What did you think of The One Show? Guest: Alistair McGowan
Alistair McGowan joined Adrian and Christine on the sofa.
Quadriplegic sailor Hilary Lister is attempting to sail around Britain. We caught up with her progress. Watch Sir Matthew Pinsent's first interview with Hilary here.
Novelist and former actress Reina James recalled growing up with Sid James.
Matt Allwright travelled to Dudley to meet homeowners on a private housing estate where some of the properties have become social housing. Have you been in a similar situation? Share your story below.
And Dom Litttlewood celebrated motorcycle racing's 100th birthday.
All week we've been celebrating One Show viewers who are 100 years old in 2009. They've told us what life has taught them - read more here. Take a look at all of the names on our 100th birthday page of honour here.
Also: Adrian and Christine have been reading your blog comments. Find out what they have to say here - watch their weekly website round-up!
Have a good weekend and Bank Holiday. We'll see you on Tuesday.
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~08~RS~)
Comments
a 65 year old Renault Five gets to the top of Everest - amazing! want one of them
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How snobbish can the residents of The Beck be? It is people like them who make the stigma against us social housing tenants.
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I live on a mixed private/social housing estate. It's not the housing association tenants that cause the problems as they know that if they get out of line they will be evicted, it's the private tenants. A lot of the houses on the estate were buy to let, the landlords don't care what problems their tenants cause as long as they are lining their pockets. I would much rather live next to a housing association tenant than a neighbour from hell private tenant.
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Those families in Dudley have displayed an incredible amount of snobbery, if you ask me. I am a private homeowner and have had trouble with social housing in my area before, but to actively refuse to live somewhere with social housing is downright discrimination as far as I'm concerned. We wouldn't put up with prejudice of this kind based on race or religion, so why do it for class? My grandparents lived in social housing all their lives and kept the properties pristine. Please let's not tar all people with the same brush.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
I do hope that the smug, self-satisfied people on The Beck in Dudley never find themselves in need of social housing. Do they think they will suddenly become a different kind of person if they don't own their own home?
This item, first featured on Midlands Today, made me very angry indeed.
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How snobbish. The residents of 'The Beck' ought to be ashamed of themselves. I hope one day they find themselves in the position of needing social housing, and they meet people with as little tolerance as they have.
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The attitude of the residents of the beck is shameful.
I own my own house and I realise how extremely lucky I am to be in that position. I wonder if the people of The Beck lose their houses because they cant pay their mortgage will their attitude change?? I think it would!
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I am appauled at the snobbery of the shown house holder. I certainly would not want to live next door to that sort of person anyway!!!!!!-I cant bare false snobbery---
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i can't believe that people on this estate are prepared to admit they are such pretentious idiots. people in social housing are you and me when hard times hit. often a lot more respectable than these total snobs who think they are "better" than other people. yuk
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Re the Social Housing,I live in a flat on a block that belongs to a council(name suplied Ealing)and believe you me those people are not being snobs when others whom they fear may lower the standards of their properties.We have something similar, a person who was apparently a huge nuisance at another council high rise was "sneaked into " our flats almost overnight.He hoimself is a minor nuisance,it's the 'crap'(sorry no other way of describing them) that follow him,the drug addicts looking to get a box ful of his pills ,money, and eveen a warm place to squat in!,and this IS THE TROUBLE!! yours Geoff Crimes
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I am absolutely disgusted at the sheer snobbery of those people in the 'social housing' segment. How on earth would they feel if they were in a situation where they had lost their precious homes and had to seek social housing themselves? How would they feel if they subject to the same kind of discrimination as they are showing themselves?
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Perhaps residents of The Beck would also like to stop black people buying houses on 'their estate' or women or Christians? Perhaps the social housing tennants should be identified in some way? Their houses could be painted a particular colour, maybe?
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I was appalled at the attitude of the "private" residents of The Beck. Despite their comments that they were not against individual social housing tenants, they clearly had a problem with them. We are all people and defining people by their housing tenure is narrow minded and offensive.-------
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We tried to get planning permission to build nine flats; the plans were accepted by the council as long as we gave up FOUR of them to social housing so we built two private houses instead. Developers have to sell them at cost or even lower and we can only expect this to get worse. No wonder there is a housing shortage - developers won't build unless they make a profit.
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I am so insulted by the story on social housing! I live in a 'social housing' block in central london as a shared ownership tenant and a key worker. I have never had any problems with living here - in fact I have never lived anywhere more friendly or community spirited in London or elsewhere. For the residents of Beck to imply we are some lower species is both small minded and arrogant. I would hate to have to live near such bullies!!!
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I cannot beleive the BBC gave airtime to allow a group of private residents to complain at having to live next to people from a "lower" social class. You could feel the undertone of "not our kind of people", "not in my back yard","Ive nothing against them personally" (but I wouldnt want my daughter to marry one!). Absolutely shocking. Its a very short journey from "I only want to live next to people who can afford their own home" and "no blacks or irish". Were we meant to feel sorry for these people?
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And I notice that none of the so-called "Problem" neighbours were actually featured? Those people were utterly appalling. I bet if you went back a few generations all their families were in social housing!!
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I have just seen the clip on the One Show about the Social Housing issue with the Barretts estate. I was so incensed I felt I had to write. I moved into a new Barrett estate in 1995!!! When I moved in, whilst nearly all houses had been built, only half were occupied. We too believed that it was a totally private estate, however, we then heard that because Barrett were struggling to sell all the houses, they did a deal with the local council to make the rest social housing. True to the rumour the houses very quickly filled up. When we complained to the rep on site that was when we were told it was because of slow sales and Barrett wanted to get off the development. Over the next few years we saw quite a few undesirable people come in and as a result the estate quickly became scruffy and house values were affected. The reason I am incensed is because this is nothing new to Barretts given that this happened 14 years ago! I moved out 8 years after moving in as I no longer wished to live there. We didn't get any compensation for dwindling house values, however, if Barrett would like to reimburse me now I will gladly accept it as we too were led to believe it was totally private occupation.
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We purchased a so called "luxury apartment" at premium price and were told that there would be a few social housing. We were fine with that but we were naive. We have been very unlucky, the housing association did outreach and brought in people with serious problems. We have had junkies sleeping in corridors, a brothel, illegal immigrants held against their will, doors kicked in, rubbish thrown everywhere, a rat infestation. We had a management company who simply couldn't cope so took our money without providing services. We would never, ever buy a flat again or any modern development where we would be in close proximity to social housing but think the situation might have been better if they had mixed up the flats throughout the whole development rather than lumped people with social problems together in one block.
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I think it was a clear case of snobbery. I happen to live in social housing and whilst there are problems the vast majority of people living here are decent, honest and hard working.
John Luton
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I think the residents of The Beck have a valid case,and bought properties on a "private" estate - why should they have the value of thier property devalued and if they were to lose their homes I am sure they wouldn't expect to be housed on a similar estate
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I was totally in awe of Walter, who is celebrating his 100th birthday soon. What an amazing gentleman. A very Happy Birthday Walter, you're incredible!
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What a bunch of snobs in this report. I am a 48yr old professional woman homeowner but did not go to university until age 30 and did not buy until I was 37. Before that I was in social housing. People in social housing are human beings too and to see these people going on about the value of their houses was too much! The woman felt there was a stigma attached to social housing - not true! We need more social housing and more integrated communities mixing social groups, ages and able bodied/disabled. I live in a flat with a renter in the basement and next door - they are full members of our community every bit as much as those who have the good fortune to be able to afford a mortgage.
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I have lived in social housing and work in social housing now, the problem with people who live in social housing is where they live. putting people in tower blocks and sink estates makes for unhappy people, putting them in nice new estates reduces asb and crime, these people are just ignorant and uneducated, I can not believe what they are doing, its got nothing to do with them, where their new neighbours come from, they should concentrate in helping them integrate in to their "close knit community" maybe if they decided not to separate from the new tenants, they would see that these people are no different from themselves, its nothing but snobbery and close mindedness.
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I find the premise for the segment on social housing on a Barrett estate offensive. Why have you endulged middle class snobbery? The couple who felt so aggrieved at having their housing estate invaded by people lower down the income ladder than themselves never once justified their prejudices with an example of anti-social behaviour in their new neighbours - they simply expressed a bold 'not on my doorstep' little Englander attitude. If they'd been complaining that the area had been over-run with Pakistanis or West Indians you rightly would have ignored the complaint as racist. So why help stigmatise the poor in precisely that way on prime-time TV?
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In theory I agree with integrated social housing. However in Bedford where I live its has been disastrous and has led to a general lowering of standards of behaviour and the spread of anti social behaviour.I think Housing Associations should be a great deal more careful who they put in properties which are on private estates. Until recent times I had both a prostitute and a heroin addict livingf opposite me insocial housing, resulting in drug dealers battering down doors and the prostitute burning down her flat!!!!! I can understand the fears of the Beck residents.
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I feel disgusted as being portrayed as a social leper because i live in a housing association house. I hope those people from the beck lose their home one day and need to avail themselves of social housing. Obviously owning your own home means you are a better class of person these days, well if thats what it turns you into then no thanks. Shame on you one show for such a one sided view
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But even the estate agent had the sense to realise that it completely depends on WHO moves in, not their financial status!
