The wait goes on for families facing property squeeze (From Swindon Advertiser)
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The wait goes on for families facing property squeeze
9:20am Wednesday 24th September 2008 in
A FAMILY living in a two bedroom council flat is asking why they cannot have one of Swindon’s 2,139 private empty homes.
Susan Sarson, Kris Allen, and their three children, Ashley, five, Katherine, three, and Thomas, two, say they are fed up with bidding on hundreds of homes after waiting three-and-a-half years on the council’s housing waiting list.
“All my kids are in the same room and are squashed in together,” she said.
“No child should have to live in these circumstances in a country like Britain in this day and age.
“It severely affects our family and our life having to live in such close quarters, it is a major stress for us all.
“We are not picky we just want suitable accommodation.
“Why are there so many empty homes and so many people on the waiting list?
“We have bid on 400 homes over the three-and-a-half years.
“Meanwhile these homes sit empty and blight neighbourhoods across Swindon – how is this right?”
The family’s circumstances come days after the Advertiser published statistics showing that Swindon’s housing waiting list has almost tripled in the last 10 years, something which has left 8,363 people living in temporary accommodation.
Councillor David Renard, Swindon Council’s cabinet member for health, housing and adult social care, says the council house waiting list and the number of private empty homes are a problem.
But, he said, the council is doing everything in its power to contain the numbers.
“It is a problem and it needs to be addressed,” he said.
“If the Government were to give us the resources to buy these houses then we would be happy to.
The council does have power to bring empty houses back into use by compulsory purchase orders.
“But the problem is that there are so many legal loopholes involved that it becomes very time consuming.”
Councillor Maurice Fanning (Lab, Gorse Hill and Pinehurst) said: “Compulsory Purchase Orders are something that we should use more often than we do.
“Because people who live by these homes are saying themselves that there are more than 8,000 people on the housing list.
“This is beyond the political divide. We are dealing with people’s lives here.”
The housing charity Empty House Association, which said there were 2,139 empty homes, says the number of vacant homes in Swindon has climbed 19 per cent in the past five years.
Henry Oliver, the group’s policy advisor, said: “An area like Swindon, which has big growth plans at the moment, should be making sure it has brought all its long-term empty houses back into use before it builds any new ones.”
The number of empty houses in Swindon include homes which are undergoing alterations, repairs and second homes.
Comments(91)
Big Mac
says...
9:27am Wed 24 Sep 08
Seriously, what planet are these people living on?
Here's a novel idea: why don't both parents go out and get a job and then rent a house big enough for their family?
But no, they'd rather the council spent taxpayers money on buying up houses that people have bought with their own money and then hand them to people for free.
Unbelievable. Not only that, it's insulting to all those working people who are having a hard time making their mortgage repayments and domestic bills who receive NO financial help whatsoever whilst at the same time being forced to pay for larger houses for the likes of the family in this article.
Something is very, very wrong with our current system.
emmylou83
says...
9:41am Wed 24 Sep 08
The problem is from what I can remember when my friend tried to get housing years ago so it could have changed by now the council don't recognise a child as a "person" until its 5 so as two of their children are under the age of 5 they council don't think of them as a family of five but a family of three.
Malkym
says...
10:06am Wed 24 Sep 08
RF1
says...
10:08am Wed 24 Sep 08
Mr Allen, I assume this place of yours has a lounge/diner - so why not get a sofa bed (you could have put the 40-odd quid you spent on your Liverpool shirt towards one)so at least one of yourr kids could be unsquashed? Use your brain pal and be pro-active - most of the rest of us parents make do (and do without) for the sake of our kids - so get on with it instead of constantly whining about it.
There are people in this world who always expect others to pick up their tab - prove to me you're not one of them.
Bobfm
says...
10:11am Wed 24 Sep 08
Atomic_Pond
says...
10:16am Wed 24 Sep 08
Just simpley converted the back room that was never used into a bedroom redirected the doors and now its a lovely house!!!
The reason why the waiting list is so high is because of teenagers my age and younger think it would be a better idea to put themself on the council house list to move instead of looking to rent!!!
It drives me crazy!!!
Malkym
says...
10:17am Wed 24 Sep 08
“No child should have to live in these circumstances in a country like Britain in this day and age.
“It severely affects our family and our life having to live in such close quarters, it is a major stress for us all.
“We are not picky we just want suitable accommodation"
Then maybe - just maybe it should have occurred to this couple not to produce three sprogs until they had a house with enough room to accommodate them all? DOH!! "we never thought of that did we" Oohh and get the classy shell suit and scouse football shirt" "Alright, Alright, calm down, calm down eh! eh!" Who do these people allow themselves to be photographed when they must know they're going to be ripped to shreds on forums like this? Crazy!
