An elegy for Derker

Ciara Leeming writes:

I paid a visit to Derker the other day...an area of Oldham that is undergoing a controversial regeneration process funded by central government.

I last visited the community over two years ago, not long after a public inquiry that was triggered by objections to the council's plans to bulldoze almost 500 homes. Inevitably, the locals lost and the compulsory purchase order (CPO) was granted - clearing the way for demolition.

Actually, I can't actually think of any community that has won at public inquiry under this particular regeneration scheme, which will see the clearance of anything between 100,000 and 400,000 mainly Victorian terraces across the North of England.

Photo by Ciara Leeming (reproduced with permission)