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Social housing represents much needed affordable housing for people on low incomes - people essential to all of us, such as nurses and teachers and many more. Without such housing our communities could not function properly.
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Actually, I agree with the people from Dudley. As one of these comments mentioned that you shouldn't tar everyone with the same brush, unfortunately it is the housing tenants that make people tar them with the same brush. I live on a mixed housing estate and most of the tenants are lovely and not a problem and really look after and care about the look of their home. However, their are a good number of tenants that do not, their homes are in poor condition, the children walk down the middle of the road and make it difficult for cars to pass, some of the tenants are noisy. I even found a girl walking around the estate on her own and she was only about 2 years old! It is a shame they create a bad reputation for the rest of the tenants but this is reality.
I personally, if I had a choice, would not live on a mixed housing estate for these reasons. This is my choice and everyone should be allowed to have a preference where they live and the type of people they live with and do not feel this is discriminatory by any means. I look after my home and want to live in an area where this type of behaviour, attitude and carelessness is minimal and it is unfortunate I cannot get this because of social housing.
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I was brought up in social housing but managed to buy my own home as an adult(I am a widowed mother). The house next door was let to a housing assc and both sets of tenents were nightmares: noise all day and night (neither of the two sets of families worked)I complained to the council as one family was dirty as well as noisy and they did nothing. My life was awful for 4 years (my car was vandalised when I called the police as the woman of one of the families was been beaten up by her violent drunken boyfriend)Sorry but I would not want social housing tgenents next door again and snobbery has nothing to do with it.
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I would like to totally agree with the comments above. Those people on that estate should be ashamed of themselves. In these economic times more and more people will not be able to afford to buy a property outright, building more lost cost and affordable homes is one Government policy we should support wholeheartedly. I hope none of those people find themselves unemployed and unable to pay their mortgage as if ever in that unfortunate position they will only be to glad of these other housing options. It people like that who have stigmitised this tenure just because it is not private. Not other country in Europe has such a large privately owned housing sector, the majority rent. Shame on them nobody should be judged on whether you can afford to purchase a house or not.
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I'm an ex employee of the Housing Association and have worked in Housing for a long time. Would these private residents prefer for a) tenants to continue living in poor housing conditions and children of low income families to continue growing up in social deprevation and b) to see thousands of jobs go at Barratts, this was a substantial amount of properties across the whole country, not just one estate in Dudley?
This was a solution to two examples of ills that our country faces at the moment. You might also consider that, already so very stretched funding wise, the Housing Association were under extreme pressure to accept many of these properties, but did, because they care about the communities they seek to help.
Never judge when you dont know the whole picture and some of the extremely difficult decisions people behind the scenes have to make day in day out. It is not an easy job at all but we do it because we are passionate about communities.
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I was disgusted by the comments of the people on The Beck Estate, i am a social housing resident and consider myself a good neighbour aswell. Any rich person could buy up all the houses and rent them to who they like so there will never be any guarantees that you will be next to homeowners. Buying your own property does not give you the right to pick your neighbours, it would be wiser to get along with each other.
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In March 1990 I purchased a studio flat on a Laing Homes development in Acton, West London. When I initially went to the development to see the properties and reserve my flat I asked the sales team if there was to be any social housing on the development. I was told that there would be some Housing Association tenants, but that they would be very carefully chosen as they would all be participating in the Associations' DIY Shared Ownership schemes, so they would all own a percentage of their properties.
I was reassured by this, as I mistakenly thought that people investing money in property would have an interest in keeping the development a good place to live. How wrong I was!
We had numerous problems from the outset with some (not all) of the Housing Association residents. They included: dangerous driving of motorcycles and cars around the estate by some of the youths; vandalism of the privately-owned properties; setting fire to the bin stores; trespassing into the private gardens; noise nusiance and anti-social behaviour and theft of mail to name but a few.
Our Residents' Association eventually called a meeting with the Housing Associations involved, and we were horrified to learn that the agreement between the Associations and Laing Homes was never that the social housing properties should be made available only to tenants who qualified for the DIY Shared Ownership Scheme.
I entered into a protracted correspondence with Laing Homes, who categorically denied that theis sales team had given me the information which they had regarding the social housing element on the estate. I was so furious that I contacted my local paper (the Ealing and Acton Gazette), and they printed my story. However, it made no difference. I received no apology or any form of recompense from Laing Homes and, as soon as the property market had recovered sufficiently for me to sell at a small profit, I moved from the estate.
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Our lovely quiet privately owned street has been blighted by buy-to-let.
Now we have drug dealers every weekend, cars racing up and down, and constant noise from the DSS tenants. and thats just one house. All because the owner couldnt sell and it was taken on by a new owner who couldnt care less about the community.
Mortgage ? forget it, have lots of kids, never work and get a free house.
The 'experiment' of placing these people with no social skills in among 'normal' people only means the minority make the majority's lives miserable and we're stuck with it.
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I'm disappointed that the One Show seemed to take it as fact that living alongside social housing is a bad thing, and allowing such blatant discrimination. Must try harder.
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I have owned 2 homes in the past, but now due to family illness I am in "Social Housing". Who the hell do these people think they are? Both my neighbours own their houses, but they are no different to me, nor do they behave as if they were. It is the lack of integration and understanding that contributes to the social decay in this , increasingly selfish, country. Get a life and live with your neighbours whoever they are.
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What total snobs the people who live on the Beck are!! I live in a housing association apartemnt on a normal new estate and we don't have any problems the only reason is because i caouldn't afford the high house prices & buy a complete home I had to part buy & part rent. I don't think the people on the Beck estate have a case. Get a life & live with the fact there are people not as well off as you!!
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Such an obvious display of snobbery and vanity. If they were complaining about black people they would be done for racism. Instead they are complaining about poor people. They are nothing more than bigots.
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Me and my family have problems with a particular sort of social housing property next door to us. We have been a council tenant for over 20 years and about 2 years ago the house next door was sold, and the guy turned the normal family house into a house in multiple occupation (HIMO for short), I and many other neighbours have suffered with this for nearly 2 years, he is still awaiting planning permission from the local council. We have had many anti social behavoiur problems from this property, the landlord does not care and he has other properties , again without planning permission, where the same kind of problems have occurred. The Police and all the relevant bodies have been informed and no one seems to be doing anything, this has lead to my son starting his fits again, my wife collapsing, my daughter breaking down, and me having a heart attack and alopecia. HIMO's are great when they are run properly but it is the unscrutiple landlords like the one next door to us that cause's the problems.
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I am disgusted that the people interviewed do not want 'social housing' on their estate. I am sure that some of these 'undesirables' will look after their properties much better than the owner occupiers who may lose their lofty position - as I know that too well that we are all only one letter away from redundancy or job loss with repossesion just around the corner - also will add to the commumity spirit so often lacking in the faceless society that we live in.
I suspect that these owner occupiers grew up in council houses, with their parents working in the now lost Black County Industries, thus enabling their parents to bring them up in subsidised housing with the Thatcher government allowing them to become owner occupiers and depleting the social housing pool.
I hope that they will remember their roots!!! and give others a chance ..............
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I am disgusted with the attitude of the people who live in The Beck. Who do they think they are? People who live in social housing come from all walks of life and are not all junkies or other 'undesirables'. Social housing tenants come from all walks of life and to tar them all with the same brush shows what snobs they are. They should be grateful they can afford their own homes. With the economy as it is maybe one day they could find themselves on the other side of the fence. How would they like to be talked about in such a way?!
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How dare those people with the good fortune to own their own houses criticise people who haven't been so lucky? I had my own house with my husband, we split up, he defaulted on the mortgage, I lost the house and my equity in it, my husband never gave me a penny towards the children and the ONLY way I could afford to set up home again with 2 children under 8 was via the housing association.
Those selfish, self absorbed people who want to avoid contact with the likes of me should know that 10 years on I am a manager in the NHS earning mmore than £30,000 with 1 child at university and another a successful, fully qualified joiner - thanks to the "leg up" given to me by the housing association.
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I'm not usually one to comment on blogs, but I felt I had to register my disgust that you would even give airtime to the residents of The Beck. I have been to that estate in Dudley, it is a lovely place, if you did not know it would be impossble to tell whether the houses were private or housing association. It is actually identical to many solely housing association estates in the near by area. Private owners need to accept that things have changed and that it is their own greed which led to the ridiculous rise in property prices which priced so many young families out of the market and led to so many people losing their homes that brought about this situation in the first place. If house prices had risen at a reasonable level, say the level to which they think their property price has dropped since their estate became 'tainted' with lovely residents such as the young lady you showed with her son, then enough people would have been able to afford their own home for the estate to remain private, and, there wouldn't be such a desperate need for the expansion of social housing that housing associations would be buying up Barratt Homes.
How can anybody be so shameless as to go on national television simply to say that they are angry at having to live next door to people on a lower income to themselves even though they acknowledge that these people cause them no problems whatsoever? And I'm sure they are the self same people who would complain about council estates becoming ghettos in the next breathe. You can't have it both ways people.
Okay, rant over.
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Never have I been so angry at the content of an item on this type of programme. Not at the small mindedness of the residents, but at the BBC for showcasing this tosh. The residents of social housing are the people who empty your bins, nurse your elderly parents and, as the recession deepens, teach your children and police our streets.