RF1
says...
10:19am Wed 24 Sep 08
Bobfm wrote:My daughter's room has bunk beds, my son's a sofa bed, an inflatable mattress in the airing cupboard, with the sofa in the living room offering another berth if required - it's not really rocket science now is it??
A bunk bed and a cot in the parents room, problem solved. I grew up in a 4 bedroomed council house with 3 brothers and three sisters. We seemed to manage OK using bunk beds and most of us were still at home into our late teens.
Big Mac
says...
10:29am Wed 24 Sep 08
emmylou83 wrote:If they work then they have income. They'll also likely get tax credits and certainly child benefit for three children.
Big Mac - where does it say they don't work?The problem is from what I can remember when my friend tried to get housing years ago so it could have changed by now the council don't recognise a child as a "person" until its 5 so as two of their children are under the age of 5 they council don't think of them as a family of five but a family of three.
That being the case, why don't they find somewhere to rent privately?
Anyway, regardless of whether they work or not, did they not think about living arrangements before having three children? They couldn't all have 'just happened'. Or, as I suspect, did they just merrily think they'd get a bigger house when they needed it and are now a bit peeved to find it might not be as easy as they'd thought?
If people don't even take responsibility for their own actions, why on earth should the rest of us be forced to take responsibility on their behalf?
Hopefully someone with precise knowledge will confirm your other point, but I'm not sure how it can be true because councils always prioritise mums with young babies for council housing - which wouldn't be the case if they didn't consider people under 5 as a 'person'.
nansview
says...
10:58am Wed 24 Sep 08
emmylou83
says...
10:59am Wed 24 Sep 08
Like I said I could be wrong but I know when my friend was on the list just after her daughter was born (her daughters now 8 so we're going waaaaaay back) she was offered a 1bed place (which she took) but when she enquired about a 2bed when her daughter was 2/3 they said not until the child was 5 would they look at her situation coz up till that age they can share a room with the parent or other sibling(s). This is just what I was told now she could've been taking me for a ride but I tend to trust my friends.
scottyincs
says...
11:10am Wed 24 Sep 08
Do you think the Liverpool shirt is to try to butter up the secret millionaire property developer mentioned in another thread?
The Mancunian Way
says...
11:13am Wed 24 Sep 08
Security word.....Home-Save ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Opinionated Wench
says...
11:17am Wed 24 Sep 08
Bobfm
says...
11:49am Wed 24 Sep 08
Surely you didn't miss Browns announcement of £300 million pounds to poor households to be on the internet, to apparently improve their job projects. When this was first announced 6 months ago it was going to be £100 million. Don't you just love Labour, well I suppose you do if you think the state owes you a living.
Big Mac
says...
11:55am Wed 24 Sep 08
Robh
says...
11:58am Wed 24 Sep 08
There are many people like this and many of these own their own property. We would all like a bigger house.
In this day and age young families seem to expect everything and complain when they don't get it.
emmylou83
says...
12:04pm Wed 24 Sep 08
Bobfm
says...
12:06pm Wed 24 Sep 08
Those of us in the real world, tighten our belts, those Labour dependants scream, in the immortal words of Oliver Twist, 'can I have some more', but unlike Mr Bumble, HMG says of course you can you poor soul, we'll just up the taxes on those that do work, they won't mind.
Terence
says...
12:52pm Wed 24 Sep 08
It's infuriating to think that so much of my tax payments go toward funding the reproduction of non-taxpayers.
gaily
says...
1:03pm Wed 24 Sep 08
The Mancunian Way
says...
1:04pm Wed 24 Sep 08
Bobfm
says...
1:11pm Wed 24 Sep 08
Many of those present will have fought for and had friends who died for Britain. I am sure it will be a lively affair, they will not understand the current 'take take take' culture we now live in even though I am sure many would be life long socialists, as my father was.
Socialism was never about a take culture, it was always about the State being there for those who through no fault of their own fell on hard times. Those that could worked. I know my father would turn in his grave at what Labour and HMG have done to this once proud Nation. We have seen yet another surrender of control to EDF today. The French and German Governments would have fought tooth and nail to stop such a take over. We have 'lapdogs' for leaders and Cameron would be the same.
RF1
says...
1:15pm Wed 24 Sep 08
gaily wrote:Did you have the 2 bed flat BEFORE or AFTER the 4 kids??
hii think they are right to complain as the bidding is aload of rubbishi am in the same situation living in a 2bed first floor flat with 4 children and going nowhere and i have trobble with druggies and my son has fallen down the stairs so i would say they are right to complain
yeti
says...
