MIDDLEFORD

This is a grotty market town, just inside England on the border of North Wales. Class, religious and racial tensions abound. It's skyline is dominated by two big tower blocks, vertical slums packed with the descendants of idealistic West Indian immigrants who came to find a better life in the 1960's. The third of these towers burned down in the 90's, bitterness against "the upper class" (anyone on more than minimum wage) and "the establishment" (white people) remains.

Rumours of Brad and Angelina relocating here beleived to be unfounded

Rumours of the politicians responsible for this actually coming to look at it so unfounded you'd get taken away for repeating them

The older inner-city streets have the newest population, an un-assimilated middle-eastern Muslim community, few of whom speak English, who are formed a united voting bloc by "community leaders" and encouraged to elect the weakest and most pliant leaders. Parts of the outskirts are dominated by an older Asian community - Ugandan Asians, Indians or Pakistanis. The newest estates on the edges of the town are dominated by the displaced white community, among whom drugs, alcoholism and BNP support run high.

Estates so "sink" they make the Titanic jealous.

The EU selected this united, happy, integrated "world city" as the designated "Model of Progress" for 2003. The wealthy Belgian diplomat who came to open the curtain on the plaque found his hotel room had been burgled in his absence. The staff at the front desk seemed strangely reluctant to call the police, so he went to find the police station himself, and got stabbed in a botched mugging.

Right: Student blocks at Middleford University. "Midlands Innovation in Architecture Award" silver medallist, 1964.

Hope Tower, artist's impression of a clean, futuristic, eco-friendly and well-policed residential skyscraper planned to replace the old 1960's tower blocks. Ground-source heat pumps beneath a nearby park, and extensive solar arrays in the facade, would provide cheap heating and cooling to the residents and provide them with greater opportunity for saving their money, thus preventing them from turning to crime, while a nearby special measures school would help the next generation learn valuable skills and thus escape the lure of gang life. The proposal was unanimously voted down by the local council, on the grounds that it would "gentrify our unique, vibrant community".