As a housing professional, I, and others like David Orr and my ex-colleagues at the National Housing Federation have worked hard to remove the stigma of living in affordable housing, and for the BBC to run this item is outrageous. Ill informed and prejudicial coverage like this only serves to perpetuate a myth that social housing is equivalent to a modern slum which will reduce the value of neighbouring properties. Too late, the collapse of the housing market has done that already: thank goodness for the good sense of the estate agent interviewed during the piece. Housing associations provide good quality, well managed accommodation for people unable to purchase a home on the open market. If any of the residents interviewed lose their jobs or have their homes repossessed, they would be lucky to be allocated a social housing property.
Please, BBC, for the sake of my blood pressure- no more like this.
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So sad to hear about people from the Beck - I am wondering whether the BBC should actually give them air time at all! I felt this was inflammatory. As the spokesman said at the end, people need to learn to live together - don't encourage divisions by assuming social housing means problems. Get to know your neighbours first before you start looking at the negatives!
I live in a nice detached house in the country - next to me on one side is a row of 6 'social' houses. On the other side are a couple of private houses then another row of council/ex council houses. We don't have any problems with our neighbours and the house values aren't affected.
The problems associated with 'social housing' come when large estates are built which then have the potential to become ghettos. I have lived in one of these in the past and speak from personal experience.
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We live in a privately owned terraced house which is built next door to a housing assocation development of semi-detached houses and flats. We have no objection to the majority of the residents with the exception of one who seems to encourage local teenagers to his house late at night at weekends, plus another whose front garden (grassed) has not been touched for a year. Why doesn't the Housing Association better manage these tenants - they give the other tenants in the development a bad name.
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I live in a lovely street and bought my house as part of a shared ownership scheme. I have now bought the remaining shares of the property as have others but there are still around 25% of the houses still co-owned by the council. The only eyesores in the street are the privately owned buy to let properties, the houses need a good lick of paint and the gardens are untidy, the grass and hedges need cutting making parts of the street look scruffy. Housing is expensive, don't damn everyone trying to get on in life because they can't afford to buy their own house. We all have to start somewhere.
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It would seem that many are unhappy with the social housing issue. I write to commend you on the uplifting nature of the other stories... good news is so often hidden.
Hilary Lister's story was inspirational, the Sid James story irresistable (my father-in-law is very like him and had his leg pulled on the likeness), and your 99 year old gin and tonic lover was so encouraging!
Please continue to bring good news and humour (wasn't Alistair McGowan good particularly with his handling of immitation of Sid James?)
Thank you,
Mike
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I think these people are worthless, small minded idiots!.
I'd rather have friends from social housing than these money minded, selfish so called human beings.
Where would they end up if they lost jobs and couldn't afford their mortgage?
My husband lost his job and we lost our home as a result. We are now on the social housing list.
Unfortunately because a lot of people who can afford to buy, think it's a great idea to move to Cornwall, Which has put our house prices through the roof and left us, locals, short housed. second/holiday homes have ruined any chance of most of us getting a home so we are forced to go into social housing.
Just because people end up in social housing, it does't mean they are any worse than you. In fact they'd probably be nicer to know.
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The people of Dudley are NIMBY's snobs I think they sgould be ashamed of themselves. Jumped up irkks I would call them. Cant they see that a decent home is what everyone in this country is entitled to. The people that rent the homes want a decent place to live. I am from the West Midlands and am ashamed of these people
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I was so disgusted by the comments made by those I hesitate to call 'people' about social housing I am unsure whether to complain about their views being aired or to praise the BBC for exposing this kind of obscene bigotry. I live in a mixed tenure area and haven't noticed the 'difference' between those who rent, own or are on the verge of repossession. If they had the remotest sense of shame, I hope they might reflect on how they've shown themselves up. Tenants, social tenants, are overwhelmingly the victims of crime and anti-social behaviour not its perpetrators. Now, it seems, so-called 'decent people' feel free to label them as scum and responsible for lowering their house prices. Obviously. Shame! 'Oh what a gift the giftee gee us to see ourselves as others see us!'
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@ridingrobbo79, I work in housing and I can assure you that when people like the residents of The Beck lose their properties they absolutely expect to be rehoused in the same kind of area/property.
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There wasn;t enough of Alistair to have an opinion
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I think these home buyers should think carefully about what they are saying and doing. It is not possible for everyone to buy their own home. Social housing does not mean that the people are scum and will cause problems on their little estate. They should remember that they own their homes not the estate. I feel that in this country there is too much stereotyping. To be totally honest I would rather live next to the lady with the lovely baby then the couple who have clearly got their noses up in the clouds and drink tea with their little finger held out.
Stop being upper class and get on with your neighbours.
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We are appalled at the attitude of the owner occupiers in Dudley who are fortunate enough to be able to afford to buy a house. Everyone has a right to a decent home, the issue is one of affordability and tenure. Registered social landlords own and manage a variety of properties some rented, some equity share. No mention was made of the type of tenure. Owner occupiers have the solution, they are in the housing market and can move on and we would suggest that if they feel as strongly as protrayed in the program that is what they do.
You do not have to live in social housing to have problems with neighbours. In this case the social housing residents have the problem neighbours.
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I can only comment on my own expeience but I find that buyers with mortgages to pay usually have jobs and so have to get up in the morning, the housing assc people I have had experience of have had no jobs so can stay up all night playing music/drinking/arguing. They are not concerned about anyone else. As I say I can only comment on the families I have known and they have not been good neighbours.You should not be called a snob because you have a job and take care of your home or pay a mortgage. My dad was a factory worker and my mum was a claener so I dont come from a well off family. I just worked 12 hours a day to buy my own home and bring up my son.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Prior to where I live now, I lived on a very middle classed privately owned estate. However, after some time I decided to move elsewhere within the area simply because there was absolutely no sense of community - indeed it was particularly snobbish.
When I moved I actively chose to purchase a house for myself and my children on an estate within the town which was predominantly social housing. That was 8 years ago, and I would never live anywhere else. I have fantastic neighbours - not just immediate neighbours but the whole community supports each other during times of crisis. Yes, we have our fair share of druggies but you get those in any area.
When we first moved here, my children's friends refused to visit at first, but now I can't keep them away! Some of my own friends also looked down their noses at me because of where I chose to live, but I have a wonderful community around me to replace them.
I am a business owner as well as a mother, and living here I'm treated just like anyone else - with respect and open friendliness. When someone is ill we take turns in helping to look after them, when someone dies we all turn out and chip in for the funeral, and when there is something to celebrate we all celebrate together.
No one differentiates between who ownes their own home and who doesn't. The local school is so much better than the rest of the town's schools acedemically - even though the school uniform may not be as smart.
So, my experience should be a lesson to many who turn up their noses at social housing. I've lived and travelled around the world and I've never lived in one place as long as I've lived here.
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im sorry that most peolpe think it sobbery to object to social housing. I was raised in a council house and have worked very hard for thirty years to own my own house.Last year we bought from plan asked all the relevant questions of our builders (persimmon) they repeatedly told us that it would be a private estate.On moving in we found we were surrounded by local authority housing, non of the tennants work their children trample over the gardens and run riot.We cant move away we paid top price for our home and they get rent cheques. I have no problem with responsible tennants its just those who dont appreciate what they have been given and i have had to pay very dearly for.
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We have lived in "social housing" for 10 years,our small estate is mixed between private and housing association homes.Although my husband and I both work hard,and long hours,our part of Kent is expensive.NOT EVERYONE CAN AFFORD TO BUY THEIR OWN HOME!!Let the snobs in Dudley remember that-that is if they even remotely care.I feel very angry and hurt by these bigots,we are decent law abiding people and so are the people on our street.
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After being on a housing association wating list for 2 years and giving up, I found this story very angering. Simply because one doesn't have the income to buy one's own property doesn't imply that one is undesirable. 65 years ago one could have used the term Jew or black, instead of social housing tenant. The bigotry is the same and detestable.
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Social housing does not mean social problems, people who can afford a mortgage are not automatically good citizens. I live in a private house, two houses immediately opposite have been sold to a housing association and the house next door has recently been sold as a rental property we've had good tenants and bad tenants in both but by far the worst inhabitants of this street own their own property.
The prejudice and snobbery displayed in the report on "The Beck" shocked and saddened me I honestly thought we might be moving towards a more tolerant society in which people were no longer judged by their earning power and social status. How on earth that poor lady who was a social housing tenant must feel goodness only knows I though the days of segregation had long gone.
Many people in privately owned accomodation would not be there if not for the fact that they had lived in social housing and been allowed to buy it at a low price.
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In my opinion people should remember where they came from.I bet a lot of people on The Beck grew up in council houses. How soon snob value takes over
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Well said Patsy Brennan (comment 47.), I wish I could have relayed that sentiment so eloquently.
We should all remember that "bad" tenants are in the minority and these examples are not representative and of the majority that live on mixed estates. Naturally, you will see here, only the worse cases, this is what we english do best, covert the negative and forget to sing the praises and publicise the positives. Remember that Housing Associations (Registered Social Housing Landlords) are strictly governed and have processes in place to deal effectively with any issues around anti social behaviour should ever this arise.
