What happens to towns when the main employer goes under?

Entertainer

It's complicated. Many people will commute to work to different areas. This has happened in villages across the country as the local economy has disappeared e.g agriculture. The reality is that Britain is a very densely populated place and you have very few areas where there is no demand for housing which is why you do not get the swathes of rust belt country that you do in huge countries like America where land is much cheaper.

Sometimes you do get depopulation such as what happened in Liverpool (but this is now being reversed). You get some cheaper housing which may be abandoned but even in places like South Yorkshire, as we're talking about mining, there is plenty of demand for housing and a viable housing market. Some places have new industries that locate there.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armthorpe

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-22563197.html?locationIdentifier=REGION^2196&sortByPriceDescending=false&minPrice=100000&radius=3.0&pageNumber=3&backToListURL=%2Fproperty-for-sale%2Ffind.html%3FlocationIdentifier%3DREGION%255E2196%26sortByPriceDescending%3Dfalse%26minPrice%3D100000%26radius%3D3.0%26index%3D20

Basically, it's not like Chernobyl.

I don't know where OP's town is (not sure if it's a secret) but there will still be demand for housing where you live if only as a dormitory town. Unless the country enters a real depression and unemployment tops 5 million etc. One of the "advantages" of this recession as indeed was the case in the early 90's when, as I've mentioned before, the South East was one of the worst affected regions, is that the pain will be spread across the country so hopefully areas wont be hit so hard that they can't recover afterwards. It also has the added advantage of moderating regional prejudices (we all know how badly off people in the South are what with the cost of housing.)

LillyJ

Northfield/Longbridge had a few problems after Rover shut down, house prices did drop and lots of people unemployed. It's not too bad though, but then again there are places you can work if you commute. (unlike some mining villages).
I remember when it first closed lots of people were very, very scared and it was all any one could talk about. It seemed that everyone's husband/dad/brother/boyfriend worked at Rover. Then slowly they all got other jobs and sort of got on with it.

Saying that though, I don't think house prices have gone down as far in Northfield as in some areas, because Rover sort of put a halt on the boom if you see what I mean.

I wouldn't want to live in Northfield though really, but it's no worse than it was before Rover shut. I also think that the new complex they are making there sounds great, and lots of jobs should come out of that.

itsnever2lateisit?

Sir_Humphrey wrote: »

What people said about former mining towns. Take the train from Doncaster to Wakefield. You would stand a good chance of having your window broken - this happened to me once near Fitzwilliam (nowhere near as posh as it sounds). Perhaps if it happens to some of the more affluent Southern towns, people there might have different attitudes?

No different in the SE Sir Humph, the 3 villages around what was once the Kent coalfields have never recovered. To make matters worse the Coal Board never cleared it all away in a tidy manner, and 2 years after the council kicked them in the teeth by closing the Secondary School:mad:

The only thing that improved was the sense of community spirit

mewbie_2

Considering VT is some kind of economic guru I'd have thought the answer was bleeding obvious. Unless you have a 'go ahead can do' outlook. Sorry, forgot, it's the UK we're talking about.

tomstickland

Rochdale_Pioneers wrote: »

Tebbitt once told the unemployed to get on their bike. Tough if you have a house/family rooted in one place and there aren't jobs going anywhere around.

Isn't this essentially what Mandelson said recently regarding power station contracts going to foreign contractors who are shipping in labour?

If you have global economics without protectionism then that's the result.

pickles110564

itsnever2lateisit? wrote: »

No different in the SE Sir Humph, the 3 villages around what was once the Kent coalfields have never recovered. To make matters worse the Coal Board never cleared it all away in a tidy manner, and 2 years after the council kicked them in the teeth by closing the Secondary School:mad:

The only thing that improved was the sense of community spirit

Yeah but didn't they get the Wilsons to save the day?

mewbie_2

pickles110564 wrote: »

Yeah but didn't they get the Wilsons to save the day?

How does pricing local housing out of the reach of FTB's help anybody?

itsnever2lateisit?

Taking it to an extreme, the population of the village I live in is lower now than it was 400 years ago. Then it was a centre of weaving and Iron (pre industrial revolution) When those industries went, for differing reasons, the village declined. It is now considered a weathly area again, but that was with the coming of the railways (6 miles away) bringing London to within 1 hours travel. It just a place people sleep in now, mow the grass on saturday and wash the car on sunday.

1 Pub, school and shop, and a michelin star restaurant

pickles110564

mewbie wrote: »

How does pricing local housing out of the reach of FTB's help anybody?

For once you missed the :rolleyes:

itsnever2lateisit?

pickles110564 wrote: »

Yeah but didn't they get the Wilsons to save the day?

Different part of Kent Pickles. Most people perceive kent to be a rich area, which in many cases it is. But there are areas of poverty within it to match the worst anywhere in the UK. Thanet, East Kent and Chatham being some of the poorest. As I type I recall that Chatham Royal Navy Dockyard closed 25 years ago yesterday