Should kids live in tower blocks?

Surely we could take a leaf out of Denmark's book?

I’m sorry daisy boots, you don’t have the right to choose unless you own it. Not a nice situation to be in, but that’s the way it is. I didn’t choose to move out of London, when I was young, however, I couldn’t afford to buy and there was little hope of getting a Council house and therefore moved to the North East, leaving my whole family and a 8 month old baby in tow. Keeping in a job was our small families priority and therefore moved as we need a job. A lot of people won’t do this and think that the LA are there to look after them, because of this. As I said before Council housing is a privilege not a right. Only genuine needed should be provided with one. Unless of course you live in Denmark and they have a fantastic Council housing scheme for all.

Daisyboots since you dont know the circumstances of why the teenage sister was living with them,maybe you should accept that it was a good enough reason for the council to house them .Everything isn't always as it seems for the outside .Marianne1953 I think the key word in your post was HAPPY ,if people are happy to move then thats fine.they shouldn't be moved against their will simply because its a council house.

I am a home owner and was quite happy to move from a 4 Bedroom detached to a 2 bedroom flat in my retirement.
Unfortunately, Council homes are a privilege for the few and therefore should be as flexible. After all private renters would most certainly move to a smaller residence in retirement, to allow for a smaller rent.

Councils don't always make best use of what housing is available. Back in the 90s my parents were paid a sum of money to move out by the London borough where their 3 bedroom council house was. They then moved near to us in Cambs and my Dad became a first time buyer with a mortgage at the age of 83. But the council didn't put any of the applicants with 3 children in a two bedroom flat in the house but a young couple who had the wife's teenage sister living with them. Surely it would have been better to free up a 2 bedroom flat for them so the family from there could have the house. No that's too simple.

That is a great idea, cath66, 5 year lease. Circumstances change , there are people on high incomes now that are still occupying a CH when they do not need to or worse sub letting.

I was brought up in a council flat and had a very happy childhood. There were three of us in one bedroom with mum and dad in the other. We had a small kitchen, living room and small bathroom. We all lived there until we got married or moved out. The flat was in South London and my mum was very proud of it.

Grampie we all live by rules we grew up with ,but it shouldn't mean you can only see one side of the story.There is or shouldn't be any shame attached to renting either private or local authority housing.Anyone who somehow feels superior because they bought needs a reality check .As I said already it has never been seen as "lower class" in Scotland where huge numbers lived in council schemes after the slum clearances .I've never understood why people are looked down on for renting .

I do not see flats as ideal accommodation for families.

Many children are happily brought up in flats in other countries - New Yorkers for example - and I think the issue is more one of financial means. If a child lives in a large, well-maintained flat, and the parents make a point of taking them out and about, and can afford to do so, then I guess it is not so bad.

The problem lies with cramped poor quality unmaintained flats (council or private) in run-down areas where opportunities to safely be out and about are limited.

Sorry for my point of view. It is coloured by my upbringing.

My Mother raised me on her own and she taught me and my brother never to rely on the state for our housing. Consequently, I have no clue how to get a council house except that it requires you to "stay put" to get on a list.

We moved all around the UK (wherever work was to be found) as she secured jobs with tied accommodation and my brother and I paid her for food and lodging from what we earned all the way until we got married.

Never did we rely on the state for our housing. Such determination meant we had to study, work (some jobs came with housing) and save to buy homes for our families.

She is dead now but Mum was our hero because she taught us to be self-sufficient.

She had enough money to buy a two-bedroomed bungalow for cash when she happily retired from being a warden in an old folks' home.

In our increasingly polarised society I think that home ownership is considered a mark of status, and those who choose or cannot afford to buy are treated as social inferiors. Personally I would rather live in a society where renting was the norm and there was more protection for tenants. The Government could improve the housing situation by building many more houses to rent with secure well managed tenancies, but there is no political will to do so. Our economy is dependant on home ownership with house prices increasing year on year, in turn fueling spending.

There’s a lack of suitable properties for older people to downsize to. Most 2-bedroom new builds, round here anyway, seem to be starter homes - tiny rooms, steep stairs, thin walls.