1:20pm Wed 24 Sep 08
if you dont like your home,then get yourself another one,it is not difficult.dont breed like rabbits and then go cap in hand to the council begging for bigger houses.i'd tell them to **** off and evict them from their flat for wasting the councils time.their flat cpould then go to a working couple who will pay the rent for it.
we need a government who will stamp out the dregs like the above from our nation.sterilise them!give them nothing!lock more people up!give the homes to hardworking folk who cannot get on the housing ladder!
honestly the only way i can see the reversal of the benefits scroungers is to breed them out entirely.and just cut their benefits completley.get a job or be put to sleep!
i'm sick of it aaaaaaarrrrrrggggggh
hhhhhh
RF1
says...
1:22pm Wed 24 Sep 08
kombatt
says...
1:22pm Wed 24 Sep 08
RF1
says...
1:26pm Wed 24 Sep 08
kombatt wrote:I believe no one will live there as it's haunted by the ghost of scroungers past.....
77 Northern Road has been empty four 6 years,why?What are Swindon council doing about it?A 3 bedroom semi detatched in a highly sought after area,with a 90 ft garden and has been empty for 6 years,what a crime.
GetAJob
says...
2:29pm Wed 24 Sep 08
I think the suggestion of bunk beds and a cot bed is ridiculous - how on earth would he be able to afford those AND the next new football shirt? :D Tough decision for Mr Allen I reckon. We could chip in for a new shell suit though, that one appears to still be in mourning for the Queen Mother i.e. running at half-mast.
I rather think that working to improve the situation is probably the last thing on his mind given that he seems to have the fashion sense of a 13 year old from the 80s.
As for Gaily's son falling down the stairs, well what do they want, a bungalow, or 30ft bubble wrap to encase her son in to prevent further "stumbling damage"? Stairs tend to occur in most building unfortunately, INCLUDING freebie Council Houses. Sorry about that.
Why do the majority want so much for nothing? More importantly, why do we vote this idiots in who decide to give out free things to lazy b*ggers who do nothing except procreate like rabbits on PCP after a good night out at the pub (on my money)?
PS Cracking security word - roof-feel!!!
ourtone
says...
2:33pm Wed 24 Sep 08
They were the ones who chose to have two more children while living in a flat that could only comfortably support one.
If they are capable of making that choice then it would be nice if they had made another, to pay for those kids themselves.
Mr Allen should get rid of that stupid (and expensive)football shirt, get some smart clothes, get an interview, get a job and then pay your own rent like millions of others have to.
I hate scroungers!
nansview
says...
2:36pm Wed 24 Sep 08
yeti
says...
2:44pm Wed 24 Sep 08
i ask anybody the reason why these type of people are allowed to breed,and to be paid money by the government and homed at tax payers expence?
we all know it is wrong, so why do they get away with it?
gordon browns drivel about fairness for all is a kick in the teeth for working familys on average money.they dont get fairness,they get the worst deal out of everyone.the rich dont get taxed enough,or bank abroad and pay nothing.and the scum get everything for nothing whilst the normal workers pay fot it.
give me a government that will stamp all this out.
the trouble is no party will do this for britain.anyone that says stop scum breeding etc,will be called a nazi,and will have the pc brigade protesting.
RF1
says...
2:45pm Wed 24 Sep 08
dc the 2nd
says...
2:57pm Wed 24 Sep 08
After all the vast majority of people house themselves and deal with the problems this brings without the expectation that its societies problem for an upgrade when they decide to have children.
emmylou83
says...
2:57pm Wed 24 Sep 08
RF1 wrote:Coem work at my place it'll put you to sleep in no time I'm off for 2 weeks they need someone to cover my work load - so tell me how are your highlighting skills??
I YEARN for a dull afternoon at the office!!
carrot
says...
2:59pm Wed 24 Sep 08
nansview
says...
3:00pm Wed 24 Sep 08
Username
says...
3:07pm Wed 24 Sep 08
The squirrel and the grasshopper
REST OF THE WORLD VERSION:
The squirrel works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building and improving his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the squirrel is warm and well fed. The shivering grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
THE END
THE BRITISH VERSION:
The squirrel works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the squirrel is warm and well fed.
A social worker finds the shivering grasshopper, calls a press conference and demands to know why the squirrel should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others less fortunate, like the grasshopper, are cold and starving. The BBC shows up to provide live coverage of the shivering grasshopper; with cuts to a video of the squirrel in his comfortable warm home with a table laden with food.