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I agree with most of the above comments, they have made their point very well, so no need for me to elaborate, except to say as a child the Coal Board owned our house, and you could not find nicer people. I'd like to wish Walter a very happy 100th birthday, he's a smashing gentleman, and I'd like nothing better than to buy him a gin and tonic if I could, he has a lovely family too, who obviously adore him, also Alister is a good laugh, all in all a good show tonight, except for those snobs on the Beck housing estate.
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I also have lived twice as a home owner on a new build estate, the estate has a small community centre where you can get involved,join classes for example gardening club, social barbeque and birthday parties any problems are refered back to the developers who meet residents at group meeting with the police and local MP. It is the way forward, society is changing, get on with your neighbours and stop all this snobbery we are all finding life is difficult and try it before you take this case to court.
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The thing that surprised me was that the housing assc families who moved in next door and who were jobless were all healthy young people. one young man told me that he was not getting a job because he got more on benefits and liked his time to himself. While the govenment pays people to be lazy this will keep happening.
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It is not snobbery to want decent neighbours who do not stay up all night because they do not have to work.
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This story has outraged me about the Beck residents. Unfortunatly I lost my house which i had bought and now lost my job so i have had to go to the local authority for help with housing. We have had to live in absoulte disgusting condition in and around the flat we have had to live in!! I understand that they also have bought and paid for their property but unfortunatly the way the govenment have run this country into the ground means there are more people that are in this postition. How would they feel if this is what happened to them and they listened to those comments????
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I have never in my life been so angered by a report on television, I almost cannot believe that you are allowed to broadcast such prejudiced rubbish. Three generations of my family (including myself) have all lived or are still living in social housing; none of us live off benefits, none of us are nuisance neighbours and none of us are such pretentious snobs.
Why is it that some people who have been lucky enough to manage to purchase their homes then seek to look down on those less fortunate than themselves? We do not all have the same opportunities in life, either as a result of birth or natural ability, but this does not make those lower down the scale some kind of lepers who should be removed from the vicinity of the 'homeowner.' Do the people on this estate really think they are some kind of superior beings?
I acknowledge that some tenants are troublesome but I have seen plenty of documetaries where the 'neighbours from hell' have also 'achieved' the title of homeowner. Clearly we are not all the lowlife those on the Beck estate think we are as anarchy would elsewise reign nationwide by now.
At the end of the day we are all humans who have to live in/on this estate/country/planet together. I thought the 'I look down on him because he is middle class' comedy sketch was a joke from decades ago but clearly this attitude is still firmly in place.
I am pretty disgusted at The One Show for this; you would not dream of broadcasting a report suggesting that some people do not want to live near those of other colours/religions/sexualities yet it has been deemed fit to portray the social housing tenant as some kind of pariah.
Livid from Kent
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If you complained about a house builder selling a house to a black person and asked for compensation, you would be (quite rightly) accused or racism (and I would like to think charged with racist behaviour) and your claim thrown out, same with any none heterosexual couples etc. or other social group that have traditionally suffered this kind of abuse. It shows that bigotry is alive and well in the middle classes! But why oh why give these bigoted snobs airtime on the BBC?
If a house builder builds a house, surely he has the right to sell it to whom ever he wishes, to the private buyer who wishes to live in it, to the private buyer intending to buy to let, or a housing association wishing for all families, no matter what their social economic group, to get a home. Even if current house prices mean some can only afford to rent as a mortgage is out of reach.
The people I feel sorry for, is the poor people who have to suffer these people as neighbours.
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It IS snobbery to make a vindictive proclamation that ALL housing association tenants are people who CHOOSE to be on benefits and stay up all night. That's what you have just done!
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As regards to the issue on social houing:
I live wihin this category in a scenic part of the city of Oxford.
Most of my neighbours are quiet residing people,however, we do have a problem. One of the tenents in my apartment was attacked a few days ago.
The man who attacked her was on 'care in the community'. It turned out he was schizophrenic. A group of tenents talked to the Dominion Housing Associaton about their concern,but was told there was nothing they could do because of the cuurrent legislation. However, this man could be out after 28 days assessment by psychiatrists and still residing in the same apartment block.
adrian Riley Oxford
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Looking through all the comments the majority support the social housing views - Coming from a privately owned housing background and owning my own house for the last 35 years and also my sister and brother being house owners I cannot understand these peoples' bigoted views.
Perhaps these people think that we should bring back the workhouses for the poor people who cannot buy their own houses
I have never commented on anything the BBC broadcast bus really these bigoted people take the biscuit
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Hi I can see their point about being mis sold a property and not being told what is going on but in a way it's a bit snobby as not all people living in council property are tarred with the same brush. I've always lived in council accomodation and work full time like I always have and paid for everything in full. I'm not one of those that got pregnant at 16 to get a place and to claim everything under the sun or takes drugs. There are bad estates but not everyone is the same or in the same circumstances as everyone else. I am sick of people presuming I claim benefits when I don't as I work full time. I'm out at 6.30 - 7am to get to work. I've had a rough four years as my mum passed away from cancer and have had to move due to circumstances. If I could afford to buy a pad of my own I would but I'm sick to death of people preuming the wrong thing because you live in a council flat. To be honest I couldn't afford to live with a big morgate. Anyway the main point is where I've lived and do live now is a good mixture of private housing and council housing - there's not any bother at all. I've always lived beside nice people and it didnt' matter if they were private or council. If there was I would make sure it was sorted out. I currently live accross the road from a very posh school and things are very quiet with very good neighbours. I know they didn't have a problem with the lady in the clip and what is so wrong with the lady wanting to live somewhere nice away from all the drug taking etc? I don't blame her for wanting to live somewhere a bit better away from trouble - anyone reasonable would want to do that. I think it's a bit snobby to want to be exclusive and want rif raff over there. I know it's nice to live somewhere nice but you could have bad neighbours either council or private so it's no good going snobby just because of being a bit better of financially!
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For all those who think that to live in social housing you have to be unemployed, I just want to inform you that in a street of social housing (which happens to be the street opposite my home), only one family is unemployed, the rest are all working. How do I know? Well this is a friendly estate and we actually talk to our neighbours rather than look down our noses at them.
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There seems to be a divide in people's perception that it is the wealthy and rich who are the ones complaining about social housing and don't think this is the case. The examples people are giving above are about the tenants bad behaviour which has created the bad impression for the rest. There are a lot of people out there that try hard to meet their mortgage payments each month so this is not a private -v- social housing contest! This is not down to snobbery for those of you that have mentioned it, it is about wanting to take care of your home and live in a location and street where this type of behaviour does not exist. If this behaviour did not exist a lot more home owners would not have a problem with it.
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This is absolutely NOT SNOBBERY!! My fiance, who has just returned from Afghanistan, and myself, work day and night to afford our Barratt house, and because of HA tenants living opposite us, it is a NIGHTMARE living here. They are up all night drinking and arguing, the police have been called several times in order to deal with them. The HA don't care, and we are considering selling our house at a substantial loss just to get away from them. We both work very very hard and it really angers us to see these HA tenants NOT doing a day's work and still living in a lovely house - they DO NOT deserve it!! There are poeple in the forces fighting and losing their lifes for their country and they are provided with much worst MoD housing, whereas it seems to us, all the tenants opposite us have done is had a baby and don't work!
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As a house owner (mortgage paid) I cannot believe that these people think they are in some way 'better' than the people who are in supported housing. The interviewees concerned were certainly not upper class individuals and I find it amazing that they felt in any way superior to those members of society which rely on supported housing. My opinion is that possibly their lack of social status prompted them to make their complaint, or more probably their desire for some financial gain.
Wendy Baines (Cheshire)
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The people in the beck are just beung snobbish and acting like NIMBY's. I bet their grandparents grew up in social housing and never had a problem. I live in social housing and there are no problems where I live. The town is a mixture of social housing and private. Most of the private housing has been bought by outsiders who rent them out in the summer and once the season is over the houses are left empty. We have just had some new houses built and they are a mixture social housing and private because the developers got help with the building of them from the local housing association.
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i got on the property ladder through social housing but in those days we didn't impact on the local community. As a life long socialist I am definitaly not a snob. The local affordable housing on my Barratts development has definately impacted on my quality of life. Now i realise that the lack of respect for authority and community means social housing should only be built in Lands End and John O'Groats! I cannot afford to move and definately not afford to move far enough away from these people!!!!
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I have bought a flat on a Share Ownership scheme with TOWER HOMES-LQ. On the sales presentations we were told that the blocks would be sold for professionals and key workers. The price was more then 200K. The problem is that we were not informed that 2 block would be a social housing building and have join doors, free and unrestricted access to our block.In fact if it was informed before the purchase many residents would not have bought the apartment, or at list we could have paid for what we have received. Anyone from the street that access their building also access ours. We had to deal with vandalism, drug users, rough sleepers. The problem is to be misleading. EDMONTON GREEN -
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Do these people of Dudley not realise that the majority of people living in social housing work hard, contribute to society and are probably quite nice? We own our home at the moment, but may have to move into social housing or a shared ownership property. We have not fallen behind with the mortgage, but we have a disabled child. Our home, according to social services, is not suitable for adaption. We cannot afford the type of house our family needs, so social housing may be the way to go. Will people look down their noses at us? Think first! It's people like those of that estate in Dudley that keeps the stigma going, and they THEMSELVES are talking down the value of their properties!!!
