One thing stands out regarding Brentford that this thread emphasises – long term residents are fiercely protective about it, to the extent of developing a particularly narrowed xenophobia about 'outsiders' (or 'Incomers'). As I think I have noted previously, 18thC public meetings decried even the admission of the 'foreigners' of Old Brentford (East of Half-Acre)!So long as that feeling doesn't degenerate into mindless, real isolationist antagonism, I think that the sentiment is an endearing characteristic and a tribute to the tangible and enduring sense of place and time that Brentford evokes. It is surprising how little time it takes to have this effect on new inhabitants. In fact, the newcomers are often the most interested, enthusiastic and involved, regarding the past and projected future history of the place.As to the question posed by David for 'all of those born and bred in Brentford', as to what they would 'like to happen to all of those old derelict buildings', the answers have been quite comprehensively revealed in the work of the High Street Vision Project and in the Brentford Area Action Plan consultation responses.Everyone (other than developers, their employed vultures and the independent vandals) is distressed at the decay and deliberate dereliction of so much of the very heart of our town – and over the many decades of planning blight with the dreadful effect upon the High Street retail trade. A simple summary of the relevant response to David's question would be: remove the undeserving old and replace with significant and sympathetic improvements; repair and restore the deserving old, as useful and irreplaceable contributions to the historic environment.
Nigel Moore ● 6247d