Disappearing Derby shops...

Some of the many boarded up shops in Derby which, according to a new report out today, has a retail vacancy rate of 22%. 19,000 independent shops and 7000 branches of chains have closed this year across the country, with Margate in Kent being worst affected, and Derby second. Although the recession is a major factor, the Westfield Centre - which opened in 2007 - has played its part.

More from the BBC here.

Buy local?

Year 8 have had some interesting discussions over the last term about food miles and the surrounding issues... including whether it's really always as straightforward as "the further it's travelled, the worse it is..." so I was interested to read this article about strawberries and tomatoes from Spain perhaps being better from an environmental point-of-view than local ones...

What do you think?

Nottingham 2018?

FA inspectors were in Nottingham today, finding out more about the proposals for new stadium which is at the centre of the bid to bring the 2018 World Cup to the city.

Nottingham is one of 15 cities (together with Birmingham, Bristol, Derby, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Sunderland) bidding to be a host city... Find out more about Nottingham's bid here.

Eco Towns

You might well have heard in the news that the go-ahead has been given for four new "eco-towns" in England. The idea is that the four new towns will provide an extra 10,000 homes by 2016, and will "showcase environmentally-friendly living" - with charging points for electric cars, zero-carbon buildings, new public transport links, and solar and wind energy.

Full story from the Guardian here, with a nice interactive to show the locations of the four new eco-towns (and the other proposed sites that were rejected).

Nottingham Riviera

Fancy a trip to the seaside? Well, as of next Wednesday, you will not have to travel quite so far... Watch the transformation of Nottingham's Market Square below!

Your neighbourhood?

Thanks to Ian Murray for pointing out this really interesting set of "mental maps" created by teenagers in cities around Britain. The maps were part of a research project by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, looking at young people and territoriality.



Click on the picture above to look at the maps properly, and here for the full research report.

What would your map look like? Are there areas of your neighbourhood where you feel particularly safe or unsafe? Why do you think this is?