Telford - It's really not that bad! (Telford in general)

Member Name: flodombey

Product:	Telford in general
Date:	18/02/09 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Location, shopping, countryside

Disadvantages: Some problems with crime and sink estates

I just decided to see whether anyone had reviewed my home town of Telford and was amazed (and a bit sad) to find that the answer was yes - but neither was particularly positive, so I thought I should review it myself and maybe even up the rating.

I won't lie to you, Telford has its problems, but I think they are ones which any town across the UK can identify with to a certain extent, I am sure there are worse places to live - and it does have some good points. Lets look at the accusations which have been levelled at it first.

1) Nothing to do - Telford is a 'new town' (it was 'built' in the 1960's but what they mean by this is that a number of smaller towns - Oakengates, Wellington, Dawley etc - were amalgamated into one and a load of new estates built in between). As such it has grown at a fast pace over a small amount of time and this means that some things are still not particularly established, one of these is its own identity (more of which later) and another is a good nightlife scene.

Telford does have an ice rink though (which surrounding places like Wolverhampton do not), a bowling alley and an Odean cinema, the town park, a world heritage site (Ironbridge and associated museums), tons of pubs, bars and restaurants, miles of bridleways and cycle routes and an extensive shopping centre which has two department stores (Debenhams and House of Fraser). If you cannot find something to do in that little lot then im puzzled as to what you think is missing?!

The local centres of Wellington, Oakengates and nearby Shifnal (has a Telford postcode but is in fact a seperate town) have night life in the form of late licence bars and nightclubs. Yes - there is a problem with underage drinking and personally I never go to the clubs like Pussycats (Wellington) because I know it will be full of idiotic drunken teenagers, but if I was one still I am sure I would frequent the place!

I am certain that in future years the town will see an improvement in the nightclub scene, previous incanations of a 'central' nightclub at the town centre have failed due to allegations of drugs and violence but there is currently a facebook campaign to re-open and relaunch and I am hopeful at some point this will happen. Nowhere is perfect.

2) Chavs - Telford has been unfairly labelled the chav capital of the UK in the press and on various websites in the past. I laughed when I read this, I know what they are getting at but im sure it cannot be the chaviest place in Britain!? Unfortunately for Telford there are a number of sink estates (which were originally built to take overspill from Birmingham's council estates) and which are pretty rough, it is not uncommon to see burnt out cars and buildings, tons of graffiti and a lot of teenage mothers in these areas and the town centre can be a meeting point for gangs of kappa tracksuited teenagers - but these are problems the whole UK is facing, not just Telford.

3) Crime - yes crime happens more in Telford than in any other part of Shropshire, but thats because the rest of Shropshire (away from Shrewsbury and Ludlow) is mostly populated by sheep. It stands to reason that the largest community in the county is going to have the highest crime rate.

Personally I have had my car broken into a couple of times but nothing else. I have never been mugged despite the bad press and nor do I know anyone who has - however, if we were talking about nearby Wolverhampton then I do indeed know people who have been mugged and / or attacked there.

Now for some of the good points about Telford because YES! there are some:

1) Location - there are a couple of benefits to living in Telford, one is that if you are a business person like me you can commute easily to Wolverhampton and Birmingham and we are well placed both to get to Manchester (1.5-2hrs depending on traffic) and London (2-3hrs depending on traffic). We share the convenience of Birmingham in that sense but with the added bonus that we are actually surrounded by countryside. I like the fact that 5 mins from my door I can be surrounded by peace and quiet and fields.

The local landscape is beautiful and can be fully appreciated from the top of the Wrekin, an ancient and dormant volcano which is now a wooded hill on the north side of the town, it takes about an hour and a half to climb it but its worth it for the views, apparently on a clear day you can see all the way to the Liverpool docks although I have never achieved this. You get a real sense of how rural we are here from this viewpoint though, fields as far as you can see in some directions.

2) Shopping - I know I am biased but I do love Telford Town Centre for shopping, everything is under cover so the weather cannot affect your trip, the array of stores is great, two department stores and every big name you can think of, the only things I think we are missing are Gap and possibly a Lakeland (but thats because I am a kitchen store geek!). Every other big name - Lush, Boots, Zara, Waterstones, HMV, Monsoon, Body Shop, Hotel Chocolat and many many more are all there. Check out www.telfordshopping.co.uk for a full list of shops.

3) Cost of houses - it is more affordable to live in Telford than many places in the UK, prices have been falling and there are some nice areas which I would not mind living in if I ever move back there (I currently live on the outskirts in Shifnal), Priorslee, Ketley and Ironbridge are all fairly nice and some of the brand new community estates such as Lawley Village offer a fantastic little community hub with their own GP surgerys, dentists, shops and pubs. Less character? Maybe but you will see your money go further.

4) Transport links - even if you dont drive, Telford is linked by rail to the south through Wolverhampton and Birmingham to London and to the north via Shrewsbury to Manchester and north Wales. There is also a good bus system and National Express go from the Town Centre to many destinations across the country.

5) Ironbridge, Newport and Shifnal - these little 'mini towns' are all major centres for culture and history (Ironbridge) or eating out (all 3), tons of bars, pubs and restaurants, some with cracking views of the River Severn or the countryside, well worth a visit if you are in the area and lovely places to live too.

6) Education - Telford has a number of specialist academy schools including the oft-featured-on-the-news Thomas Telford which has been among the top performing state schools in the country for a number of years.

So there you go - I hope this is a more balanced view of my home town, much maligned in the past but not as bad as some would have you believe. Thanks for reading, I know this is a bit of a mammoth review but it was close to my heart!

Summary: Yes it has its problems but please don't write it off!