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I think the problem is that instead of taking people as individuals the behaviour of some social housing residents has been assumed to be the behaviour of all social housing residents.I know some extremely dodgy, unemployed people who own their own house but I don't imagine for one minute that all house owners are the same.
Does anyone recall seeing a TV programme years ago in which the residents of a private housing estate wanted a wall built between them and the council estate at the end of the road? What on earth did they or the people living in The Beck think they were going to catch?
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Really can't see why the BBC put this story on air!
Good to see most on here have seen through it as snobbery.
ALL new developments over a certain number of units (usually very low circa 10) require a social housing element (30 to 40% in many cases) OR a contribution from the developer to provide this elsewhere.
'The Beck' looked pretty normal to me, and not a 'gated development' which would imply it was truly 'private'.
Anyone stupid enough to buy a house thinking it was on a 'private estate' and thus would be an exclusive development deserve to be let down - because they are STUPID and simply don't understand the terminology. The private bit is YOUR HOUSE - that's it!
The whole idea of 'pepper potting' social housing into private estates is to do away with ghetto culture, labelling and defining people by their worth in money as opposed to their worth as people. There are plenty of people who own their house but make their neighbours life hell, and likewise plenty of people in social housing who are model neighbours.
The real crux of this story was that the snobs thought their house price would drop - and as we all saw the Estate Agent scuppered that - so the next step for these ghastly people to do? "Want compensation!!!"
Not only are they snobs - THEY ARE GREEDY SNOBS!
I hope they take Barratt's to court - lose (they have NO CASE) - and have to pay huge costs - social justice.
Fools!
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Mr 'pompeytheriddle' may I suggest you come to our estate in ely and see how bad HA tenants have made it before you call people who work damn hard to afford their houses 'fools'?!
We, as private residents are also considering taking Barratts to court over their lack of notice of HA and the type of tenants we would be forced to deal with.
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I can empathise with the comments made by the individuals on the Beck Estate, and their implied concerns with the possibility of having a 'problem family' rehoused on their 'private estate' - it takes just one of these families to make the lives of a whole estate a living hell. Yet they, and indeed all of us, must place the blame at their own door for ignoring the inherent selfishness associated with individualism/liberal rights/materialistic thinking, which for four decades now has led us down a path to moral bankruptcy of the criminal justice system, schools, the family, and the Church, and in the end has led to the increase of 'problem families'. Shame on us all.
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I was utterly sickened by the households on the Beck thinking it was at all acceptable to go on national prime time television demonstrating complete prejudice against social housing tenants. I am completely astounded that the BBC gave airtime to such blatant discrimination. Mixed tenure communities are the only way to tackle social exclusion and disadvantage because of where a person lives. Residualisation of social housing has exacerbated the problems within deprived estates. Why do people never have empathy with other people and only ever consider themselves? This report highlights the definitive reason behind problems within our society. People do not care about other people. Would it be more beneficial to have empty housing? I sincerely hope that the One Show now runs a report reflecting the outrage shown in this blog.
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Sorry but you are 'a fool' if you think by buying a house on a new estate it gives you the right to choose your neighbours.
What if you'd bought in a street which was 100 years old? You can't put your situation down to Barratts as it is COMMON KNOWLEDGE to anyone who bothers to check that pepper potting social housing on new estates is a government planning requirement and has been for a good 7-8 years. It'll be even more than 30% thesedays due to the need for social housing AND the market being dead.
I suggest you:
a - move
b - to a 'gated development' if you wanted exclusivity
c - DON'T try taking Barratts to court as they are only following government policy - thus not breaking the law. On what grounds would you claim? Your lack of understanding of planning directives on which the development was built?
Do Barrat's have a duty of care to tell you there is social housing on the estate? Maybe, but I doubt it. Barrat's could just come back with the fact such comments are discrimnatory. It's NOT seen as derogitory situation, even if you think it is.
I'm sorry you have troublesome neighbours but I suggest you contact the HA involved, that's where your angst should be heard.
As I said in my post above, there are bad private neighbours and good HA neighbours - you've got unlucky, but if they really are that bad then you have the right to challenge the HA, Barratt's have done NOTHING wrong (I don't work for Barratt's before you ask!) I simply know planning law.
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I've never felt compelled to post a blog following a television program before but I was so enraged by the snobbish and downright disgusting attitude of the people who had bought their Barratt homes. To start with who an Earth do they think they are? What prejudices are they carrying around with them? People who live in social housing are the same as everyone else, they just have a little less money. Why did those people feel justified to discriminate against families who happen to be a little less fortunate then themselves in financial terms? I thank my lucky stars that I live in an area where everyone co-exists peacefully and hope that enough social housing is built to help those who need it.
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Pompey the riddle - here here!
dodfish82 - so it's ok for non-nuisance causing social housing tenants to have to tackle the anti-social behaviour of a few where they live because they don't have sufficient means to buy their own homes? Yet for you who is privileged enough to afford your own home is not prepared to take this responsibility? Society as a whole has this responsibility not just those that do not have the power to make choices about where they live. I suggest you try dealing with the problems and develop some community spirit instead of chasing compensation in a self-serving manner.
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The show highlighted the issue of discrimination against people who live in poverty. A housing estate being able to exclude people who cannot afford their own home is, I believe, an example of this discrimination in action. It harks back to the days when landlords could discriminate about who could lease their property because of their skin colour or country of birth. It is a shame that in today's society there is still bigotry being openly displayed and that the BBC shows it unapologetically. Social exclusion and isolation are major problems in society; millions of children live in social exclusion in the UK. This will only be exacerbated by creating elitist communities where people who cannot afford to buy a home are excluded
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To all of the "disgusted" people making comments on here, you seem to be missing the point. We have a problem with the Developer, Barratts, not SOCIAL HOUSING TENANTS! Barratts advised us to buy here as opposed to a another housing development, they sold it as that there would be social housing, buy to rent etc etc and that is what we bought into, basically Barratts lied to us all. No matter what you say, and I hope you read the commments of the people in support, if you bought a house and then was told oh by the way forget to tell you their building a nightclub next door, you'd be fed up. AGAIN PLEASE WATCH THE PROGRAMME AGAIN IT IS NOT ABOUT SOCIAL HOUSING IT IS ABOUT BARRATTS. At the end of the day you can't sell something as one thing then get your money and change the goalposts. Its nothing to do with snobbery its about a developer cacking on people from a great height and not careing one bit as long as they have their money!
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microalexx, re: 72, excuse me, but I was brought up in rented accommodation, and still live in rented accommodation, I have always had a job, I have always paid my way through life, I dont stay up all night playing loud music, I am at present listening to the dulcet tones of Paul Potts, I don't owe anyone anything, unfortunately my wages were not enough for me to afford a mortgage, I get on with my neighbours, and they get on with me.
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O what a One Show we witnessed tonight
Sometimes you manage to do it just right
Often Ive moaned, groaned, been dissatisfied
At the standard of programme that you have supplied
But this time those bad shows have all been redeemed
Everything, for once, came right, so it seemed
Alastairs impressions were hilariously accurate
Hilary Lister showed courage immaculate
Sid James daughter brought tears to the nation
A hundred years Ronald was an inspiration
Then add to this Sir Ranulph conquering Everest
And I say that this 'One' was by far the cleverest
Peter Lewis - Sheffield
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I agree with geordieangel2, there are all sorts of people in all sorts of situations in life, stereotypes are unhelpful to everyone.
Again I stress how fortunate I am to live in an area where people seem to understand that we are all different and embrace this. People who are friendly to each other regardless. The guy opposite me owns a Ferrari, while the family next door have a pre-pay meter, two doors away there is a house for men with mental health issues, while there are others with highly paid professional city jobs. This is how life should be.
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amandagillard - if you read my posts you will see I have NOT missed the point, BUT we have all seen your point of social snobbery.
If you really wanted exclusivity, why go to Barratt's one of the big national house builders who build 'palaces for the working class' for want of a better term!
These are Barratt homes! NOT gated detached piles in Surrey. Did you used to buy your gold in Ratners?
Sorry but claiming Barratt's misled you is just showing up your foolishness, your snobbery and OUR Jerry Springer "WHY ARE THESE PEOPLE DOING THIS CARCRASH ON TV" reaction.
If it's not about the social housing or the Housing Association - why are you bothered??? Why would that mean you were misled???
Please - don't think we are all as silly as you! You might be lucky enough to afford your own home, but how about engaging your social conscience, how about sitting down and thinking of the damage your attitude to social housing (Im not buying the its Barratt argument - its YOU) has on society?
Putting people in boxes and creating ghettos is exactly why we have an underclass. Now you might want to pull up the draw bridge and sail away in your Barratt vessel, but some of us (and thankfully the government) have acknowledged the harm this attitude brings.
Maybe just maybe your aspiration could be the factor that makes little Johnny over in that HA property want to be better than what his parents could provide - YOU could be that inspiration. Stick him in a block with drug dealers and who knows where he may end up.
Come on - no more selfish interests. EMBRACE the neighbours and bring them up to your aspirational level - do your bit - help make change! You might find they can educate you as well.
