Is our town a shithole..

Do you feel safe going out alone?

To halt the decline we need prison places for drug addled criminals etc. Zero tolerance approach.

Then once the cities have been cleaned up, businesses will be more willing to invest there again (at least without the fear of daily vandalism, violence and theft).

I live in a somewhat affluent SE market town in a beautiful place but even here there are clear signs of deterioration - more litter everywhere, quite a lot of dirty and unkempt people walking around, often the same characters drinking as they walk or hanging around. My Mum lives in small city not far any which is known for its culture and being a lovely place - that too has really downhill with a lot of groups of high/drunk people (older people) hanging around being a general nuisance on the street.
I think there's a lot more antisocial and aggressive behaviour than there was a few years ago..
I really dont understand why some posters are giving you a hard time by the way..

On here? Not likely!

Tbf it must be almost 20 years since I read about 'mosquito tones' being used in strategic places to discourage young people congregating and drinking (people can't hear said tones after a certain age).

And forcing everyone to listen to folk music!

Although, dragging myself back to the OP's question, weren't there studies showing that playing classical music in bus shelters, individual toilets where druggies shot up, etc. actually discouraged anti-social behaviour? Or possibly just moved it elsewhere. Folk/classical music broadcast 24 hrs a day under bridges?

Well observed

'Would have said'

Sorry. 😂

I'm in the "nice" part of Halesowen but I'm well acquainted with Dudley/Lye etc. I do find people to be quite friendly though in spite of being rough. I say that as somebody who works in the civil construction sector so is around labourers/concrete gangs/brickies/etc all day.

Have you written to the council about this?

@Slatterndisgrace why do you think it’s deliberate? Not goady just interested to hear your opinion. I travel alot around the uk for work mainly affluent areas but up until last few years I would of said Cheltenham was really smart now not so much

My 28yo workmate is the only person in his family to have worked during his lifetime. His parents kicked him out as soon as they weren't able to claim benefits on his behalf and he was living in hostels/HMOs. He was cycling about 15 miles a day to a shit job for ages to save the money to get his driving licence and eventually had to lie and convince the authorities that he was too volatile to be housed with other people as in his words he was "repeatedly housed with scumbags that would nick his stuff when he was at work". He said his bike was repeatedly nicked which made it really hard to get to work.

He's now on £45k as a truck driver at 28yo and has cut ties with his entire family as he said they only ever want money from him. One of his main priorities seems to be instilling a good work ethic in his two kids.

Ipswich has gone the same way, my older family members are too afraid to go into the town centre because it feels very rough compared to 10 years ago (I moved away in 2018 and it seemed OK then), not that there's any decent shopping left in town anymore.

Moved to shropshire and our local small town and Shrewsbury feel very different, particularly Shrewsbury, lots of independent shops alongside the brand names and just an overall much nicer vibe

Then pop to lye …..

In Sidmouth it's the gangs of old people you have to watch out for! They'll shake their walking sticks at you and lounge around in cafes drinking tea while staring menacingly at anyone under 70.

I agree that nothing will be done. I think everything has irrevocably changed, for the worse.

The post the OP is referring to was deleted by MN admin.

Well, you only have to read a few threads on here to realise how many people think the solution is just to take more money off the rich and distribute it rather than encourage personal accountability and ambition. Obv some people don't have capacity or are genuinely struggling, but there are also plenty that would rather just get a handout.

Of course it's an over simplification; this is an online discussion forum.
Minimum wage is not why companies make profits; that's ignoring those that pay well and make billions.
At no point did I suggest they were 'evil', not that private care homes are 'saintly'; far from it.
My point was in regard to failing, dismal town centres blighted by anti social behaviour.

No doubt I’m the voice of doom (I’m ok with that) but nothing will be done however much people try to campaign, nobody is listening. If I said why I believed this is all deliberate I’d be called a fantasist or something.

I used to have hope once.

Excellent geographical point - rivers tend to flow into the sea.

But I'm guessing the OP isn't talking about, say, Sidmouth.

I’ve lived in the ME, plenty get half cut 🙄

rby. Many of the people you see on the streets are estranged from family members, because of mental illness and substance abuse. They're often destitute, spending all their benefits money on alcohol and weed to get them through the day.

Im sure nowadays many of these people could be helped with medication but probably no one advocates for them.

I live in an ex industrial area of the North East and see nothing like this...infact I think where I am things are getting better in terms of cleanliness local facilities etc...slowly but when I think back to the grimey town centre of my formative years DC definitely have a better deal.

I also think we live in a society that hands too much out for free.
My parents always said it’s easy to spend someone else’s money. If you have to work hard for what you have you respect it more.
Lots of people don’t take personal responsibility. There isn’t a sense of pride for some people. They have zero sense of occasion. They don’t even parent their own children. They expect someone else will do it. They expect the tax payer to provide them with a free home and furnish it.