Private Eye's Rotten Boroughs column details failed projects of the Derwent New Deal for Communities, in Derby. The NDC there spent £366,000 buying and refurbishing a pub called the Blue Boy. The pub made huge losses and the scheme has now been abandoned.
I would be interested to hear about NDC projects in your areas. The impression I have is that they have been poor value for money in terms of regeneration. Generally the Conservative model of Enterprise Zones from the Thatcher era has worked much better. But no doubt there has been some useful NDC spending on smartening up deprived areas.
I'm not sure Derwent's NDC is necessarily any worse than others although the notion of state owned pubs does seem particularly absurd. The Heath Government sensibly privatised the ones in Carlisle. But before you all sneer too loudly, ask how many pubs your local council owns. None, did you say. Perhaps you should just ask for the assets register and check. I bet you find some included, probably in poor repair, that could usefully be sold to reduce Council debt. Cheers.
