The Council That Built a Company, Hid the Books, and Lost the Architects Since 2020, Shropshire Council’s Housing Supervisory Board has met more than a dozen times to discuss Cornovii. Each meeting began with the same ritual: “That the press and public be excluded.” Now the doors are still closed, the loans still rising,Continue reading “Cornovii: Building Success? Or Just Building Debt?”
The Riot Roadshow: Now Touring a Hotel Near You
We hear men speaking for us of new laws strong and sweet,Yet is there no man speaketh as we speak in the street.It may be we shall rise the last as Frenchmen rose the first,Our wrath come after Russia’s wrath and our wrath be the worst.It may be we are meant to mark with ourContinue reading “The Riot Roadshow: Now Touring a Hotel Near You”
Hotels Check Out, HMOs Check In: The Great Housing Shuffle No One Talks About
We are told — endlessly — that there is no connection between immigration, asylum hotels, and HMOs. That’s just conspiracy talk, apparently. The “gainsayers brigade” assure us we’re hysterical, paranoid, and probably in need of a nice lie-down. Well, while we’re resting, let’s consider a few inconvenient facts (all straight from the mainstream press):– OverContinue reading “Hotels Check Out, HMOs Check In: The Great Housing Shuffle No One Talks About”
Smithfield Hotel: 22 Beds, One Big Red Flag
Once upon a pandemic, the government—bless their optimistic hearts—decided that handing out billions in Bounce Back Loans on the basis of nothing more than good intentions and a mildly convincing email address was a fine idea. And lo! A thousand pop-up “businesses” were born, many with names as imaginative as “ABC 2020 Ltd” or—wait forContinue reading “Smithfield Hotel: 22 Beds, One Big Red Flag”
How Not to Run a Country: The Immigration Special
Before you get into my blog please read the following, it will help you understand the immigration problem……. And just perhaps give you a clue on how to fix it: “Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,I liftContinue reading “How Not to Run a Country: The Immigration Special”
The Alternative Council 