The British press inform people that they should be ashamed that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so while others have plenty. The Labour Party, Greenpeace, Animal Rights and The Grasshopper Council of GB demonstrate in front of the squirrel's house. The BBC, interrupting a cultural festival special from Notting Hill with breaking news, broadcasts a multi cultural choir singing "We Shall Overcome". Ken Livingstone rants in an interview with Trevor McDonald that the squirrel has gotten rich off the backs of grasshoppers, and calls for an immediate tax hike on the squirrel to make him pay his "fair share" and increases the charge for squirrels to enter inner London .
In response to pressure from the media, the Government drafts the Economic Equity and Grasshopper Anti Discrimination Act, retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The squirrel's taxes are reassessed. He is taken to court and fined for failing to hire grasshoppers as builders for the work he was doing on his home and an additional fine for contempt when he told the court the grasshopper did not want to work.
The grasshopper is provided with a council house, financial aid to furnish it and an account with a local taxi firm to ensure he can be socially mobile. The squirrels food is seized and re distributed to the more needy members of society, in this case the grasshopper.
Without enough money to buy more food, to pay the fine and his newly imposed retroactive taxes, the squirrel has to downsize and start building a new home. The local authority takes over his old home and utilises it as a temporary home for asylum seeking cats who had hijacked a plane to get to Britain as they had to share their country of origin with mice. On arrival the tried to blow up the airport because of Britain's apparent love of dogs. The cats had been arrested for the international offence of hijacking and attempt bombing but were immediately released because the police fed them pilchards instead of salmon whilst in custody. Initial moves to then return them to their own country were abandoned because it was feared they would face death by the mice. The cats devise and start a scam to obtain money from peoples credit cards.
A Panorama special shows the grasshopper finishing up the last of the squirrel's food, though Spring is still months away, while the council house he is in, crumbles around him because he hasn't bothered to maintain the house. He is shown to be taking drugs.
Inadequate government funding is blamed for the grasshoppers drug illness'. The cats seek recompense in the British courts for their treatment since arrival in UK .
The grasshopper gets arrested for stabbing an old dog during a burglary to get money for his drugs habit. He is imprisoned but released immediately because he has been in custody for a few weeks. He is placed in the care of the probation service to monitor and supervise him. Within a few weeks he has killed a guinea pig in a botched robbery. A commission of enquiry, that will eventually cost GBP10,000,000 and state the obvious, is set up.
Additional money is put into funding a drug rehabilitation scheme for grasshoppers and legal aid for lawyers representing asylum seekers is increased. The asylum seeking cats are praised by the government for enriching Britain's multicultural diversity and dogs are criticised by the government for failing to befriend the cats. The grasshopper dies of a drug overdose. The usual sections of the press blame it on the obvious failure of government to address the root causes of despair arising from social inequity and his traumatic experience of prison. They call for the resignation of a minister.
The cats are paid a million pounds each because their rights were infringed when the government failed to inform them there were mice in the United Kingdom .
The squirrel, the dogs and the victims of the hijacking, the bombing, the burglaries and robberies have to pay an additional percentage on their credit cards to cover losses, their taxes are increased to pay for law and order and they are told that they will have to work beyond 65 because of a shortfall in government funds.
Malkym
says...
3:29pm Wed 24 Sep 08
Bobfm wrote:So then Bob - the Fat Controller, I mean rotund Stationmaster (you have to be very PC on here so as not to offend the self regulating modulators of the webwaves) is going to be speaking to the people of Sodor LOL!! Only joking Bob just couldn't help making that Thomas the Tank analogy given your audience ! I'm not a UKIP supporter, I confess I don't quite understand what branch of the political tree they sit on and I can't wait for Gord & co. to head for the cinema exit signs! Equally I'm not convinced that tory boy is the answer either and the LD's are another mystery! Trouble is if we cast our vote in your direction for example we'll worry about letting The minister for britishness and data security back in, so we go for JT and SuperDave's lot by default -bit catch 22 eh? good luck with the oration!
I have the privilege to be addressing a group of retired Railway workers and their spouses tomorrow morning. As with most of my 'speeches' I try to be topical and rarely script anything. I try to involve my audience in what I have to say, which strangely enough will be about the state of Britain.Many of those present will have fought for and had friends who died for Britain. I am sure it will be a lively affair, they will not understand the current 'take take take' culture we now live in even though I am sure many would be life long socialists, as my father was.Socialism was never about a take culture, it was always about the State being there for those who through no fault of their own fell on hard times. Those that could worked. I know my father would turn in his grave at what Labour and HMG have done to this once proud Nation. We have seen yet another surrender of control to EDF today. The French and German Governments would have fought tooth and nail to stop such a take over. We have 'lapdogs' for leaders and Cameron would be the same.
The Mancunian Way
says...
4:22pm Wed 24 Sep 08
As for the above i have said it before and I will say it again...STERILISATIO
N
Username
says...
