I dont usually read the Guardian

[SydneyRover]

A lot of these problems are beyond the capability of any government to deal with I fear. They are a consequence of globalisation and global markets.

The deindustrialisation of Northern Britain has left long term deep intractable problems. It's not only the UK, there are deprived rust belt areas all over the western world.

It didn't and doesn't have to be RD with a optic fibre based internet network a lot of these areas could be modern financial services areas, technology centres, it needs a government committed to keeping it's promises about levelling up the country although I haven't heard a lot about that recently so I won't be holding my breath.

[River Don]

A lot would need to change for Goldthorpe to become a tech based financial services centre!

It's not just a matter of infrastructure, it's skills and an undefinable thing about providing a quality of life that skilled, wealthy people can readily find in other parts of the world.

In all honesty I don't think this is going to be a solution for an area like Goldthorpe. It might be something an urban centre like Sheffield or Leeds might hope to achieve.

It might be conceivable, if that were to happen that a place like Goldthorpe could prove more attractive to service based workers commuting to a centre like that. in all honesty though, given its location, I think it more likely the area will be left to wither. Goldthorpe is where it is because of the mining industry and without mining does it really have a role.

It might seem cruel to say it but perhaps investment would be better focussed on training and skills than anything else, giving better opportunities to relocate?

[tyke1962]

I don't known Goldthorpe very well Tyke but I suspect the problem is in the poverty that breeds social depravation, not the buildings.

I take that point Don , but the human mind works on demolishing things physically and replacing it with something better .

You put pride back in then the rest should follow .

I was brought up on a tough council estate myself , Barnsley Council did every home up on that estate and its reputation improved massively .

I've seen this work on a small scale .

Trouble is I don't trust many developers to actually put up something better.

The real problem Goldthorpe still has is the pit shut down and nothing has provided enough decent employment since.

There's another aspect to this too , the normal house market prices will get a reset and that's well overdue in my opinion .

For some maybe, but not for those who have bought recently who will then have a hefty mortgage with negative equity - that cannot be allowed to happen.  As has been alluded to in other threads inflating out of the economic problems is reluctantly more sensible.

Where is the line with this bfyp ?

Are the younger generations forever going to be poorer as a consequence .

Does my step daughter have to wait another 30 years to get on the housing ladder when we die or is she going to have to put up with her damp ridden rented home for the foreeeable ? .

[DonnyOsmond]

When ever I played at Goldthorpe I couldn't get out quick enough after the game

It wasn't always so raven , rough and ready perhaps but it had a thriving local economy right up to the 90's .

On the main drag it had shop after shop , DC Cook had a huge motorbike showroom and a thriving local market ...... all gone now .

Wombwell is another similar place , these small towns within a town once thrived and I believe they can thrive again if the will and strength of conviction exists .

There's nothing in the middle these days , towns are either economically off the scale or they are deprived .

There's only the opposition who can level things up because never mind Johnson and his new voters , anyone who believes he has the nous or will to pull this off wants to give their head a shake .

The Tory donors don't pump millions in to the party to have Goldthorpe economically viable again that I do know . How would things improve for the town if labour were in power?

Talking of Wombwell and Goldthorpe many areas in the Dearne Valley have seen lots of improvements and job opportunities created as a result of EU funding. No doubt in years to come many of those residents of the area will come to regret voting for Brexit.

Aye. Not to turn this into a Brexit thread but the EU have contributed most to the areas which were neglected by their own governments. South Yorkshire and the North East have always been high on that list and if the governments not cared before, they're not going to start caring now.

[tyke1962]

A lot would need to change for Goldthorpe to become a tech based financial services centre!

It's not just a matter of infrastructure, it's skills and an undefinable thing about providing a quality of life that skilled, wealthy people can readily find in other parts of the world.

In all honesty I don't think this is going to be a solution for an area like Goldthorpe. It might be something an urban centre like Sheffield or Leeds might hope to achieve.

It might be conceivable, if that were to happen that a place like Goldthorpe could prove more attractive to service based workers commuting to a centre like that. in all honesty though, given its location, I think it more likely the area will be left to wither. Goldthorpe is where it is because of the mining industry and without mining does it really have a role.

It might seem cruel to say it but perhaps investment would be better focussed on training and skills than anything else, giving better opportunities to relocate?

So we take the easy route out New Labour style and give up on the Goldthorpe's of the UK ? .

This is exactly what happens in the US and why you see so much deprivation and two miles down the road you see the total opposite .

Is that what we accept because the problem is too difficult or do we take the challenge on ?

Well Goldthorpe has a train station for a start , why not connect it rather better to the nearby towns and cities than it does right now .

It currently doesn't feed directly passengers in to  Barnsley and neither does Thurnscoe , they wouldn't stand for that in the south so why should we .

Nobody at Northern trains seems to be able to tell me why you can catch a direct train from Barnsley to Nottingham but not one in to the Dearne Valley 8 miles away .

[River Don]

Yep, with better transport links Goldthorpe might become more attractive as a less expensive area for commuters to consider.

