Bleeding Normans.
Come over here taking our jobs.
That William the Conq was a right *******.

I regard to development, all I want to add is as the rich get even richer under progressively less and less progressive governments, they have more resources to flatten their homes and start again to their exact specification. So that's what they do.

And if I remember correctly the tax system favours total rebuilds over refurbishments. That does not help either.