To hate living on a council estate?

[TheFaultInOurStars]

We bought a house a few years ago on a council estate where my PIL also live. DH and I thought it would be good to be close to them for the future.

Ive been ok here for a while now but since the last 5 years or so, it has really gone downhill.

Main problems are
People dump sofas, furniture, bags of rubbish, boxes and just anything really on an almost daily basis. There is a child safety gate at the front of my house as I type this.

Nowhere to park. We live very close to an educational establishment and students and staff just park outside and on the roads on the side of our homes. It looks like a bloody car park every morning.

Litter

We have tried to make our home as lovely as we can but as soon as I step outside or look outside of the window, it just looks crap.

The litter and tipping is so bad, that I actually feel a tinge of embarrassment when calling people to my home.

The shame is that all the neighbours are actually quite nice people. It's people who dont live there, that are causing the problems!

Does anyone else living on a council estate? And is it as bad as mine?

The litter picker here comes whenever. I don't think he has a set day tbh.

Bin men come every two as black and green bins go in turns.

We have refuse collections weekly, street sweeper weekly and litter pickers monthly, plus if any issues with massive amounts of extra littering you can email the council and they'll deal with it. In all areas, including the 'Council Estates'.

Because Council estates are not niace and all the kids are trouble makers.

No one ever drops litter any where else.

I didn't say the bin men picked litter up. The street cleaners sweep the litter up, just like they do up the posho streets.

What exactly is wrong with seeing litter and picking it up yourself then putting it in a bin?

I grew up on a council estate - have lots of lovely memories from my childhood - quite a community feel!? My parents still live on the same estate and I can understand where you are coming from. I think it's more to do with disrespectful people. Littering, anti-social behaviour..flytipping etc

They can't afford to move but also live on the corner of a primary school and another school (forgotten the term sorry - when you have been expelled from other schools, we used to call them 'units' as kids!) They always have issues with parking mainly because of the schools but it's groups of kids (especially in the school holidays) hanging about until 2am ish- causing trouble, damaging property. People playing really loud music...crime..

If I also said that I used to privately rent a place in SW London (quite a posh place, double my mortgage) ..and was also plagued by constant parties..littering and flytipping..oh and parking issues!

For me it's people rather than places. Shame people can't be more considerate these days.

It is indeed People Not Places, Katie. But it's easier to gob off about 'Council Estates' and 'burnt out cars' for some posters.

Tumbleweed Litter could be the new Big Telly. Sign of the feckless.

Maybe Santa could fill his sleigh with the litter?

Donner and Shitzen?

All those with Santa visiting, where abouts are you?

I wonder why he doesn't come up to us in Yorkshire unless it's just certain Towns he's goes to

Get involved in local community stuff, Dezza, then you can keep tabs on Father Christmas visits and loads of other things going on, or get involved with organising a visit for future years.

There has never been a Santa street visit where I live or have lived. Google shows it happens in other towns but not here. I'm not arsed about it I just wondered why it happens in some places but not others

We do get the cola truck in town or near it though.

Are the homes owned by the council or by a Housing Association?

I live on a mixed estate (previously council back in the 70s, but with about six homes now owned by a Housing Association and the rest privately owned) and, as a rule, the HA is very good at reacting to concerns about tipping and external property appearance.

At the end of the day, sorting a problem is less hassle than the problem escalating to a point where other public authorities become involved -- police, SS etc.

Also, the council should react fairly quickly to any reports of residential fly-tipping. I was under the impression there was now a focus on this problem because of legislation in the last five years.

Again, you could also draw attention to the parking issue, though I suspect their solution would be some sort of CPZ scheme.

My advice would be to research the council's tipping/rubbish policies, and call them up to ask what potential solutions there could be to the problem.

There was definitely more litter when we lived on the council estate than now. Sorry if mnetters find that snobby but it was the case.

It's the fire brigade who organise our Santa and Rudolf.

They don't even need a police escort wearing full riot gear to come around our streets.

That's just your area, tobysmum77. It would be silly to extrapolate that to all 'council estates' everywhere.

I live on a HA estate and dont have those problems. The HA do a bulk uplift (for free) on Wednesday morning and if anyone wants to chuck out a sofa they do it on Tuesday night. Even if someone did flytip on the wrong day- worst case senario it sits there for a week.

Agree, you need a Tenant and Residents Association to demand better services from the council and maybe campaign for residents parking.

If your neighbours are nice- I say stick with it and try to improve things.

I do find it snobby.

The road i live in has two bail hostels, a rehab an loads of flats. Every day from morning till night there is people in cars on bikes on foot waiting to score right outside mine. I live right facing the shop. 18 months iv been here private rented. Bad Bad move on my part... But i just dont have a spare grand to move!!

They do deals outside my house as it has a green box and a street light so somewhere to sit and so they can see.

Never caused any trouble for me and are quiet polite.

The junkies however are enough for the whole street to leave!

Those scummy Private Landlords . They don't half lower the tone of a place.

There's council estates and council estates Imo

I worked on some beautiful ones-then went home every evening to mine. That was a shocker. Particularly the time when the rubbish chute went on fire, with us on the 7th floor

Later found out it was started by elderly woman downstairs who'd got fed up with the rubbish backing up and just chucked a burning rag down it

I used to live in the leafy non council drive just round the corner.

My neighbour got 7 years for drug dealing.

Just read this, and in my 33 years of being alive iv never had a visit of Santa to my street.....My kids would love it.

Oh what a shame Beauty it's amazing...it really is a bit magical. We live on an estate too but even when we didn't he still came. The local Lions Club or Round Table organise it all.