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I have never wrote a blog in my life, however reading the blogs about social housing has angered me. It is not the content discussed in the show, it is the comments that have been posted calling the private house owners snobs. I feel very strongly about this issue as i also have been mislead into purchasing a new home on a private housing development that has since been partly sold to housing association. My husband and myself are not in high salary jobs, i myself am a key worker, we have had to work our way up the property ladder and work extra hours in our jobs to afford our mortgage. Our house is a very big expense, due to the slump in the housing market our house has reduced in price which we were very concerned about. The housing developers then sold the remaining properties on the estate to housing association, we have now been told by two estate agents that our house value is reduced further by the social housing. We have been told that "this has a detrimental affect on the valuation of our home." I cannot speak on behalf of all private home owners, however i am not a snob i am a private home owner that is working very hard to pay for something that i concidered a luxury and have lost a lot of money as a result of mixed social housing, This is money we can not afford to lose.
I have no problem with the people that live in these houses as many of them may have come upon hard times, it is purely the financial implications this has upon my family. As we continue to pay a huge mortgage evey month for our family home, it angers us further to see that neighbours living in exactly the same type of house are for whatever the reason paying an awful lot less money than we are.
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natashald re:100, Thank You, you are right we don't want ghettos for the poor and nice estates for the better off, we want a mixture of people, without snobbery or racism, getting on together, unfortunately I don't think I'll see it in my lifetime.
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O what a One Show we witnessed tonight
Sometimes you manage to do it just right
Often Ive moaned, groaned, been dissatisfied
At the standard of programme that you have supplied
But this time those bad shows have all been redeemed
Everything, for once, came right, so it seemed
Alastairs impressions were hilariously accurate
Hilary Lister showed courage immaculate
Sid James daughter brought tears to the nation
A hundred years Walter was an inspiration
Then add to this Sir Ranulph conquering Everest
And I say that this One was by far the cleverest
Peter Lewis - Sheffield
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We live in social housing, my husband works, I work, my children go to school, and we pay our bills just like many other families. We had our home reposessed in the last recession and have rebuilt our life over the last 12 years. We are pround of ourselves. Lets just hope the people in The Beck in Dudley are never put in the position we found outselves in. Or if they do, lets hope they don't come up against the snobbish behaviour they are displaying.
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We need to unite against anti-social behaviour, not social economic groups. Nobody wants to live next to bad neighbours, whether it is people who own their home or people who rent.
Heres a few thoughts though, is it not a bit anti-social to discriminate against your neighbour simply because he/she is a tenant not an owner? It is easier to deal with anti-social neighbours, from a social housing rented house, than an anti-social home owner. Housing associations have procedures in place to warn and ultimately, can evict, not so easy with a home owner where you dont have a third party to approach. Bad neighbours do exist, but the residents of the Beck in Dudley, say they dont have issues with their individual neighbours, but the policy of Barratts selling to housing associations; that sounds bigoted, its not you personally, its your kind! I have had a mortgage, and lost my home in the last recession of the 80s when I went from a well paid Job to a low paid job, I was scared what would become of me and my family, but we got a nice council house with good neighbours, the only problem we have ever had with neighbours is the one in the street who bought theres and abused a pensioner for parking outside HER house
I have over the years improved my council house, I have paid, myself, to have new fitted kitchen, new bathroom suite, the garden landscaped etc, and friends say Im mad for not buying it, but I know I will always have a roof over my head, its a choice! In this country, people have choice, you can buy, you can rent, but when you buy, you buy the house and land it sits on, you dont buy the view, you dont buy the right to stipulate who your neighbours are. If you choose to buy, it is a fact that things around you can change, neighbours, environment etc., be thankful you can choose.
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.........and the BBC are at present promoting "Love where you live"
http://neighbourhoods.typepad.com/neighbourhoods/2009/05/love-where-you-live.html
Peter Lewis - Sheffield
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HELLO my god this is ridiculous what with the poor state of this country at this moment in time and what these poor people who have fought for this country, this is a complete fast. As i said before i am unfortunatly in this postition of needing to be housed by the local authority.
I know there are people that have worked hard for these houses my parents being amongst these. My dad still works hard now and is not a snob and would never look down on anyone because believe it or not that is our heritage, at some point in your history you will find some ancestor will have lived in social housing.
Wake up and smell the coffee all you snobs one day you may find yourself in an unfortunate situation such as we have and maybe then you will change your views!!!!
You are quick enough to be disgusted by these MP's claiming expenses focus your energies on the goverment and get over yourselves.
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95 - ANTI-DISCRIMINATION I can promise you we ARE NOT PRIVILEGED. I have just spent 6 months putting up with anti-social behaviour while by fiance FIGHTS for his country in AFGHANISTAN to help pay for our house.
Furthermore, I am still studying at college in order to better myself and holding down a full time job, so once we have paid our bills we have very little left. However, my HA neighbour does NOT work, stays up all night drinking, causing distrubances and the need for the police to be called out - HOW PRIVILEGED ARE WE?!
In addition, we have spoken to the HA (if you had read my previous comment 82 you would note this) and they have done nothing. My fiance tired to stop the arguements one night and was met with a torrid of abuse and violence. Therefore you will see we have tried to help with community spirit, but I believe this neighbour has no comprehension of term and, hence, has left us with little choice but to complain!
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@ Notthatdisabled fantastic post and I totally agree with every word of it.
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I am a housing officer that works for a housing association. We often get complaints from owner occupiers who have been mislead by the developers when they are desperate to shift unsold properties. Government regulations adapted over the years have seen a shift towards mixed tenure developments to prevent social exclusion of the unemployed and single parent families. Most new developments will almost certainly have a 25-40 percent ratio of social housing mixed with shared ownership and owner occupiers. It is the way forward and I think that developers should tell owner occupiers that what they are buying into is not a development exclusive to owner occupiers only.
In the current economic decline most new build housing developments with unsold properties will, unfortunately find that they will be sold to housing associations who will then rent them, to social housing tenants mainly through nominations agreements that they have with local authorities. If you are thinking of buying into a new development this is something to consider before taking the plunge otherwise, I would suggest buying a older built property in an area where social renting is not available.
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Dear pompederiddle you call those people lucky to own their own homes do you, lucky to get up each morning at 6am, lucky to drop your child at a breakfast club so you can can to work at a job you hate so you can pay the mortgage and the bills, lucky not to be able to afford a holiday, lucky not to ever see your kids cos your working so hard you haven't got time, so that they grow up robbing things just to get your attention, disapointing said kids cos we can't afford to buy them the new xbox game like their social housing neighbours. I take it your a social housing tenant and you are just being snobby against people who want to provide for their families and not expect to live off the state. Its the PC Brigade like you who make hard working people like us want to give up, get on the housing list and watch jeremy kyle all day. Everyone has a choice where they want to live and if people chose to live on an estate with or without social housing, or in a smart cul de sac or on the top floor of a social block its up to them. What is this saying to the children of these hard working families "I'm not gonna be like my mum and dad and never see my kid, where do I sign for social housing" A long time ago living in this country was all about hard workers and not people who know how to work the system and get something for nothing, yeah some people genuinly need the help but others are milking it. Sounds a bit like you. You just have to go to Calais and see all the immigrants tying to get to england nearly killing themselves to get on a lorry, why, cos they know how soft we are and theres nothing like a sob story eh! Perhaps you might consider this putting social housing on an estate that was sold as "not social housing" is gonna breed resentment from the owners so how does that help the situation.
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lifenon-blogger re:102, I do sympathise, I know where you are coming from, you've worked hard for what you have, and it is being devalued because of rented property near to you, its a sad reflection on society when this is so, but you know my rented property is just a stones throw from a very nice private estate, and on a weekend, they have garden parties, smelly barbecues, and loud music, and when its birthdays or anniversaries, It's fireworks, scaring the life out of my little dog, so its not just council tenants who make a show of themselves, there are good and bad everywhere, I'm sorry your property is going down in value, and no! I don't think you sound like a snob.
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I too could not believe what I was seeing and hearing at The Beck, Dudley. I imagine the resident who wanted compensation would also like to ensure that the HA residents would only be allowed to board the bus via the rear door and also would only be allowed to sit at the back of the bus. Someone ought to tell him where to get off.
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Nobody likes to lose money, although given the economic climate, most will.
My mother lives in warden assisted housing, all the flats in her building are sold at different values. Using life-nonblogger's example she should be up in arms as she almost certainly paid more than others that have purchased the flats, but what good would it do?
I also wonder, when and if she travels by plane, does she complain to the airline that others sitting next to her have paid less for their tickets than her, as this almost certainly would be the case.
I have also seen this from the social housing point of view (I am a homeowner), lots of people find themselves needing homes through no fault of their own i.e divorce, staying with relatives (4 people in one room) until they can be housed (probably for a year or two). Would you begrudge these people a house in your close?
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To all you people calling them snobs you obviously saw a different programme to me, cos I thought it was about what Barratts did, not any problems with social housing tenants, as none was mentioned. As far as I saw they don't have a problem with the tenants its the fact that large companies can get away with this, and the little people suffer, well its nice to see someone making a stand for a change, and not worrying about upsetting the PC Brigade, I suggest you watch the programme again with the sound up!
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In response to those who still do not understand the underlying matter here. I gave up a relatively well-paid proffesional job to work in social care because I CARE. I'm currently working with people who live in temporary accommodation through no fault of their own. Do you know how long some of these people live in "temporary" accommodation due to the lack of social housing? Have you ever visited anyone who lives in temporary accommodation?
