Not far from where I now live is  Kidbrooke Village. I came across it a few weeks before christmas, and since then I’ve been going there quite frequently.  It’s a trendy, recently redeveloped area which I reach along freshly-built paths. There are several blocks of flats (some still being built) set around architecturally-designed squares and pretty little parks. There’s even a cool little pub, The Depot, which I’d like to take Charlie to one day. It is the epitome of modern London, and was   obviously designed with city executives in mind. Yet I can’t  help thinking how much it contrasted with Congleton: you find such redevelopments all over the city these days, with their ubiquitous sleek urban architecture. Up north, though, towns seem to be being allowed to rot: new housing estates are  being built,  but there is no new infrastructure – no new  shops, community centres or parks – to go with them. So much  money is being spent on redeveloping London and it’s suburbs, while it seems the rest of the country is just being allowed to waste away. It’s an imbalance which seems quite perverse.