• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.
I live in an 'actual' village, with houses dating from the 1500's through to houses built in the 2000s. Tiny place, only about 100 houses. But the problem we suffer from, as most other villages, is that there's no affordable housing. So the only people who can buy, tend to be over the age of 50, or those who buy as second homes. We do have one or two families with younger childen but they are all of the slightly more well off persuasion.

It doesn't lead to a good mixture, when you end up with the elderly helping the elderly because there are no younger people.
 
I live in an 'actual' village, with houses dating from the 1500's through to houses built in the 2000s. Tiny place, only about 100 houses. But the problem we suffer from, as most other villages, is that there's no affordable housing. So the only people who can buy, tend to be over the age of 50, or those who buy as second homes. We do have one or two families with younger childen but they are all of the slightly more well off persuasion.

It doesn't lead to a good mixture, when you end up with the elderly helping the elderly because there are no younger people.
As I mentioned on this or the 'creepy villages' thread, the issue with small villages is there is no industry or jobs for younger people, so when the kids of the villages grow up they have to move away, then when the parents pass the only people who want to or can afford to buy the property in the village are older retirees or people buying them as second homes.
 
As I mentioned on this or the 'creepy villages' thread, the issue with small villages is there is no industry or jobs for younger people, so when the kids of the villages grow up they have to move away, then when the parents pass the only people who want to or can afford to buy the property in the village are older retirees or people buying them as second homes.
To be fair though, there isn't usually much industry or work in ANY villages, proper, small villages. What most people call a 'village', we call a town!

There is work within travelling distance of our village. But the price of houses is such that younger people can't afford to buy, added to the fact that you HAVE to drive - there's no public transport.
 
A serious problem for many small communities is transport. There is a serious lack of public transport to allow travel to work in the bigger towns or cities. this means you are reliant on cars, add low salaries locally and end up with kids having to move or accept limited job prospects.

Property prices are getting higher out here as Bath is ridiculous. Its fine if you are reasonably fit , financially stable and able to drive, but as recent events have shown it falls apart very quickly.

Still think its nicer than Poundbury.
 
A serious problem for many small communities is transport. There is a serious lack of public transport to allow travel to work in the bigger towns or cities. this means you are reliant on cars, add low salaries locally and end up with kids having to move or accept limited job prospects.

Property prices are getting higher out here as Bath is ridiculous. Its fine if you are reasonably fit , financially stable and able to drive, but as recent events have shown it falls apart very quickly.

Still think its nicer than Poundbury.
It also benefits those parents who can afford to pay for lessons for their kids when they reach 17, and then afford to sub them the money for a new car and the insurance for it. Poorer families are those that have to drive the kids about everywhere, or where the kids have to cycle, which restricts the distance they can travel to jobs.
 
It's a normal-ish town on some level, has some chain shops, the buildings are not made to look aged and it's not like the Disney town Celebration for example, but the layout and architecture is an interpretation of of 'traditional' english, as approved/conceived by prince charles, who owns it all. It's meant to look like it's grown naturally with a range of styles from our glorious past but nothing looks later than the 1920s or something. Was built from scratch, mostly in the '90s I think. Some buildings have had fake alterations like bricked up windows, but they were built that way. Charles has been a vocal critic of modern architecture for a long time, and this is what peak england looks like in his head, which is a bit off to say the least, given the weird life of corrupt mega privilege he's led. The thing that creeps me out most is all the royal-named stuff.
The Art Deco-esque new town he is building on the edge of Newquay, Cornwall is similarly a 'bit odd' and surreal.
 
It also benefits those parents who can afford to pay for lessons for their kids when they reach 17, and then afford to sub them the money for a new car and the insurance for it. Poorer families are those that have to drive the kids about everywhere, or where the kids have to cycle, which restricts the distance they can travel to jobs.
Don't get me started on the state of the bus services here in Cornwall and the unreliable rail service. Over this winter there have barely been a day when the railway hasn't either been shut for maintenance, shut for rail strikes or impacted by some event or other - today it was a trespasser on the line at St Erth that delayed every train between Penzance and Plymouth by over 40 minutes (probably some poor sod who had their benefits sanctioned and trying to end it all).. Then you get on the bus instead and it is like social services on wheels, and always with some loud-mouthed g*bshite arguing with his 'woman'. Also, so hot and stuffy on there but the poor old pensioners won't open any windows because its the only heat they get all winter and driven by a grumpy driver who gleefully aimed for every pothole whilst stuffing her face with custard creams...

Rant over :(
 
Don't get me started on the state of the bus services here in Cornwall and the unreliable rail service. Over this winter there have barely been a day when the railway hasn't either been shut for maintenance, shut for rail strikes or impacted by some event or other - today it was a trespasser on the line at St Erth that delayed every train between Penzance and Plymouth by over 40 minutes (probably some poor sod who had their benefits sanctioned and trying to end it all).. Then you get on the bus instead and it is like social services on wheels, and always with some loud-mouthed g*bshite arguing with his 'woman'. Also, so hot and stuffy on there but the poor old pensioners won't open any windows because its the only heat they get all winter and driven by a grumpy driver who gleefully aimed for every pothole whilst stuffing her face with custard creams...