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I share the anger of many people about the "social housing" issue. Who invented that dreadful term anyway? I have lived all my life in homes rented from a housing association. I have always paid my rent, and still do now that I am retired. Your piece encouraged the perception that people who rent are all on benefits - only the losers and the feckless live in "social housing" - and the hard-working aspirational people shouldn't have to mix with them. A shameful misrepresentation. The government is quite right to require developers to create mixed estates.
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I live on the edge of a small area of social housing on a large estate of privately owned homes. I rent my home from a housing association, and there were similar complaints here when our houses were built, from the private tenants. I hate to say this, but while I abhor the snobbery shown in the piece tonight, in some (and ONLY some)certain cases they may well have a point. I keep my house and gardens well maintained, my child under control, and have never had a party or brawled in the street in all the time I've lived here. Unfortunatley, the same cannot be said of some of my neighbours, and it is them, and their virtually feral children, who have given our street the bad name it now has, The real pity is, the quieter and more respectable families will eventually transfer of exchange to somewhere else, instead of the housing association dealing with the problem. The private tenants should realise that most of the Housing Association tenants don't like this kind of neighbour any more than they do...we just aren't always lucky enough to have a choice.
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Living in social housing is not 'working the system'!!
We do not all live off benefits you know! We pay the full cost of our rent (and all our other bills for that matter) since my husband and I would not be able to afford a mortgage- it is as simple as that.
Thanks to low wages and the high cost of living in this country (which affect all of us and not just homeowners) we have never had enough money spare to save for a deposit and get a mortgage. Perhaps because we couldn't manage a mortgage we should move back into the workhouse or Victorian tenement slums?
As for the issue of the point of the report being Barrats rather than social housing tenants, what I heard on the program was one woman equate such people with the noise and hassle of a motorway at the bottom of your garden. Furthermore someone on this blog compared tenants to a nightclub, and another implied that none of us have jobs. And we are not meant to be offended by all this? Haven't we learnt yet that you cannot tar everyone with the same brush?
I have lived in council housing my whole life (32yrs) and never had a problem with nuisance neighbours- if we're all so bad how could I (and the other tenants around me) have been that lucky?
Finally, I have never noticed Barrats aiming their estates at the aristocracy and anyone who thinks that big companies are not out to screw the little guy is woefully naive.
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If people want to decide who will live door to them, the solution is quite simple - they need to buy the house next door themselves. The snobbish couple came across as rather unpleasant, which is surely not what they would have wished, so they did themselves very little favours, but the real fault lies with the BBC is giving airtime to such outlandish attitudes.
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The couple in the private house did themselves no favours in this piece.They came across as a bit snobby. Can we really blame any house builder for selling properties to a housing association these days when houses are so hard to sell? Provided the tenants are well regulated, then what is the problem? Should the houses remain empty while people have no-where to live?
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I think many of the comments above have missed the point of the social housing story. Getting on your high horse about social housing is not something these residents were trying to achieve. i to am going through the same issue myself with a different housing developer. The question of social housing was posed to my developer before purchase, like barretts they advised it would be a private estate. What these residents were trying to highlight was is it fair to be sold a property under a description that later changes?
would it not have been more productive for the developer to advise they could not confirm the tenure of the estate longterm?
Please understand this is not an issue of the advantaged not being mixed with the disadvantaged but a clear case of mis representation and mis selling by the developer. I am sure social housing residents requiring a 3 bed property would not want to move in and find 2 bedrooms and an airing cupboard. we are all entitled as consumers to be advised of all information and possible outcomes for all our purchases from food to houses. Those that use the term snob should be very careful before they pass judgement. It is our right as consumers to stand by each other and say it is not fair to be sold such a huge financial commitment under a description that it open to change. remember this could happen to you weather its a car, property, holiday etc
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I agree with the comment above you would not buy a new car told it was a 2.0 litre engine and then when you pick it up its only a 1.6litre. it does not matter what the item purchased is, the point is mis representation and that is the point that they are getting at. I am going through the same thing with a housing developer and was told that my estate was for private sale only and for selling and for surrounding properties to hold its price that is why I bought. People that have made comments like snob are totalling missing the point and probably have some link with social housing i.e. friend, relative. But just remember the housing developer did not give these houses over to housing association out of the kindness of their heart it was to save their own backs and let me tell you the way they sell it to you when they say no housing association they pull a face like we would not have them people on our estates so you can buy one of our houses without that to worry about. So anyone who has one of these houses from social housing count your lucky stars for the recession as you would not even be looking at these houses let alone live in them.
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after reading post 123, and 124, do Barrett's not have to obey the trade description act like any other firm?
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What a wonderful man Walter is, such a pleasure to see him on the show - Many happy returns to a real treasure. An incredible contrast to the earlier item featuring the snobby residents of "the Beck" - utterly appalling people.
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FAO 'plumbingworker' Post 112.
What a stupid post! FYI I am not a "social housing tenant milking the system" as you 'assume'. I'm studying to be an architect, something which has seen me spend 5 years in full time education as well as 8 years in full time employment to get where I am now (currently working a full time week plus doing a part time course for my MA and Part 3 examination to become fully qualified). You are not the only one putting in a shift!
I come from a working class background, where I was lucky to have parents who both worked hard, we owned our own modest Portsmouth terraced house, although we just about coped with the 5 mouths to feed. I got a good state education (from a school which is now seen as failing). I took every opportunity I could to do something with my life and now 16 years after leaving school find myself a few months away from being a fully qualified architect - having sacrificed a large chunk of my 20's to being a student (a hard workign one not someone who saw uin as a holiday camp) with no money.
My attitudes and opinions are based on that sound grounding and using my education to think beyond my own experiences. Thus I'm able to define what is a problem on a micro scale (your bad neighbour) and the problem at the macro scale (what we can do to stop this).
The answer is not to tar people with brushes or to put them in boxes and hope your box is far away from them.
We had a neighbour (all private housing) who made our life hell simply because he was a bored sad individual who took great pleasure out of making others lives a misery. That's the real issue here - bad neighbours, and although the snobs on the programme say otherwise, why did we not see these bad neighbours? Their point might carry more weight if they could prove the HA tenants were bad neighbours, not the fact they don't like the fact they pay for their house and the neighbour doesn't.
No one likes to see people abusing the system, but that's for the system to stop - not Barratt homes!
As said above you'll have a better chance of removing a bad HA tenant than a private one, due to the structure and remits of the HA opposed to an 'Englishman in his castle'.
So may I suggest before you jump to assumptions on a blog you think through what you are saying, as you really couldn't be MORE WRONG in your assumption of who I am - all it does is enforce your snobbery.
Likewise using the immigration issue in your post only adds my assumption of you as a Daily Express reader type, who is full of anger about subjects but offers NO solutions.
My final point is that whilst you might be up against it now, there will come a point where your hard work will be worth it and your children will benefit also - like I have with my parents struggles back in the day. Your neighbour may well be exploiting the system, but where will they be in 20 years time? Whose future would you rather have? Stick to that as a thought. They might have the Xbox games but your children will end up having the better life - that's the micro and macro scale of the issue.
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I think most people do understand the issues raised with Barretts, but are upset with the fact people want to be able to segregate themselves from other human beings because they cannot afford to buy a home. It is unfortunate that the discrimination of people who live in poverty is still seen as acceptable. The BBC would not have shown the piece if it was about people not wanting to live next to families of a certain race or people with disabilities.
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Happy Birthday to the wonderful Walter what a lovely man!And enjoyed every aspect of the Show especially the housing aspect.We live in our own flat in city ,however there is now social housing built close to us which has made our lives hell.not everyone can be classed the same, but the gangs ,drugs and general hell that they have brought with them has definately made us wish we could move ?we are constantly phoning the police, and our lives have changed dramatically.I do not think in some cases you can say it is snobbery .when your family and property are at risk,I say this as my husband is now in hospital after being mugged by them coming home from work !Move ?how do you sell your property with this going on and a recession ?hell on earth!
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Interestingly all those that have accused those people in Dudley of being snobs have not posted any issues with social housing. The case here like most things in life is involvement of the community and good management. I feel sorry for those that have been affected by Outreach members in their community and quicker and more robust action by the Social Housing elements is required. Next question, where do we put these troublesome people? And therein lies the rub, until we invest heavily in managed (Not necessarily PC) housing for these problem members of society we will never move on. Sounds draconian I know but if they have proved they cannot manage themselves...
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Some years ago we lived in social housing. I worked in a low-paid job, got up at 4 am while my wife looked after our two young children. The vast majority of the other tenants on this estate did not work, so that when the rent increased by more than 18% they didn't care because they weren't paying a penny to begin with. Gradually, the nicer tenants moved away and were replaced by violent drug-taking Benefit junkies. Needless to say any complaints fell on deaf ears as the Council didn't care - after all they were getting their rent money from the tax payer. Although there are respectable people living in social housing, I know from personal experience that many of them are under siege because of this vast Benefit sub-culture.
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I can't believe the snobbery of the homeowning residents of 'The Beck'. I live on an estate which has a mixture of private and social housing and the two 'worst' neighbours are homeowners.
