#levelling-up

#levelling-up

Similar perceptions of decline are now the norm across the nation. In postwar Britain, high streets became the thriving hubs of a more affluent society and a source of local identity and pride. But almost 13,000 shops closed in 2024 an attrition rate of around 37 a day, which particularly affected the north of England, the Midlands and deprived coastal areas.

What does it mean for a neighbourhood to be poor? Since the 1970s, the UK government has regularly sought to answer this question by pulling together a range of statistics about the people who live there. The aim is to enable funding to be directed where it is most needed, and to make possible place-based initiatives alongside those aimed at individuals or households.

If Blackpool was a stick of rock, Little Layton would be a ribbon of pink in the middle. To its left, the deep red of rundown bedsits near the promenade. To its right, the plush green streets of Poulton Le Fylde, where 1m mansions overlook a well-tended golf club. That is to say, Little Layton is one of the nicer parts of Blackpool.