Is our town a shithole..

We used to do potato picking, huge fields of it. All the local children working in a line. We’d go to the fair as it, coincidentally!, was in the village at the same time. Back breaking work, filling up those sacks. No going round bullying people going about their business.

When I was a child (age 10 or 11 onwards. Sometimes younger) loads of us would pick fruit on the farms in Kent for extra pocket money. Such a useful thing for a child to be able to do if they want. It's a shame that isn't allowed any more.

@alikelylass The rot set in when the locals no longer wanted to work for the farmers and others had to be recruited. It’s very difficult when it’s a farming area. What did you expect the farmers to do? Give up and just allow the land to be fallow?

The Brits won’t do the jobs narrative I think can be a bit misleading, implying that British people are lazy, but often because you’ve got single men coming to do some of these jobs, and probably to a lesser extent women, they are able to work hours and live in conditions that aren’t compatible with family life. It feels like the unions fought for years for decent hours, flexible working, time off and all sorts of things and it’s fair enough for workers to say no I don’t want to live in a caravan or an HMO with lots of other men, no I can’t get childcare out of hours, no I’m not going waive my right to decent working hours, no, I can’t be constantly available just in case I get called in et cetera. The whole system for a lot of these jobs is broken, with people having to claim top up benefits even while working full-time or more than full-time, while employers benefit (although clearly a lot of employers are struggling as well).

In relation to councils housing people, in many towns and rural areas, that sits with district councils and the other support services with county councils. There’s local government reorganisation happening at the moment to bring all the services into unitaries, but district councils have obligations around housing but cannot make completely separate authorities provide other services, even if there was the funding to provide them.

@alikelylass thing is though Brits were not up to the job or interested in doing it - so what was the alternative? Similar issues too in many other wealthier countries

The point is that it was councils who facilitated/encouraged such people to move in, but didn't put anything at all in place to support them, no employment, no additional healthcare/education/social services support, no funding for anything at all. It was entirely obvious and foreseeable what would happen, but the council just ignored it and we ended up with crime (minor and serious), drugs, vandalism, shoplifting, etc etc., all of which just dragged the town down and ruined what was left of the tourism industry as even day trippers and short stay/weekenders stopped coming. A vicious downward spiral!

Yeah i remember that happening

The rot set in when there were loads of Eastern Europeans coming over to work in the fields. The Gangmasters put them in HMOs or in caravans on fields.
At night they had nothing to do so went around making a nuisance of themselves.
Some started an illegal 'still' and managed to blow themselves up.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-18154900

@Luddite26 Exactly. So the properties became redundant for holidays. A combination of things but people move into spaces vacated.

I think anyone who has lived or spent time in Boston can see exactly what has happened over the years its a shame as it use to be a nice safe place.

They had strict curfews as well had to be in by 10pm not allowed in the room during the day only back for meals! Couldn't just book for 1 night like you can now. People broke out of that regimented control. Those who were only released for two weeks from a factory in the summer could cope with the rules but when that working style ended so did the control.

@taxguru The “boarding houses” (guest houses!) were not getting guests! What were owners supposed to do? Have no business? Ok so many sold up and dc didn’t take them on but there was no business in traditional holidays so the guest houses were put to alternative use. What else could have happened? Holidays moved abroad and people from abroad moved in.

Is it sad that I knew exactly where you were from before I even saw your name?

No idea are they trying to catch people putting their own waste/bags of rubbish in which is fly tipping! Or is it drugs or are people peeing in them I have no idea but they are spreading!

You saw people with 5 kids with autism and five ponies every day? That sounds odd not to mention why would they all tell you about their ponies?

I witnessed the decline in the seaside resorts in the 80s and the hotels becoming HMOs and temporary accomodation in the 90s stayed in one myself for 10 months. I worked in The Richmond while coaches were still coming and filling it then only a couple of years later a little girl was killed in a fire there when it was a b n b for the homeless.
But seaside towns had a bit of a reprieve with weekend staycations becoming popular visiting Scarborough now it can be packed on a weekend. Totally different to the 80s decline. And attractions like The Open Air Theatre.

Made worse by the old boarding houses being converted into HMOs for unemployed, newly released prisoners, and now asylum seekers, all dragged into the already run down seaside resorts making them even worse. Of course, the politicians who over-saw the movement of such people didn't put any plans in place to give them something to do, such as create employment, so societal problems of drugs/alcohol, crime, etc was inevitable.

@Bickybics

Nail on the head. Most High Streets started to decline in the 80s with the "identikit" High Streets taken over by chains (with the properties owned by hedge funds and pension schemes), then the huge supermarkets (Tesco Extra etc), out of town retail parks, etc. Amazon is just the final nail in the coffin, not the cause, which goes back 30-40 years. Our town's demise started in the late 80s with a huge Asda which caused a couple of big High St supermarkets to close, closely followed by the town's M&S closing, and that started the downward spiral.

@Bickybicsi think you are spot on with this. It’s exactly what happened to Penzance and exactly why totnes thrives.

I assume business rates also have something to do with it and that charities must get some business relief.

@Slatterndisgrace not all the East Midlands , some bits are fine to be honest, but the bit I came from , big mining town, wasn’t very nice

Seaside towns have been devastated by cheap holidays to Spain. Once package holidays arrived the British seaside was doomed. Poor weather and cold seas plus very dated accommodation (with no lovely pool) isn’t what families wanted. People don’t want the British seaside at its worst. It’s hard now in areas that offer lovely holidays due to wages and overheads. Florida is more appealing so seaside towns really struggle.

Covid had a pretty devastating impact on so many things/people.

Has the East Midlands got that bad a reputation?! What is it about it?

Why??

Thanks Pinkimbrella, I’ll enjoy reading that later.