Edit: is a HS2 station at Thurnscoe a realistic project?

The other option might be to try and attract a large employer to revitalise the area but there are only so many Siemens or BMW projects going and competition to attract those facilities is fierce.

[tyke1962]

Yep, with better transport links Goldthorpe might become more attractive as a less expensive area for commuters to consider.

Edit: is a HS2 station at Thurnscoe a realistic project?

The other option might be to try and attract a large employer to revitalise the area but there are only so many Siemens or BMW projects going and competition to attract those facilities is fierce.

I once went down to watch my team at Millwall in the early 80's , a daunting prospect I can tell you .

As the coach plotted its way to The Den it meant going through the old docks area .

There was miles and miles of corrugated metal fencing and behind it was total devastation , rubble and bonfires , absolutely nothing else , it looked like the end of the world .

Look at it today , totally regenerated .

There's no difference between the old docklands and what you see in many post industrial areas around the country .

The only difference is the will to take up the challenge , nobody could realistically expect Goldthorpe to have the same economic benefits as the old docklands enjoy but just to leave it to rot shouldn't be accepted either .

[River Don]

There is a big difference between Goldthorpe and London docklands.

Docklands happens to be only a short distance from one of the worlds key financial centres.

[drfchound]

Yep, with better transport links Goldthorpe might become more attractive as a less expensive area for commuters to consider.

Edit: is a HS2 station at Thurnscoe a realistic project?

The other option might be to try and attract a large employer to revitalise the area but there are only so many Siemens or BMW projects going and competition to attract those facilities is fierce.

Is HS2 a realistic project at all?

[River Don]

If we're taking climate change seriously then short haul flights aren't going to be a feasible option and high speed rail looks a realistic solution.

[BillyStubbsTears]

If we're taking climate change seriously then short haul flights aren't going to be a feasible option and high speed rail looks a realistic solution.

If this crisis has taught us anything, it is the limitations of virtual meetings.

We will be building HS2. Hopefully 3 too.

Regarding rail links from Goldthorpe, the connection to Sheffield and Leeds is and will be much more important than a connection to Barnsley. Major cities are inevitably going to be the growth hubs of the first half of this century. The key for people in Goldthorpe is education to prepare young people for tech/ creative/high skill manufacturing jobs then quick, cheap and reliable transport into the big cities where those jobs are.

[tyke1962]

If we're taking climate change seriously then short haul flights aren't going to be a feasible option and high speed rail looks a realistic solution.

If this crisis has taught us anything, it is the limitations of virtual meetings.

We will be building HS2. Hopefully 3 too.

Regarding rail links from Goldthorpe, the connection to Sheffield and Leeds is and will be much more important than a connection to Barnsley. Major cities are inevitably going to be the growth hubs of the first half of this century. The key for people in Goldthorpe is education to prepare young people for tech/ creative/high skill manufacturing jobs then quick, cheap and reliable transport into the big cities where those jobs are.

I take your point Billy and I agree with much of what you say .

Where I get frustrated with transport links in my town is the fact you can as I've said earlier get a direct train to Nottingham , fine when you are in the Championship and can have a good day out when you play Forest , other than that I'm struggling with that one .

You can also get a direct train to Huddersfield , well work wise what that brings to the table is anyone's guess , once you leave Dodworth station everything else is rural , Penistone , Denby Dale and Shepley before it works it's way towards Huddersfield .

The regeneration we have seen around the borough is situated east , Manvers etc where there are no train links .

One of the towns biggest employers ASOS at Grimethorpe is in the middle of know where , you have to see it to believe it .

It's heading towards 30 years since the last pit shut and yet ???? .

[Herbert Anchovy]

Yep, with better transport links Goldthorpe might become more attractive as a less expensive area for commuters to consider.

Edit: is a HS2 station at Thurnscoe a realistic project?

The other option might be to try and attract a large employer to revitalise the area but there are only so many Siemens or BMW projects going and competition to attract those facilities is fierce.

I once went down to watch my team at Millwall in the early 80's , a daunting prospect I can tell you .

As the coach plotted its way to The Den it meant going through the old docks area .

There was miles and miles of corrugated metal fencing and behind it was total devastation , rubble and bonfires , absolutely nothing else , it looked like the end of the world .

Look at it today , totally regenerated .

There's no difference between the old docklands and what you see in many post industrial areas around the country .

The only difference is the will to take up the challenge , nobody could realistically expect Goldthorpe to have the same economic benefits as the old docklands enjoy but just to leave it to rot shouldn't be accepted either .

I moved to London in early 1981 and worked on the building sites in the old dock lands area. You’re absolutely right. It was an area so utterly devastated that I didn’t believe it would develop into much. We were taking down old, bomb damaged warehouses and replacing them with offices and apartment buildings.

While the rest of the country was in the midst of a recession and unemployment going through the roof, the London I arrived at was like a different world. You could literally walk up to any building site and get a job. It was as if the rest of the country didn’t exist.

[BigH]

London. Still a different country.