Rant over :(
You are invited hereby to move to the US. Different problems. No fewer problems, but they will be new to you. Also, your quaint accent may get you free beers and other stuff.

Edit: I took a look at the Poundbury site. Does it have a designated number of properties allocated to low income tenants? In the US, that has been required for - I am guessing - at least 20-30 years. Also, it seems that every home (house, condominium, etc.) does not have car parking space allocated for it. What local industries support paychecks? How do residents get to their jobs?

Poundbury looks very nice, but artificial. I have been to similar developments here in the US, and they seemed equally odd to me. All the architecture was cohesive and 1920s in look. The developers satisfied the low income units by building them elsewhere, where they would not offend the upper middle-class residents.
 
Last edited:
You are invited hereby to move to the US. Different problems. No fewer problems, but they will be new to you. Also, your quaint accent may get you free beers and other stuff.

Edit: I took a look at the Poundbury site. Does it have a designated number of properties allocated to low income tenants? In the US, that has been required for - I am guessing - at least 20-30 years. Also, it seems that every home (house, condominium, etc.) does not have car parking space allocated for it. What local industries support paychecks? How do residents get to their jobs?

Poundbury looks very nice, but artificial. I have been to similar developments here in the US, and they seemed equally odd to me. All the architecture was cohesive and 1920s in look. The developers satisfied the low income units by building them elsewhere, where they would not offend the upper middle-class residents.
Most new build sites are 'required' to have a certain number of 'affordable' houses over here too. It's usually a condition of planning permission to erect the houses. Unfortunately, what exactly constitutes 'affordable' never seems to be specified, and as many of the houses will be four and five bedrooms at upwards of £600k, pricing a few three bedroomed builds at £350k looks 'affordable' until you realise it really isn't.

A housing estate was proposed in the town near my village. It was turned down on the grounds that the school isn't big enough, there's not enough doctor provision or facilities. So they simply applied for planning permission continually, every few months, and in the end it was granted, despite there STILL not being a big enough school or any doctor provision. It seems that, for large building firms, planning permission is merely a formality.
 
Most new build sites are 'required' to have a certain number of 'affordable' houses over here too. It's usually a condition of planning permission to erect the houses. Unfortunately, what exactly constitutes 'affordable' never seems to be specified, and as many of the houses will be four and five bedrooms at upwards of £600k, pricing a few three bedroomed builds at £350k looks 'affordable' until you realise it really isn't.

A housing estate was proposed in the town near my village. It was turned down on the grounds that the school isn't big enough, there's not enough doctor provision or facilities. So they simply applied for planning permission continually, every few months, and in the end it was granted, despite there STILL not being a big enough school or any doctor provision. It seems that, for large building firms, planning permission is merely a formality.
In the US, planning permits have really tightened actual requirements. Of course, sometimes the juggernaut of semi-restrained capitalism will still run over any community concerns. The community where I live was built in the 1960s-1980s. The approved planning included the developer building hospitals, coordinating with medical clinics, grocery store chains, water providers, etc. So it worked really well and continues to do so.

In the past 20 years, an upscale development here in the Arizonian desert was built which temporarily included an agreement with a local city to supply water for a limited time. That agreement expired last year; the developer is long gone; the residents did not make other provisions; the neighboring city did actually cut off their water; and now the upscale residents are suing the neighboring city for more water. Let them eat cake.
 
In the US, planning permits have really tightened actual requirements. Of course, sometimes the juggernaut of semi-restrained capitalism will still run over any community concerns. The community where I live was built in the 1960s-1980s. The approved planning included the developer building hospitals, coordinating with medical clinics, grocery store chains, water providers, etc. So it worked really well and continues to do so.

In the past 20 years, an upscale development here in the Arizonian desert was built which temporarily included an agreement with a local city to supply water for a limited time. That agreement expired last year; the developer is long gone; the residents did not make other provisions; the neighboring city did actually cut off their water; and now the upscale residents are suing the neighboring city for more water. Let them eat cake.
I think our difficulty is that Britain is a very small and very crowded island. There aren't big expanses of open space to build upon - any open space is usually protected. So we are cramming housing developments into spaces that aren't big in the first place, and developers trying to maximise their profit will build 100 homes in the space available for maybe 50 decent-sized ones. They are building houses with smaller rooms and almost zero garden space, because they know they will sell.

And then people buy them and end up with houses where they can't fit a sofa in the living room.
 
I think our difficulty is that Britain is a very small and very crowded island. There aren't big expanses of open space to build upon - any open space is usually protected. So we are cramming housing developments into spaces that aren't big in the first place, and developers trying to maximise their profit will build 100 homes in the space available for maybe 50 decent-sized ones. They are building houses with smaller rooms and almost zero garden space, because they know they will sell.