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I would like to start by saying I think social housing is a great idea for people who don't abuse the system. Shared ownership schemes are a brilliant idea. Also for people who fall on hard times it's a lifeline. However there is a minority who cause many many problems.
I live on a Barrett estate & for the past few months I have witnessed anti social behaviour (car windscreen smashed, 'Barrett' advertising signs kicked down). I know for a fact this vandalism was committed by residents of one social housing block. I know this because I saw the vandals walking back into their flats (I know it's social housing as the housing association has told me the addresses of all the social housing on my estate). There is only one block that causes all the trouble. (I have found the other social housing residents very friendly).
The police & housing association are currently investigating the residents of this block. They have informed me that they are also investigating reports of persistent drug abuse in this block.
To all the people who think people like me (I own my flat) are snobs is totally ridiculous. I am from a working class background, & have pulled myself up by my bootstraps (I work 12 hours a day) in order to be able to buy my own flat.
The people who think I'm a snob need to experience for themselves what it's like living in fear of these people. How can you defend people who don't work through choice & make other peoples lives a misery for fun?
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I know people have different experiences but it's really not fair to tarr everyone with the same brush. I just did the 5k walk - race for life for cancer last week. Just because someone is more better off financially it's not fair to not give someone else the chance to better themselves. I'm just sick of the wrong presumtions. As a friend of mine said prejudice can be from both sides and no one sees the other ones point of view. Has no one listened - there are dodgy estates but I did my best to pick somewhere nice and in a way that's lucky. I just wish people wouldn't presume wrongly in my case. Despite how hard I work being independant I'll still be viewed the same way and that's wrong.
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Social engineering especially with housing is a nightmare.
Milton Keynes tried this and mixed old people, families and single young people together in one block of flats. It was a disaster.
Private housing and housing association housing attract very different people with values that are not compatible.
Live and let live but stop the nonsense that the good mixing with the bad will make things better.
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I have lived next to Council (now social) housing for 28 years for 25 of those in perfect harmony with the tennants.the last guy was evicted for I know not what (he had an extremley disabled 15 year old daughter) but he was a nice guy.The housing managment company who now own the property moved in the family from hell.Unable to say more than 2 words with out using F or C words even to their young children.
They live out side in the road arguing and shouting at all hours of the night.Their eldest son thinks he`s some "gangsta" and his hoodie mates cars roaring up the road and talking and shouting at 2am.I have just retired and have to creep around in my own garden and not enjoy it.The council are not interested and the managment company jut bleat that these are a vunerable family (none work all on benefits).The last straw was a 11 man 13 car plain clothes police raid
blocking both ends of the road to prevent any escape,and they are still living there.And that IDIOT representing the mangement companies
say we have all got to get used to this.(and then he goes home to his nice detached house in an up market area).I have been told my only outlet is ASBO`s what a waste of time and a nice way to get my car or property damaged!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Having read the comments I am surprised and angry that people who obviously do not know the full story have made such blatant comments. I personally know people living on The Beck and know first hand the issues. Firstly, can I say that in no way are these people racist, sexist etc, ect as some of the comments suggest. If these people had watched the programme and observed the information before commenting they would have known that the residents of the Beck have absolutely no problem with the new neighbours that have moved into the houses from the housing association, in fact, because this is such a small development they have soon became good freinds in this close community. The issue is clearly with Barratts! When people struggle to obtain a mortgage it seems a little unfair that homes to rent can be readily available on the same development. If it was me, I too would be a bit miffed if I had to go into debt to buy when I could have rented, this is the only issue. I know these people as I have said and they are not snobbs. I myself had housing association homes before finally getting the cash together to buy. Please do not condem these people. You simply do not know the facts. There is only one winner here and that is Barratts, to me, this is what is ufair.
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With all the controversy about Barratt Homes I forgot something very important, good luck and best wishes to Hilary lister, a truly brave girl, sailing round Britain in that tiny little boat, putting us able bodied into shame, GOOD ON YOU GIRL!
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Well done DODFISH82 for surviving,
To those of you who say 'just get on with your neighbours' try talking to people like that. see what abuse you get. If you dont get assaulted you'll wake up with your car damaged like I did.
After the riots of the early 90's the council tried a programme of moving problems families into estates where the community was established in the hope that they would integrate into society.
The exact opposite happened.
These families subjected their new neighbours to intimidation and violence that was totally alien to decent people.
to the do-gooders out there, is it ok if we start committing crime and ask them to recommend a good drug dealer ? that way WE will integrate with THEM more easily
As a Police Officer its far easier to Police them when they are all in one place as we know where they all are !
I'll finish with saying not all social housing tenants are evil swine but I guarantee that see and hear the bad ones first.
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So does this mean only people who can afford their own homes should be able to choose to live in safe areas and those who cannot afford their own homes have to be the ones to live in constant fear?? Surely everyone deserves the same rights to live in a safe environment
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We should have a mixture of different types of people living in the same area, but when one family constantly make their neighbours lives a living hell they they should be moved, I agree with bananaman1970, at least the police know where they are, I don't like the idea of creating ghettos, but decent people whether they are tenants or home owners deserve the right to a bit of peace and quiet, but what about the home owner who makes his neighbours lives hell, how do you move him? someone cleverer than me will have to work that one out.
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P.S. I'm off now to clean the moss out of my moat!
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We too bought into the Baratts lifestyle 'dream' stretching ourslves financially to the limit. We were told of the Social Housing quota, but were told that these would be for Key workers - no problem there. The estate in Kent in now finished and we have been left high and dry by Barratts as they couldn't sell off the flats so a vast majority of the estate was handed over to housing association-vert few Key workers got a look in, and we're now over run with feral children and dumped cars.I have no problems with 'social housing' and am NOT a snob but a few bad apples really do spoil it for all.We too were mis-sold. It was a once in a lifetime chance to buy new but we'd never do it again.
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To The One Show maybe we should have this subject again at a later date!!so many people with good opinions and there own story to tell!Would it be possible to have an hour long show and hear from both sides of the fence?
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I cannot believe that the BBC would cover a story like this. To alienate a section of society is definately NOT part of the corporation's mandate. When I first saw Matt's deadpan expression I thought that it would lead to being a joke item - a housing estate that ended up with a circus living next door for example. But to say that social housing (for this read council housing by any other name) is akin to having the gypsies move in, which the tone of this piece would have you think, is inflamatory and politically incorrect. The production team and Matt Allwright (who I have worked with in the past and know deep down is a person of integrity) should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. This story will come back at them I am sure.
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It sounds dreadful hearing children referred to as feral, sure enough, a lot of them are left to their own devices by their parents, but there must be some gooduns out there too? are there no play areas for football, cricket ect.
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I watched the show last week and was incensed by the article about social housing.Who do these people from Dudley think they are?The Royal Family.Many people would not have homes of their own if it wasn't for social housing,me for one,and yes I know you only half own your home.I am partly disabled and recently divorced and it was the only way I could start a new life.Not being funny but Dudley's hardly Henley-on-Thames is it?From preciousbartley.
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I thought the social housing story was appalling, and worse because of the bias showed in favour of the "poor, unfortunate" private tenants, one of whom compared the possibility of social housing tenants moving on to the same estate as being the equivalent of something building a motorway through your back garden. What a load of garbage! And, no, to all the bloggers who will say I have missed the point (Barrett are at fault for mis-selling to people), you are wrong. I understand that entirely, but behind your comments and the attitudes of the people shown on the programme, there is barely concealed contempt for socially or economically disadvantaged people, and a sickening sense of superiority. If these attitudes are fostered, the class and economic divides will only get wider and wider, and the social problems we see on our streets daily will just get greater. To be frank, I don't think people SHOULD be able to buy their way out of social responsibilities. Community cohesion will be achieved by encouraging people to live together (and yes, I know that Barrett are not doing this because they have a social conscience...), not by the well-off shutting themselves off in enclosed communities. The BBC should not be encouraging the views of snobbish petit-bourgeoise bigots like those featured on The One Show by giving them their tacit support. I was so outraged by the article I emailed a complaint. I would encourage anyone likeminded to do so.
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Hi Guy
Just seen Phil tufnell on you tube doing a Quiz this week. that man is funny http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOG5lMUHoQw
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There is a bigger issue here, why did the bbc give airtime to these people? And why on The One Show? If the residents are protesting against Barretts Homes then its a consumer issue and should have been raised in another forum ie Watchdog.
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I can understand the comments regarding snobbery on the estate in Dudley. But I do feel that people should be made aware of the situation prior to purchasing their home. We had a similiar situation of a development by Barratts in Wolverhampton, these lovely homes were built in an area in need of regeneration and I think they were having difficulty in selling them. At the time I was working at the company who were supplying the kitchens for these homes, and we had been told they were selling them on to housing associations. A friend of mine had expressed an interest in the homes and together we went to view the show homes, we specifically enquired about the sale of the homes to the housing association and this was emphatically denied by the sales staff, but they were not being truthful with us and in fact the majority of the development was sold as social housing, this is not a problem to me as people need homes but I do feel that Barratts should have been up front about the situation and not deliberately mislead prospective purchasers.
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Should we mix social housing with private housing? It depends on the tenants. I can understand that someone wouldn't want to live with loud people. Then again is it like having brown sauce on your pancakes? The perfect neighbor is the neighbor that will not judge you
Sir Always Right
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