4:27pm Wed 24 Sep 08
Popcorn
says...
5:01pm Wed 24 Sep 08
They seem to think it is their right and someone elses responsibility to house them..
onlyme1
says...
5:42pm Wed 24 Sep 08
Because you don't have a job.
Maybe you should have though about how you would provide for your children before you had them. It is actually YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to look after your own children not tax payers. Get off your arses and get a job, then pay for your own house, just like the rest of us!
P3 NAS Mark II
says...
6:02pm Wed 24 Sep 08
These kinds of tenants prove time and again they have no respect for anything and the places are left uninhabitable once they move on/are moved on. I know this from early years experience.
I believe it's over 8 now before a child is eligible to have their 'own room' if the sex of the other children is different.
These people don't realise that and think it's as soon as a child is born and this is one of the reasons they keep having children, in the hope for a different sex. Fact.
As everyone has said these people should get a job, why is no one telling them to?
These sorts of people would be amazing in a benefit fraud office.
Human rights?
P3 NAS Mark II
says...
6:10pm Wed 24 Sep 08
kombatt wrote:Northern Road is a private housing estate, which means the house is more than likely privately owned, so therefore the council can do nothing with it.
77 Northern Road has been empty four 6 years,why?What are Swindon council doing about it?A 3 bedroom semi detatched in a highly sought after area,with a 90 ft garden and has been empty for 6 years,what a crime.
How stupid are you?
Why do you people think that the council are responsible for everything, it shows a real ignorance and low intelligence.
As for it being empty for so long, maybe the occupants live abroad and want to return one day so don't want scum living in their 'own' home.
They may have houses all over the world, which is something else the council can't quite give you yet! Bummer!
Mavis
says...
6:21pm Wed 24 Sep 08
GET A JOB
STOP PRODUCIMG KIDS UNTIL YOU HAVEE AID FOR YOUR OWN HOUSE ADN BILLS
sorry for shouting but it enrages me to see people like this whinging about how hard done by they are. Stop griping and get a job bloody chavs!!!
tinkerbell69
says...
7:31pm Wed 24 Sep 08
Mr allen why dont you exchange with your dad??????????
tinkerbell69
says...
7:35pm Wed 24 Sep 08
fairpoint
says...
8:10pm Wed 24 Sep 08
Chowmai
says...
8:19pm Wed 24 Sep 08
I was always taught that as soon as you start lowering yourself to basal insults you lose your argument.
I don't believe in judging anyone by what they wear however if one is going to use the local press to 'pump your cause' it would make sense to dress appropriatley.
I do believe in accepting the consequences of your own actions. If you live in a home designed for a set number of people then choose to overcrowd it then you have to accept that as a consequence of your decision to expand your family.
The welfare state was NOT designed to be a way of life yet it has become just that. There are very few people who are totally unable to work yet we as a people allow it to happen.
Instead of reasoned debate and pressure bringing protest most people choose to use swingeing statements and childlike insults that do little to change a situation.
Those who are happy to accept the financial benefits of a welfare state should happily accept their duty to repay to society what they can, be that by restricting their family growth or offering time in voluntary work whilst they seek employment.
At the same time those of us who want to see change should look at how they go about asking for it and just what sort of example they set when they act like 'chavish pondlive' in the misconception that they have a right to act like that simply because they are NOT 'chavish pondlive'.
Lead, and maybe change by example, you never know it may just be a tad more productive.
P3 NAS Mark II
says...
9:04pm Wed 24 Sep 08
Malkym: So then Bob - the Fat Controller,
Even I think that's rude and uncalled for.
fairpoint
says...
10:12pm Wed 24 Sep 08
The state that you see some of the new housing estates in around Swindon and those specially built for social housing is an absolute disgrace, and these are people who probably have more time to keep the area looking nice than most of us.
Apologies if that is slightly off topic but it unfortunately gives you an idea of the mindset of some of these people...they are given so much and appreciate so little.
I don't know what the answers are.. other than to have a better policing of the benfits that they are 'entitled' to and to make the whole 'social living' much less attractive than it seems to be. At the same time offering more support to get a job instead of 'signing on' once a week or whatever it is they need to do these days.
tammy trevena
says...
10:21pm Wed 24 Sep 08
johntomjoe
says...
11:07pm Wed 24 Sep 08
perhaps some could downsize to free up some housing.
we are in a 2 bed upstairs flat being blessed with 2 boys under 4 i work and we dont scrounge off the state
we have looked into private and part buy homes, totally out of our reach untill kids at school and wife can return to work(have you seen the price of child care nowadays)
i dont like the way people think that all housing tenants are scroungers and we dont want a massive house just something we can afford and a garden for the boys to play in
perhaps the council should stop selling off their properties,if you can afford a mortgage buy from the private sector,the government could build realisticaly lower priced properties (timber framed) and only allow them to be sold onto 1st time buyers at market value after say 5 years
some people are unfortunately stuck in sub standard acommodation which should not be happening in this day and age when we send over £100 million to charities abroad every year
malkym1
says...
