Today! (Current Coventry Issues)

Hi Dougie. Warrington is built like an American town. Wide roads, massive shops, and the system is designed for the car. However, land is finite. The centre is so generic, it could be anywhere. The shops aren't surviving because people favour the out of town versions. Maybe the new Times Square development will be different but the old version was only built in the 80s.

I must admit to having a soft spot for Warrington. I did a sandwich course at University in Chemistry at the start of the 70’s and my first two placements were at Crosfields Soaps in Warrington and the UKAEA in Risley – both now of course gone. I doubt if I would recognise the place now but I really enjoyed the time I spent there. At various times I lived in Warrington, Culcheth and Lymm. When I first went there I had pale brown hair and people told me it would get darker due to all the polluton Crosfields pumped out – it did and has never recovered (what’s left anyway). I also recall that by Friday evening the Mersey had several feet of foam on it also mainly due to Crosfields, wouldn't be allowed now of course.

Everywhere got built on, even the outskirts of Lymm. The building started in the 1980s and never stopped. The place is pleasant but soulless.