people shouldn't have to live in sh$tholes like Luton

[photographerlady]

More of a rant.. I rarely go to Luton but needed to pick up something from the local DIY superstore and can't help be pissed off by all the homes/flats with busted out windows. Some just had taped sheets on the outside. Litter everywhere, and it never ceases to amaze me the five or so years I traveled through here that nothing has been done. Its mostly the broken, practically falling down houses, endless drunks in the playgrounds and streets so narrow from cars all over the sidewalk and street that its pretty much impossible for people to walk or drive. The place if horrible and I feel like no one should have to live in that sort of condition. I know that some parts are nicer than others but (what I assume is rented accommodation) in that sort of state should not be allowed and unfit for anyone especially if you are freezing through winter.

I went through Barking the other day and had similar thoughts.

Some places are just shocking and yet there seems to be very little being done about it.

People create shitholes and every town has at least one area. If you move the makers then you create more shitholes.

Leave them to it. Pick another DIY store.

But often its the people living in the area that put the windows through etc. How many times should the council replace them?

No should be forced to live in a shit hole. But what it they are creating the shit hole.

isnt there law about the condition that is acceptable for people to live in? Surely broken windows, cracks in the walls and huge structural damage is inhabitable?

You should see Stoke on Trent.

What's wrong with stoke on Trent?

But who throws the litter there in the first place?

You are going to get a whole pile of people who live in nicer parts of Luton coming on to tell you it's lovely. (And really, the outskirts are nice, and last time I was in the town centre driving round lost, it looked rather like some money had been spent on regenerating the centre)

But - there's a certain element of truth that areas don't really improve unless the people living there want them to or have the funds to do it. Really, litter will be dropped by people who's street/neighbourhood it is. Sheets pinned on windows have been done by the people who live there. What do you think should "be done" about the drunks? Remove them to where? Which other town would you like the problem to go to? The broken houses are most likely privately owned, it's the owner's job to fix it, if it's not rented out, there's little any outside agency can do. Narrow streets are found in the most middle class towns (and as a whole, Luton being majority post war construction has wider lanes and more parking facilities than many of the neighbouring towns).

Sadly, when you see an area look that bad, it's usually because it's all privately owned and occupied by people who don't give a shit how their area looks, or at least, not enough to do anything about keeping it tidy and presentable themselves.

OP - the laws about habitiable housing is only for rented property. As long as your house isn't causing a problem outside of your property (so a wall that might fall down and hit a neighbouring property), then you are legally entitled to live in a total shit hole if you like. There's nothing a council can do to make you do home repairs if you don't want to. (assuming not a house that's listed or a conservation zone)

I agree with Ninja. These people create their own environments. You could move them into Chatsworth and they'd trash the place in a month.

I feel bad for the people who try to do the right thing, mow their gardens, don't litter, etc. When I lived in a sink estate in Dumbarton, I had neighbours looking at me like I was crazy because I did things like shovel the steps up to our terrace when they were icy. Or picked up litter on the playground. They thought I was doing something bizarre and suspect.