11:47pm Wed 24 Sep 08
P3 NAS Mark II wrote:In fairness and in my defence I did immediately stress that I was only joking inusing the Rev. Awdry's characters in my analogy to bob's chat to the railway pensioners and meant absolutely no offence at all!
Malkym: So then Bob - the Fat Controller,Even I think that's rude and uncalled for.
P3 NAS Mark II
says...
7:54am Thu 25 Sep 08
Did you not consider your housing situation 'before' you had the children?
Did you just think you were entitled to bigger housing because you were producing more children than you could provide for?
I am interested in your answers to this.
The Best of the Best
says...
8:02am Thu 25 Sep 08
Not every1 who lives in a council place or who are in need of 1 are the same....yes u get sum who do scrounge of the goverment but, i feel some1 in my sitiation deserves one, bcoz i dnt just sit on my backsde day in and day out....
scottyincs
says...
8:39am Thu 25 Sep 08
The Best of the Best wrote:But haven't you just destroyed your own argument?
I think some of the comments on here are uncalled for. im a single mum my son is nearly 2. i currently live in a 2 bed private rented house, and have been since i was pregnant with my son. Ive bidded time and time, week after week for a council property but seems to get no where. Yes i do work and yes i do get tax credits, but i have to pay for my childs nursery fees so that i can work, i have to feed my son clothe my son aswel as pay bills.Not every1 who lives in a council place or who are in need of 1 are the same....yes u get sum who do scrounge of the goverment but, i feel some1 in my sitiation deserves one, bcoz i dnt just sit on my backsde day in and day out....
I'd have thought council housing was designed for those who can't afford to buy or to rent in the private sector.
I appreciate you probably struggle to pay the private rent, but I guess the fact that you ARE able to afford it precludes you from consideration by the council.
writer
says...
8:58am Thu 25 Sep 08
hester needs a walk
says...
9:26am Thu 25 Sep 08
dc the 2nd
says...
9:42am Thu 25 Sep 08
hester needs a walk
says...
9:49am Thu 25 Sep 08
dc the 2nd
says...
10:00am Thu 25 Sep 08
Maybe i am just one of those crazy free thinkers who think that an empty privately owned home is'nt part of the social network supporting the people popping out kids they cant accommodate, but i could be missing the point again....
tarot
says...
10:01am Thu 25 Sep 08
hester needs a walk wrote:With the current housing market, selling is not an option unless of course you are willing to sell at a loss, renting is an option if you want your property abused and then the expense of repairing everything.
I think its a pity that people who own houses leave them unused and boarded up. Surely its better to do something with them, either rent them out or sell them on, than leave them standing empty to get dilapidated and ruin the environment. Any owner who leaves their property in this state deserves to have it squatted. At least then its being put to some use. In this day and age, when there's loads of help available from Councils to bring empty homes back into use, its mindless to leave them empty.
I live in a one bedroom flat which I bought four years ago, I have since got married and gained three step children, I wish to move and will do so by buying another house.
In the meantime what do I do with the flat?
Leave it empty but secure, at least it will be in the condition needed to sell when the current market recovers.
Option two, rent it out and have to take out numerous levels of insurance to protect the property.
People are unable to sell their properties and are condemned for leaving them empty.
I will do what I like with my property and anyone who wishes to put there halfpenny in can do so.
The family in question is fit and healthy and they do not work.
I loved the squirrel analogy, summ's it all up to a tee.
tammy trevena
says...
10:05am Thu 25 Sep 08
id like you to know im not scrounging. my partner works hard 6-7 days a week. i was working up till last year before we had our daughter. i think you are saying i should of had abortions with all of my children??? or should i of tossed a coin heads keep you, tails get you sucked from my body?? what gives you the right on your high horse judging people who you know nothing about presuming things you know nothing about.i love all 3 of my children. my partner pays his taxes! you presume we have 3 kids so we are scroungers on benefits!!!!!
tarot
says...
10:17am Thu 25 Sep 08
tammy trevena wrote:Tammy, He does have a point.
to P3 NAS MARK
id like you to know im not scrounging. my partner works hard 6-7 days a week. i was working up till last year before we had our daughter. i think you are saying i should of had abortions with all of my children??? or should i of tossed a coin heads keep you, tails get you sucked from my body?? what gives you the right on your high horse judging people who you know nothing about presuming things you know nothing about.i love all 3 of my children. my partner pays his taxes! you presume we have 3 kids so we are scroungers on benefits!!!!!
