Gloucester Graffiti

My City Of Ruins.....

Gloucester is a city that was eviscerated in the late 60's / early 70's by so-called "town planners" who replaced historic but crumbling buildings with hideous, modernistic concrete blocks. My generation never saw the city at its best and can only rely on old photos to convey its past. In recent years millions of pounds have been spent on the city, mostly renovating the tourist areas such as the historic docks. Which is fine, but the inner city is suffering in comparison.

The old Gloucester College was shut a few years ago and a shiny new purpose-built college was erected near to the docks, yet again in that tourist zone. The old building has been left to fall apart until now when, in an echo of '60s "civil improvement", it's been earmarked for demolition. It was obviously easier for the powers-that-be to allow the historic building to deteriorate, rather than spend money to keep it viable. This has provoked a rash of angry graffiti around the site.....

Apparently the building will be replaced by flats or apartments but, as with the docks' redevelopment, these will be out of the price range of most people, whereas what the city really needs is low-cost, affordable housing. And if that would mean less of the outlying countryside being torn up by developers, all the better.

( BTW the soulless concrete lump behind the college will go too... not such an outcry over that one... )

The graffiti has been painted over more than once but keeps returning. There were some interesting Banksy-style stencillings there too ( maybe the work of the great man himself? ) but they've now gone. What remains is the anger. The words below seem to sum it all up.....