WHEN talking about the branding of a town, there are a number of key attributes to consider: people, architecture, infrastructure, commerce and the High Street.

People in the North are different from the South. Apart from London, antisocial behaviour is far more prevalent in the North and much of the blame could be laid at the door of the sink estates or sprawling council housing estates. The town centres of Halifax and Bolton, for example, are virtual no-go areas on a Friday night for anyone not wanting to get drunk, vomit and or fall down.

The point to grasp is that this Neanderthal behaviour, fuelled by bars selling cheap alcohol, is putting off the middle classes from coming into Bolton town centre as well as discouraging sophisticated venue operators from bothering with the evening time. After 6pm, there is not one convenience store, delicatessen, cinema or café open. It certainly doesn’t inspire tourists. I didn’t see many French or Belgian car plates the last time I was in Rotherham.

The most ubiquitous buildings in Northern towns are Victorian, with their many castellated edges and covering of dark, depressing grime. A few buildings, usually the town hall, will have been cleaned up, and, when done, they do look marvellous, but these are just the precious few.

The dark grime makes the buildings appear rundown and, coupled with the rain and grey weather of the North, can encourage the local population’s depression. Occasionally, a high quality renovation is carried out, for example the Market Hall in Bolton. It’s been tastefully worked, but is surrounded by a sea of grot.

Infrastructure is also important: the quality of the streets, paths, streams and rivers. Pedestrianised areas are a plus point of Northern towns — most have them and they work well.

Unfortunately, streams and rivers have not been so cleverly developed.

Most are buried in tunnels and pipes, yet rivers are the lifeblood of so many towns and cities. Would Paris, Lyons, Milan or Montreal be anything without their waterways? For the town planners of Northern towns, it seems tarmac was always preferred.

And finally, High Street commerce has come off the rails over recent years, as we have witnessed the likes of Oddbins, Woolworths, Ethel Austin, MarkOne, Viyella and loads more go bankrupt or move into voluntary administration. With many High Streets having 15 to 25 per cent of shops empty, Mary Portas will certainly struggle with this recessionary problem.

MIKE Phillips, managing director of Purepages Group in Church Bank, Bolton, is an ex-director of PriceWaterhouseCoopers and KPMG.

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