You live in a two bedroom flat and you choose to have more children.
Live within your means and wait until you have larger living space.
Having children is a privilege not a right.
Big Mac
says...
10:32am Thu 25 Sep 08
Tammy - I'm afraid your rather overly-emotive argument doesn't really work. Most people are quite able to not get themselves pregnant three times in their lifetime, so starting to talk about abortion is pointless. Why not look at your situation and avoid getting pregnant in the first place when you know your circumstance don't fit?
This is why others get annoyed - people just merrily do exactly as they please, regardless of their situation - and then expect to be bailed out by everyone else.
You do realise that everyone else also has bills to pay, mortgages, rent etc? So why to do you also expect them to help pay your way? And, yes, asking for bigger and bigger council houses does mean everyone else is bailing you out.
If you can't afford to provide something as basic as suitable accommodation, STOP HAVING CHILDREN. The national average family size in the UK now is 1.8 children. You're already 55% over the national average - and, from your posts, you don't sound very old, so there's scope for even more, especially with your, 'I'll do what I want' attitude.
As for Kris Allen's Facebook profile, "Political Views: Labour Party"... what a surprise.
Terence
says...
10:33am Thu 25 Sep 08
emz1200
says...
10:41am Thu 25 Sep 08
tammy trevena
says...
11:07am Thu 25 Sep 08
you cant go to the council and say i'm thinking about having a child can you move me before i have one please? you'd get laughed out of there. my children were not planned. i do not believe in abortions they are not for me. i did go to have one before but i couldnt do it. a child is a gift from god, a life! i have lots of friends with their own houses or renting. they are working hard scrimping and saving to stop losing their houses. they cant afford the latest foot ball shirts and trainers. we can not afford to rent private or afford a mortgage, so wer'e stuck bursting at the seams. well i think i best see what is on home bid this week!
writer
says...
11:16am Thu 25 Sep 08
You've touched on a couple of important issues here. The first being our immigration laws and regulations and the foreign policies that the UK has adopted with regard to refugees and underpoverished foreign nationals. Let's not go there right now. The second point that you bring up is tightly in line with the original article and what other people are discussing: big families within the poor in OUR society.
Why do the poor so often have so many kids?? (don't answer, it's just a gripe!!) I feel the urge to talk about family values, social responsibility, education... or just plain common bloody sense... Hmm... 33K isn't all that much when you're talking about six kids, but, when that money comes directly out of my (and I dare say, your) pocket, I (we)have to ask questions; I really do believe that the "strong" have to help the "weak", but not sustain them. That's what makes us different to animals.
The weak, just like any other person, needs to be productive. One weak plus one weak doesn't equal two weak people, but one strong.
writer
says...
11:23am Thu 25 Sep 08
Username
says...
11:27am Thu 25 Sep 08
tammy trevena wrote:I think you missed the point somewhat!!! I think he was trying to say that you should have improved your circumstances to cater for another child etc before actually having another one!
to tarotyou cant go to the council and say i'm thinking about having a child can you move me before i have one please? you'd get laughed out of there. my children were not planned. i do not believe in abortions they are not for me. i did go to have one before but i couldnt do it. a child is a gift from god, a life! i have lots of friends with their own houses or renting. they are working hard scrimping and saving to stop losing their houses. they cant afford the latest foot ball shirts and trainers. we can not afford to rent private or afford a mortgage, so wer'e stuck bursting at the seams. well i think i best see what is on home bid this week!
When you say your children weren't planned does that mean you have never heard of contraception? What is home bid?
SJL Greenmeadow
says...
11:35am Thu 25 Sep 08
I live in Greenmeadow and waited until I had a house before having my children. I now have two children and my husband has had the snip as we cannot afford to have anymore children. Why can't other people think like this?
I also work and my son goes to nursery, it is expensive but I still bring home money at the end of the month, and I am not on a great wage.
The government are to blame for allowing people to act like this, they keep giving out benefits to people who claim they cannot work and need houses. What angers me more is that if you are pregnant and on benefits you are given a grant of £500 for each baby you have, just to buy baby equipment. If they are that hard up they could buy second hand. And surely if they already have a child they have most of the equipment already.
The government really do need to sort this out, education at school on finances and the cost of living would be a start. And stop giving young mums a house when they are probably better off at home with their parents.
tammy trevena
says...
11:38am Thu 25 Sep 08
what attitude? i put a comment on here to say i was in the same sort of situation. people are presuming im on benefits scrounging. im bound to want to stick up for myself. how old do you think i am? for your info i am 30... our rent is paid by my partner. what is it to do with you if we have 3 kids? and so what if im 55% over the national average.
writer
says...