When I was a child the big LA estate we lived on had one bedroom “ granny flats” at the end of every block . The idea was that younger families would “ look after” their elderly neighbours and it worked very well . They were lovely little One up, one down . properties with A small shared garden that was looked after by the LA ( or my dad in the case of our neighbours) As time went on the LA stated renting these lovely little flats to (mainly) young lads who had been kicked out of the family home and they just went down hill rapidly . The one next door to my parents was set fire too in several occasions , windows boarded up etc.

I used to work for a housing association. It was frustrating trying to find properties big enough for a family when a girl or boy got to an age when (lawfully) they should not longer share with siblings of the opposite sex. We couldn’t demand that the elderly single person in the four bedroom house with large garden swop house with the family round the corner crammed into a two bed property.

I don’t think anyone should be forced to move against their will, but if help were given to make it easier and they could be sure of staying in the area, more people would be prepared to move. One elderly man I know would love to move but can’t face the upheaval. It would involve selling his property and he just can’t face the stress.

We’ve looked at doing just that Annie and I have spoken to a few agents about it too. Firstly the house would need rewiring and a few other repairs . Also there is a lot of legislation surrounding private rentals these days that I don’t think he could cope with, plus tax implications etc. Additionally ( and probably the biggest reason ) is that he could not carry out even the most simplest of repairs if/when they arise and it would probably fall on my son or my DH and they have enough in their plate already .
Sadly he is having to pay full council tax on this empty property too. It’s crippling them.

I've always thought it's better if children can have a garden to play in and not get under mum's feet while she's busy but space is a problem, isn't it?
Parks aren't always a good alternative, even in a nice area you can get trouble-makers gathering and being unpleasant.
I've always hated tower blocks and think it's no wonder we have social problems - people need to be closer to nature for their mental health and physical well-being.

No Aepgirl, I am bringing balance , ‘should children live in tower blocks ? No. Should the elderly be forced to leave their homes ? No.

Is everything in life achieved by choices ? No.

Developers don’t like building bungalows as they take up too much ground space.

I wonder how big a garden these children in tower blocks think they’d get even if their parents could afford to buy. The new private estates have starter homes supposedly for families but the ‘gardens’ are tiny. A whirligig washing line and a picnic table and thats the space used up.

Oh Anniebach, you are argumentative today. Seems nobody can say anything to please you.

Gilly, can’t they not rent it out ?

My DD’s partner can’t sell his large 3 bedroomed house for what he owes on the mortgage (£70k) because in that area very few young people have secure enough jobs to get a mortgage or they are unable to raise a deposit . Sad that a family could be living in it .

Once you're in Social Housing, they don't care how many occupants. DD was placed in a two-bedroomed house and it took the intervention from SS to get her a larger place when her family grew up.

Some years ago, after my father died, my mother was in a four bedroomed house. Council didn't want to know when she asked them for rehousing.

They expect you to arrange house swapping between yourselves!

123coco mentions Thatcher. Thatcher, who decades ago decided we all should aspire to home ownership - whatever our circumstances - and buy our council houses at knockdown prices, while councils themselves had their power to build taken away from them. That meant fewer affordable houses available for families to rent - and more families in need placed in flats in tower blocks, which were known to be unsuitable. Since the 1980's many thousands of houses should have been built every year to replace the ones lost this way, and to meet newly identified need. They were not.

Now we are all suffering the far reaching consequences of the political and economic decisions made by those in power. We should not be blaming each other for the lack of choices available.

I myself now live in a what is known as a mixed tenure area. I own my house - which, yes, is now too big for me - but am in a low income area with few permanent jobs. In common with many others in the area, the house remains unsold. For the time being my disabilities are minor, and I am managing with occasional paid help cleaning and gardening. Eventually, no doubt,should I survive into old age, I will become a danger to myself. The local authority will be able to force me out and into residential care, sell my house (again at a knockdown price) and use the money from the house I worked hard for all my adult life to pay for my care.

Many people would be prepared to move from their homes if they could find a suitable property in their neighbourhood. It matters that you do not have to move miles away from the friends and support systems you have built up over many years, and which become even more important in older age. You are less of a cost to society, too, if you have these systems to rely on; especially if you have no family close by.
But bungalows everywhere are scarce - and so are at a premium. And in our rural area there are few flats and no tower blocks.

quizqueen, how stupid of me to choose to be a widow with two small children.