to be less outraged that a council tenant built a swimming pool in their garden....

[superv1xen]

....than i am about the fact that it was discovered on google earth by a council employee?

what exactly were they looking for?? are they spying on tenants now, wtf

here

(apols for linking to the sun, have copied it from a link someone posted on fb)

Well I think that depends what your view of social housing is- I mean, why shouldn't someone on £50k have social housing- hang on, don't scream in horror, what I mean is- we view it as inferior housing for low income/no income families but in other countries - and in this country originally- it is/was just as much an option for those with secure and reasonably paid work- it's just that ideologically social housing is viewed with such suspicion, but why? Isn't it logical for decent low cost housing to be provided for people? It's the idea that your house is somehow something to make profit from, or that private rents can be set at scandalous levels that seems bad to me.
PS I think the £50K a year council tenant is a rarity!!

Social housing isn't subsidized.

It looks cheap in comparison to private rental/buying because private rents and house prices are so extraordinarily inflated.

usualsuspect is absolutely right.

how does it look like an above ground pool bogey ? - it's sunk into the ground

Is it? I stand corrected! I saw a photo in the paper DH was reading and looked like an above ground one with decking around it. I should look more carefully!

the ex got done for dealing dodgy cars why is everyone ignoring that fact - it's not as if she saved up to buy herself a pool is it :S

entitlement - our country's biggest problem right now.

I grew up in a council house. My dad had asthma and no one would give him a mortgage. He was also in a responsible, well paid job. Just because you live in "affordable housing" doesn't make you some sort of scum.
What Is wrong with having a swimming pool anyway?

It is an above ground pool.

An'above ground' pool can actually be in the ground.

You dig a hole and you shove it in. It is still an 'above ground' pool because it is not a permanent structure, it's not plumbed in or fixed in any way. It is just a metal or wooden, well, great big bowl and you fill it with water.

You do not need planning permission for them. they can be put up in a day and dismantled in one too. And all you do is just fill the hole back in.

an above ground pool and yes, you can put it in a hole in the ground.

A swimming pool costs upwards of £15,000 and takes weeks to install and cannot be dug up and dismantled in a day.

Councils discovering problems to any of their properties via google earth really isn't something to be worried about. Councils should keep a check on their properties. (many) years ago properties were checked on weekly basis, when the rent man called. If the rent man considered the privet to be too long (for example) the tenant would be issued instructions to cut it down or ultimately face the consequences.

The idea of moving people out of their homes should their income have risen or have excess bedrooms has so many flaws. People living in a property that they know is only temporary may be inclined to not keep up to the property. The sense of non-permanance could discourage the mind from hope and pride etc. The ultimate result from estates of temporary dwellings will probably be 'slum areas'
We need to treat council tenants as human beings and accept they too hope to live and provide for their families in the same way as the rest of the population. Beating up a made up charicature of a CH tenant will not solve the housing shortage - it will however continue to encourage this nasty divide that some newspapers and forums seem intent on doing.

usualsuspect Wed 09-Mar-11 20:09:15
Knock em all down I say ..after all the council house people are a different species to every one else

how do you mean we are Different species usualsuspect?

just because i live in a 3 bedroom council house. how does that make you better than me or anyone living in a Council House. its just disturbing, that you Rich Toffs have no idea about living & working low income jobs. but rember us council Tenants dont have daddy to bail us out.

and considering the economy how can someone on 21k a year before Taxes. Afford to buy. and why should we borrow just to lose to the banks wen our jobs are no longer available.

i think shame on you all for thinking your better than council tenants. just because you own your own home. All i can say "What a Bunch of Morons"

Holy Mary. And we're paying for this?

midnight - I think you'll find she was being sarcastic about the attitudes of others and does not actually feel council tenants are a different species

I had no idea you could be reasonably well-off and still live in a council house. I'm a bit actually.
Maybe it's legally within your rights to stay on when you could easily afford to rent or even buy, but how could you live with yourself knowing that other people desperately need that house!?

Midnightjoker .. at me being a rich toff

I live on a council estate ....

So council houses are for people who can't afford to buy? What am I still doing in private rent then?

On the Google earth issue: we use Google earth and Google streetview at work loads. We deal a lot with people complaining about local issues and rather than go round there it makes sense to look up the street/property if we can't picture it. E.g. if someone writes complaining about parking we'll have a wee look to see exactly where the double yellow lines are that they're upset about.

The employee could surely have been looking for other reasons.

Council houses are for anyone. Clearly we have too few so only those in priority need will currently be allocated one, but this wasn't necessarily the case in the past.

Also, on the 'subsidy' issue, council tax payers do NOT subsidise council housing. Every council has two separate budgets, one for general spend (education, social work, bin collections) and one for housing. The revenue collected from council tax goes toward the general spend. The revenue collected from housing rents goes toward housing costs. The two budgets are not transferable.

However, I suppose it is true to say that if you are in a council house your rent may go toward putting a new kitchen in another property, but it wouldn't go into the general fund.

I know that councils here (Aus) use google earth images too. For example if someone gets reported for chopping down a tree illegally the council compares the images from a month ago to the current images and can see the missing tree.
Seems like an uncharacteristically efficient method to me.