And then people buy them and end up with houses where they can't fit a sofa in the living room.
Similar projects have developed here in the US in the past 20 years or so; mainly in big, crowded east coast cities like New York. It required reducing the minimum living space allowable under housing codes.
 
Most new build sites are 'required' to have a certain number of 'affordable' houses over here too. It's usually a condition of planning permission to erect the houses. Unfortunately, what exactly constitutes 'affordable' never seems to be specified, and as many of the houses will be four and five bedrooms at upwards of £600k, pricing a few three bedroomed builds at £350k looks 'affordable' until you realise it really isn't.

A housing estate was proposed in the town near my village. It was turned down on the grounds that the school isn't big enough, there's not enough doctor provision or facilities. So they simply applied for planning permission continually, every few months, and in the end it was granted, despite there STILL not being a big enough school or any doctor provision. It seems that, for large building firms, planning permission is merely a formality.
There are a few new build estates in south Lancs/Greater Manchester like this - entirely cut off and car dependent. No thought whatsoever regarding public transport, Dr's surgeries, schools, etc.

I'm not a fan of this kind of thing and see them becoming the rejects/problem areas of the future.
As for the housing association/council percentage - no one wants to purchase a house next or adjacent to them, thinking it will devalue their own property, or that cars on bricks and random sofas with turn up on the public green. It's a shame really, because housing estates and communities in general tend to thrive better with resident economic diversity. I'd probably thank the tabloids for shaping the nation's social judgements and divisions on that score....and if you have lived with *problem neighbours, you won't be tempted back!
A healthy balance between class and income can foster a more tolerant and cared for community, ie, not becoming a ghetto.

Easier said than done, I admit.

* And this is such a shame really, because I am sure most people in HA or council housing just want to live a decent life, and don't deserve the stigma. It probably doesn't help that many local councils reserve their stock for problem tenants moved on from other wards, as opposed to a diverse collection of lower income families and those awaiting the purchase of their own home (ie, the original intention of council housing, which welcomed doctors, factory workers and single parent's struggling to get on their feet).
Obviously, that particular utopia went to hell in a handbasket, fast.
 
Last edited:
A housing estate was proposed in the town near my village. It was turned down on the grounds that the school isn't big enough, there's not enough doctor provision or facilities. So they simply applied for planning permission continually, every few months, and in the end it was granted, despite there STILL not being a big enough school or any doctor provision. It seems that, for large building firms, planning permission is merely a formality.
Councils have a limited pot of funds to fight planning appeals. If you've deep enough pockets you can simply appeal them into submission. Happened quite a bit with on-shore wind power-stations.
 
To be fair though, there isn't usually much industry or work in ANY villages, proper, small villages. What most people call a 'village', we call a town!

There is work within travelling distance of our village. But the price of houses is such that younger people can't afford to buy, added to the fact that you HAVE to drive - there's no public transport.
I have noticed lots of areas in London are now being referred to as villages.... They just pop the word village in front of the place name.

I am sure it is something the builders/property developers/estate agents and sales people do to sell the properties...
 
I have noticed lots of areas in London are now being referred to as villages.... They just pop the word village in front of the place name.

I am sure it is something the builders/property developers/estate agents and sales people do to sell the properties...

Having successfully smashed society into 10,000 mutually-combative splinter groups, someone is now trying to “duct tape and baling twine” it back together.

Best of luck.

On a similar note: Has anyone else noticed that towns all over the UK have now gone all pretentious, and started declaring certain areas to be “Quarters”, e.g. “Market Quarter”, or “Artistic Quarter”?

maximus otter
 
Last edited:
Having successfully smashed society into 10,000 mutually-combative splinter groups, someone is now trying to “duct tape and baling twine” it back together.

Best of luck.

On a similar note: Had anyone else noticed that towns all over the UK have now gone all pretentious, and started declaring certain areas to be “Quarters”, e.g. “Market Quarter”, or “Artistic Quarter”?

maximus otter
Not so far, but I might check Winchester out for 'quarters' next time I'm there, that's definitely a DFL town these days.
 
I think our difficulty is that Britain is a very small and very crowded island. There aren't big expanses of open space to build upon - any open space is usually protected. So we are cramming housing developments into spaces that aren't big in the first place, and developers trying to maximise their profit will build 100 homes in the space available for maybe 50 decent-sized ones. They are building houses with smaller rooms and almost zero garden space, because they know they will sell.

And then people buy them and end up with houses where they can't fit a sofa in the living room.
A mate who is a chartered surveyed told me that these developers fill their show homes with specially made furniture that is 10% smaller than that you would but at DFS, Ikea or wherever: "look at how spacious it is...!"
 
There are a few new build estates in south Lancs/Greater Manchester like this - entirely cut off and car dependent. No thought whatsoever regarding public transport, Dr's surgeries, schools, etc.
This is 95% of America.
 
Back
Top