12:01pm Thu 25 Sep 08
I think the point is that it's just not a question of walking up to a house and saying "I should be living here". The system doesn't work like that - there are channels to be followed. I know life is tough, that it's impossible to get on the housing ladder (I myself rent). Maybe you could consider a low-cost home ownership scheme, or the shared ownership one that's quite big nowadays? These are incentives for people (like myself) who don't have the salary/cash to buy a house at market price.
The Mancunian Way
says...
12:15pm Thu 25 Sep 08
Ha Ha Security word...Work-More ha ha I kid you not
emmylou83
says...
12:27pm Thu 25 Sep 08
The Mancunian Way wrote:Russ I feel I need to put my 2pence worth in here not all contraception is 100% I should know i'm the product of the pill, a happy accident as my parents call me.
Want I would like to know is dont any of you lot no what CONTRACEPTION is. You say you kids were not planned, so what precautions were you taking just hoping does not work. Keeping your legs shut may be best next time, like others have said if you can pay rent why cant you do a part ownership etc..?Ha Ha Security word...Work-More ha ha I kid you not
I've looked into part ownership its actually cheaper just to rent most of the time.
123
says...
12:43pm Thu 25 Sep 08
dc the 2nd
says...
12:58pm Thu 25 Sep 08
123 wrote:well at least ours were legible
i think most of u who hav left comments on here r bein out of order,u know nothin about the peoples situations that uv been judgin b4 u know the full facts, but i bet if u were in the same situation urselfs or if members of ur families were cramped up in a shoe box u would b tryin 2 do ur best!!! u know the sayin dont judge a book by its cover!!!! not everyone is the same!
writer
says...
1:00pm Thu 25 Sep 08
Oh, 123 - I DO live in a shoebox but I don't moan about it. I look to the future and am doing my best to support my family through working. Happiness isn't dependent on material good, you know...
tammy trevena
says...
1:06pm Thu 25 Sep 08
Big Mac
says...
1:45pm Thu 25 Sep 08
You know your situation better than anyone, yet you let yourself get into a position that's less than ideal.
I didn't make that happen, nobody else made that happen. You made the choices you've made in the full knowledge that your housing wasn't adequate. So why should anyone now have to help you out?
I'm glad your partner's working and paying tax, but remember that a council flat/house is also a benefit that the rest of us pay for - your rent will be nowhere near the market value for the property.
Your first post states how difficult and stressful your current living arrangements are, yet you seem to think it's unfair and that others should downsize to make way for your exapanding family.
I don't see how anybody else but you put yourself in that situation - that's why people aren't overly sympathetic to your requirements.
Everyone of us has to make sacrifices and decisions in life based on what is, and what is not, possible for us in our own circumstances - what irritates a lot of people who have to work to pay their way is when people who already receive assistance start demanding more.
The Mancunian Way
says...
2:51pm Thu 25 Sep 08
Bobfm
says...
7:38pm Thu 25 Sep 08
There is probably no one who takes more stick and abuse on these threads than I do, but that's life. You introduced your family into the melting pot of this environment no one forced you to. As the old saying goes, 'if you can't stand the heat of the kitchen'.
tarot
says...
11:43pm Thu 25 Sep 08
I have no children of my own, my choice because I did not have the facilities to care for them.
Unfortunately in this day and age people think it is their God given right to have kids.
As I said it is a privilege not a right.
If you do not have a house big enough to house them use one form or another of contraception and stop having them.
I have a one bedroom flat and have inherited three kids when I married their father, Yes its tight but we manage and will continue to manage.
We both work full time and do not claim benefits.
The eldest is at college so we are talking big kids not toddlers.
The world does not owe you a bigger house nor is it responsible for your circumstances.
YOU ARE !!!!!
Bobfm
says...
7:44am Fri 26 Sep 08
Sadly we have a housing points system that does indeed encourage having more kids, it needs seriously revising to take account of the mindset of the modern approach to contraception.
tarot
says...
11:05am Fri 26 Sep 08
I am more than content with my situation and when the time is right I will buy a bigger place.
I don't expect the system to keep me.
I was allocated the flat twelve years ago after moving out of Davis house.
I got a job and saved what I could.
I get so sick of people bleating "whoa is me" instead of taking control of their lives.
I work till 9.30 most nights and work 50 plus hours a week.
I juggle home and work and am mostly knackered but hey ho thats life.
Big Mac
says...
12:59pm Sat 27 Sep 08
CooperS
says...
1:59pm Mon 29 Sep 08
Mavis
says...
6:00pm Mon 29 Sep 08
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