I was recently talking to a colleague who is involved with private/public sector business initiatives in Southampton, and he made the point that successive councillors and councils cannot think about the city in a joined up way - the matra is any investment is good investment, it's either party politics or hobby horses, never a long term vision for what could be a great small city. Despite it being seemingly obvious, development opportunities are continually missed and good buildings and areas bulldozed to make way for infill generic spam architecture. It seems that every penny received is spent on trying to polish bad areas whilst ignoring improving the city's assets. There is no viable plan for amenity, leisure, or heritage (which is layered in the city), and the lack of imagination is breathtaking - the course seems to be to turn Southampton into the Hull of the south. I was once at a seminar, and a very senior SCC employee (in a thick Lancashire accent) said that the council had mooted a lighting scheme to turn the Civic Centre clock tower into a giant 'virtual lighthouse...to show the city's history of protecting shipping' - I kid you not...