The pros and cons of being economically backward: Stamford

Last month I popped over to Stamford for a quick look around a very picturesque place. It’s also an interesting example of the pros and cons of economic development, or more precisely missing out on it.

For Stamford’s brief history is that of an initially successful and prosperous staging post on the road north out of London before the trains came. Then vested economic interests kept the railway away in an attempt to protect their business. The railway was kept away for a long time but local prosperity faded because the result was business bypassing the town and going elsewhere.

However, the upside of this avoided development was the place missed out on much of the ugly redevelopment which disfigured other places and so now has found a niche as a picturesque place, popular with visitors and a frequent location for filming.

By the way, Jonathan Calder is quite a fan of Stamford and has written several very interesting posts about the place.