Architecture – Merrion Strategy

What happens when cities design for the modern age? UNESCO get shirty, that’s what. Merrion MD Dougal Paver investigates their latest attack on modernism. The marvellous City Lab blog has a rather enjoyable piece here about Edinburgh’s Turd. The picture above, from its architects Jestico + Whiles, really doesn’t leave a great deal to the imagination once you view it […]

Cities

Public transport: it’s all in the numbers

The scale and quality of public transport provision in a city matters most where its economy is growing like Topsy. Just examining the raw data doesn’t tell you the whole picture, argues Merrion MD Dougal Paver. We love a good map or chart here at Merrion Towers. Geography ‘O’ level: it never leaves you. And so I had to dive […]

Invest in great urban design or pack up and go home

As town and city centres deal with the perfect storm of on-line shopping, retailer failures and changing shopping and leisure patterns it’s hardly the time to be talking about investing in public realm and urban design. Or is it, asks Dougal Paver. If you’re pension is heavily exposed to retail real estate now might be the time for a little […]

Economy

The Northern Powerhouse’s surprise package

Here at Merrion Towers we love charts and graphs that cast a light on the quirky, unusual or just downright interesting. And those fine fellows at City Metric have come up trumps with the one above. So, which economy in the Northern Powerhouse do you think is the daddy-o? One of the great ruses in PR is to offer the […]

The London economy proves Britain’s enduring appeal

London’s commercial property market is thriving, confounding the nay-sayers. Merrion Strategy managing director Dougal Paver examines the health of the UK economy and asks if the market has already priced in our departure from the EU. A single quarter’s office take-up does not an economic summer make. So when JLL’s latest London office survey hit the desks yesterday morning the […]

Entrepreneurialism

The enterprise conundrum

A look at the data on new enterprise start-ups paints a very mixed picture, says Merrion MD Dougal Paver. Should government do more to help, or would lower taxes and light-touch regulation suffice? Britain’s start-up culture is alive and well, running at well over half a million new companies a year, on average. We’re almost at full employment so there’s […]

Competitive socialising: regeneration’s new Golden Goose

When he was a student Merrion Strategy’s MD Dougal Paver well remembers the odd competitive drinking session or two, but ‘competitive socialising’? That requires some investigating… My first illegal pint was in a pub called the Craven Heifer in Ingleton, North Yorkshire. Myself and a load of pals had hitch-hiked up there, aged 16, for a week’s camping and fishing on […]

Governance

The ambition pill: has your local authority taken it?

Ambition, focus and a credible plan can excite developers and investors and get them in step behind a local authority to deliver on its economic growth agenda. But relatively few authorities are in the right place culturally, suggests Merrion MD Dougal Paver. The backdrop fitted the aspiration as councillor Phil Davies, leader of Wirral Council, stood up yesterday morning to address […]

MIPIM review: who can fathom those crazy French?

Tens of thousands of high-spending property folk descended on Cannes this week for the MIPIM real estate shin-dig and Merrion managing director Dougal Paver braved the warm Mediterranean sunshine and endless champagne and canapes to bring readers the inside track. His conclusion? The French are bonkers. Convention cities the world over would give their eye teeth to host a conference like […]

Regeneration

The competitor to the Liveprool Commonwealth Games bid

Is Boston’s Olympics knock-back a lesson for the Liverpool Commonwealth Games bid?

Boston secured America’s Olympics nomination for the 2024 games in January 2015. By the summer the city had pulled out in the face of a quiet public revolt. What lessons does it hold for Liverpool and Birmingham as they bid to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games? Merrion MD Dougal Paver explores the issue. Boston: wealthy, sophisticated, beautiful and smart. A […]

Porto: proof not everywhere plays the regeneration game

Porto is Portugal’s second city and was long held up as its industrial and commercial powerhouse. But the figures – and the evidence of his own eyes – don’t convince Merrion MD Dougal Paver. For one of life’s great puzzles head to Porto in northern Portugal, the city that gave it’s name to your Aunty Pat’s favourite Christmas tipple. Wander […]