Should kids live in tower blocks?

Merlotgran The difference is choice.As Annie says if you have the money to choose where you go thats great but if you dont you can end up in a place you dont want to be.Why should a teneant who has paid their rent for 20 or 40 years have to move out JUST because theres someone else who is considered more in need? Surely they must be allowed to live their lives in the home they've cared for and decorated and brought up their families .
The onus is on government to build .
A wee aside,during the last Labour administration in Scotland there were 6 ...thats SIX houses built,since the SNP came to power we've had over 70 000 of which over 50 000 are social rent and the rest housing association .It can be done ,it just needs someone who WANTS to do it!

Gilly, when I said ‘second class citizens’ this was my choice of words not yours x

My grumpy point is in reply to the O/P which questions ‘why’ , I just tried to explain why.

If it’s choice yes, but to be forced to move perhaps miles from your home of many years is cruel. I doubt the majority of 4 bedroomed council houses are rented by one person, if they have help with their rent as the majority of elderly in council houses do they have to pay for the three empty bedrooms.

Tower blocks are not right for children, but being forced from your home isn’t right for the elderly.

We have threads where someone wants to sell their house , advice is given, - make sure you are near shops, is there a good bus service if you have to give up driving, even - why not rent in the area for a while to see if it suits you.

A council tenant- move to wherever the council puts you, a family needs your house, not your home!

You are talking of choice, i am speaking of forcing people out of their homes. Big difference, I can’t have anyone spend a night with me. I love my garden, i love my dogs.

When DS was very small we lived in a twelfth floor apartment which was our Army quarter. It was very nice and spacious (large enough for him to whizz around in his pedal car), but he constantly wanted to be outside in the communal garden area and when I brought him back in he was very unhappy. And when the lifts broke down, as they sometimes did, it was a nightmare getting him, his pushchair, the shopping, up and down the stairway!
When we lived in Holland, an elderly Dutch couple who lived next door to us moved into sheltered accommodation and their house was rented by a couple with a young child. I gathered from her that they had lived in a tower block and her experience had been the same as mine. He loved their garden and was out in it in all weathers! So no, tower blocks are not ideal for children, but they have to be better for families than living in hostels or B&B accommodation.

The government needs to invest in houses - even if it means more borrowing. The resulting effect on the economy would be positive - builders and other tradespeople in work and earning money which they will spend to boost manufacturing; and a housing stock that suits our new demographic profile (more elderly). But no - let's have austerity and screw the have-nots into the ground while propping up the bankers. Sigh.

Baggs, I no longer live in Glasgow but I get it! Brought back a lot of memories!
Children might dream of having a large garden to play in but do their parents want a large garden to look after, weed, keep tidy etc? We lived in a first floor Glasgow flat but never missed having a garden because we had Kelvingrove Park a 15 minute walk away and that gave us access to tennis courts, swings, a foot ball pitch, ducks to feed and trees to climb. That is what kids need, more safe parks.

Jane, your set up sounds perfect!

We downsized from our large four bed family house sitting in a half acre garden to a small house (couldn’t find a suitable bungalow) with a manageable garden within easy walk of shops and services. Really pleased we did and had hoped it would free up our old house for a family. But a young couple moved in and sadly they still have no family, but it did free up their three bed home for someone with children who only had a small back yard.

If it were easier for people to move more might do it and the little old person living in two rooms in an overly large house might be more inclined to move. Whether it’s a council property or private is largely irrelevant. If downsizing were more fashionable, quicker and easier, there’d be fewer families in tower blocks.

Living in tower blocks works in places e.g. like Hong Kong ... I ponder on why that is.

That sounds an ideal situation, suedonim. What a sensible idea. As well as not necessarily wanting a large house, sometimes people find the upkeep of gardens a problem too. We live in a block of flats occupied by mostly older people and we love it. Our neighbours are friendly and sociable and the landings outside the flats are personalised with tables, pictures and plants etc. The garden is beautiful and pleasure to sit in or work in if people like gardening. It's an owner occupied block but has evolved into an old people's building exactly like that one described.

?? Oh ye cannae fling pieces frae a twenty storey flat ??

Scottish grans will get that ? (and I'll be accused of cliqueism).

Is that a word?

I was offered a job a while back, in what sounded like a similar set up to suedonim's councils place.
It meant that the tenants could have the same homehelp/carers going in to them each day, and the carer would have a set 'round' all within the building.
Shame it was too far away for me to accept.

I'm sure if councils were more proactive they could find solutions which served communities better.

The council in my area came up with a good plan. They refurbished a tower block just for older people to move into if they wished, thus freeing up larger properties.

It worked very well, people liked their home being on one level and it meant they had a ready-made community, combating loneliness.

A visitor told me that many of the landings outside the lifts were decorated with side tables with runners and fresh flowers or ornaments on them, very homely.

If there was a scheme where I could exchange with someone needing 2 bedrooms, I would certainly consider it, particularly if their property was in better shape than mine.
It would save me a whole heap of worry.
Obviously not at the moment, but in the future.

DH's parents lived in a roomy three bedroom council house. When all the family had left and they both developed health problems they decided to move into sheltered accommodation. It was their decision but they had to move a long way from friends to find something suitable.

The benefits soon became obvious. They enjoyed the rest of their lives having more money to spend on enjoying themselves instead of heating a largish property.

Home owners can see the advantages so I cannot understand why some council tenants believe the 'family home' is where they should rattle around.

Like I said, knotty...
I don't know what the answer is.

Exactly what I was trying to say way back MissA until my post was twisted . ( As per usual ) Lack of bungalows on my dads (huge ) estate means no one can move into more suitable properties .

Its lack of properties too.
I was told by the council that in three years, only three 2 bedroom properties had become available to rent.

I’m getting truly fed up
Of having almost everything I say twisted into something nasty ! Why ? Just why ?

Where my dad lives ( a tiny little close of purpose built bungalows) there is a huge waiting list of people from the massive neighbouring LA estate of 3/4 bedroomed houses that they no longer need/ want/ can afford to heat/ feel safe in ...... etc. The problem is there are only 35 bungalows and my dad is in one of them ( and hopefully will be for some time yet ) .

Its an emotive subject, I know.

Why deliberately try to twist what someone is saying ? I don’t get it ?

Yes, I appreciate that I'm lucky (Although my flat is mostly held together with 'no more nails' these days!) but it makes no difference to my opinion on large properties being kept by people who no longer have a need for them.
I do mean large houses which are more suitable for more people to live in.

Oh Annie why are you putting words into my mouth?????? That is NOT what I said at all . I have been a council house tenant for most of my life ! Who mentioned “ second class citizens” ??? Only you ! From experience I know several ( lots of) old people who would love to give up large houses (that they cannot afford to heat ) and move into a nice comfy bungalow . Except there are no nice bungalows available to them . I DID NOT say they should be forced out at all !!!!!