|
Creative Ropewalks’ Funding Boost
MOVES to
continue the regeneration of the Ropewalks area in Liverpool city
centre have been given a £1.5m boost.
Over the last 10 years a £40m regeneration programme - which saw
£150m of private investment levered in to Ropewalks – saw major
improvements including the development of creative industries, new
public spaces and improved public realm. The area also pioneered the
revival of city centre living.
To take forward the regeneration of the area a Creative Ropewalks
programme was approved last year which identified a broad set of
actions needed. A 3 year programme has been developed which
includes:-
· Focusing of statutory action to prevent the decline and loss of
historic buildings in the area
· Unlocking potential
development sites to secure appropriate uses
· Improved
maintenance of the public realm
· Managing the impact
of the night-time economy
· More effective
promotion of the area in the daytime
Now the Northwest Development Agency has approved a grant of £1.05m
which can be used particularly for actions to help sustain the
historic character of the area. It will be used to support the city
council in enforcement action against owners where other efforts to
secure improvements to the properties have failed. And an
extra £500,000 has been allocated from the Local Authority Business
Growth Initiative to enhance the public realm.
These funds are in addition to £3.5m for Creative Ropewalks which
includes contributions from the Heritage Lottery Fund, English
Heritage and the Townscape Heritage Initiative which is providing
grants to building owners to help them renovate their properties and
bring them back into effective use
Cllr Warren Bradley, City Council Leader, said:- “This new
funding is very welcome. Ropewalks has been a regeneration success
story over the past decade but we need to keep the impetus going.
Creative Ropewalks enables us to start delivering the priorities
which have been identified by the businesses and key developers in
the area.
While a great deal has been achieved in Ropewalks there is the
potential to do a lot more while retaining the unique character of
the area. We are supporting owners of buildings who are taking
positive action to restore and improve buildings –through the
Townscape Heritage Initiative, for example - but unfortunately
there are other owners who are allowing their property to
deteriorate and we will be taking action against them to ensure that
Ropewalks’ regeneration continues." |
Worry and sleepless nights increase risk of diabetes in men
PSYCHOLOGICAL
distress including anxiety, insomnia, depression, apathy and fatigue
can more than double the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes in older
men, warns leading health charity Diabetes UK.
Researchers looked at 2,127 men, born between 1938 and 1957, who had
normal blood glucose levels. They determined their level of
psychological distress both at the beginning and end of the study.
The men were tested for diabetes 8 to 10 years later and it was
found that the men with the highest levels of psychological distress
were 2.2 times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than those
with the lowest levels. Altogether 103 men developed Type 2
diabetes. The
link was independent of other factors including age, body mass index
(BMI), family history of diabetes, smoking, physical activity and
socio-economic background.
The study, published in the journal Diabetic Medicine this month,
also looked at 3,100 middle-aged women but found that there was not
an increased risk of diabetes in those with high levels of
psychological distress.
Dr Iain Frame, Director of Research at leading health charity
Diabetes UK, said:- "It is intriguing that the increased risk
of diabetes occurs in men only and it would be interesting to find
out why. The results suggest that it could be due to a
hormonal or behavioural influence.
We already know
from previous studies that stress is considered to be a risk factor
for Type 2 diabetes and others have looked at the link between sleep
disorders, such as insomnia, and the condition. This research
appears to confirm that there might be something in this.
We know that risk factors which increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes
are being white and over 40 years old, or of black or South Asian
origin and over 25 years old, having a family member with the
condition, being overweight and having high blood pressure.
If you have 2 or more of these
risk factors, you should see your GP for a simple test."
Professor Anders Ekbom from the Unit of Clinical Epidemiology at the
Karolinska Institute, Sweden, conducted the study. He said:-
"Genetic and environmental factors are involved in the
development of Type 2 diabetes. We already knew that
psychological distress and depression are risk factors for heart
disease and suspected they may play a part in developing Type 2
diabetes, which is corroborated by this research. The
link could be a result of the way psychological distress affects the
brains role in regulating hormones or perhaps because depression
influences a persons diet and level of physical activity in a
negative way."
To find out if you are at risk of diabetes visit
www.diabetes.org.uk. |
