To think England is too crowded

[toadworthy]

In my town on the South coast it really is chaos and getting worse all the time. Roads are a nightmare. There are never enough school places despite doubling the entry in all primaries. Soaring rents. Building sites all over.

AIBU to mind?
What's it like where you are?

We need need the countryside to breathe and eat and survive.

*It feels like there are some deniers on this thread, who simply can't see/refuse to
believe there are areas of the U.K. which are dreadfully overcrowded.
And then use this argument to push the lefty argument that those who are pointing out the uncomfortable truth, are immigrant bashers.

We are a small island. And some parts are drowning with too many people and not enough services. Simply 'building more homes' will never solve this problem.

In my city, we are lucky to have lots of green spaces but are finding school places severely over subscribed and services suffering due to increased numbers.*

So move if you're not happy. I don't live near my parents, gp or siblings or old friends. Because it was crowded and too expensive. Why do some think it's their right to stay in the same place all their lives and others not? My parents had to migrate from north to south to find work. I've had to migrate from south to slightly further north to be able to buy a home. When my dm is ill or whatever I get on a train to visit her (she lives about 200 miles away now). I never have been able to afford to live in the places I grew up in as a dc (London suburbs). I don't refuse to believe some areas are overcrowded. But many other areas are not overcrowded. In my area now a school is being built to accommodate the extra housing being built. It's just untrue to say your experience is representative of the whole of the UK. It isn't. And you have choices.

Experts say the whole world is over populated and it is having a devastating consequence on global warming

Yes, birth control is never mentioned these days - racist I suppose against muslims or catholics or some such reason.

The answer to care for ageing population it appears is to bring lots of young immigrant families (of course they'll never be old!!).

Hundreds die trying to cross the Med on a weekly basis - Oh, didn't you know? We all act as if this isn't happening, or is nothing to do with us. I can't help feeling if this was happening in Russia we'd be berating them about human rights. But let's just shrug and ignore it it's just people.

The lack of care or action by politicians over this stuff is disgraceful, from T Blair onwards. And the EU is a joke.

Parts of the UK are crowded, many are not.

*Yes, birth control is never mentioned these days

Not mentioned? Who should be mentioning birth control more often in your view

- racist I suppose against muslims or catholics or some such reason.

Seriously?

Thanks, dizzy. It does sound like a lovely life in some ways, a challenging one in others. Brazil sounds fabulous.

Not mentioned? Who should be mentioning birth control more often in your view
Anyone discussing whether or not 'britian is overcrowded' surely

If the country is 'full', then we all have a duty to stop at 2 children. If we want to have more than 2 children, then that is an acknowledgement that the country is far from full and has plenty of space and resources for more people.

The answer to care for ageing population it appears is to bring lots of young immigrant families (of course they'll never be old!!).

A great many immigrants are young, healthy and WITHOUT accompanying family. And go home after a stint here.

This is, as other posters have observed, subjective. I am fortunate to have a little choice about where I live and not to have grown up in an overheated/overcrowded area, but the small town I moved to 10 years ago has plans for 4500+ new houses. I don't object to people having homes, but there are no plans for any significant road or public transport improvements. It is the short-sighted fastbuck nature of everything where developers regard contributing to the infrastructure as "a burden" that I dislike.

And this sort of attitude to afforable housing
www.section-106.co.uk/?gclid=CNvc0b7Glc0CFRITGwodUvYOsA

The whole "planning" system is a joke, it's a cosy cartel run by a few jargon-touting folk for their own benefit.

It would also be good if jobs were spread more evenly around, and if moving wasn't so expensive and long-winded.

It would also be good if jobs were spread more evenly around

Exactly, with the digital age we still shouldn't need this obsession with SE and London.

There is nothing wrong with not wanting your quality of life to diminish. And this is what will happen (obviously) if more and more people are wanting to here. Smaller housing as less space, longer waits for services etc etc.

Longer waits for services are due in great part to underfunding.

I agree.

I live in Yorkshire and my parents live in the Lake District.

I drive up to see them (they have health issues) most weekends. It's not far but takes 2 hours! There is always terrible traffic everywhere.

I never go out in the car unless I can help it and walk 90 mins home from work because it's actually quicker than driivng or the bus. Everything grinds to a halt from about 3pm onwards.

I

I don't think it's xenophobic to say Britain is becoming more and more densely populated. I did move out of the U.K. from the north east, because the pace of life was getting too frantic for my liking and the whole island is just full of traffic lights, massive Asdas, you don't know your neighbourhood because it is so vast and everyone shops in faceless supermarkets so you never bump into anyone really. That's how I remember England. Lots of good things too, but when I go back (and have been to various small towns etc in different regions) I really notice the general congestion of bodies and cars everywhere. Live in another less densely populated part of Europe now and it is much better.

I do agree they should stop building on fields and first of all ensure every single desolate building is repossessed and sold to developers before we make any more assaults on our beautiful countryside. I agree housing is needed but there are still a hell of a lot of empty office blocks, blocked up building with Windows etc (maybe not in London but certainly in the north). It's just cheaper for them to twist a councillor's arm and build on green belt.

I do agree they should stop building on fields and first of all ensure every single desolate building is repossessed and sold to developers before we make any more assaults on our beautiful countryside.

Totally agree with this. I also think we need a serious look at the urban phenomenon of the ultra-rich buying up properties (including whole blocks of flats/terraces of houses) just as investments or for laundering money, which then sit empty.

I can't fully agree with this, though:
the whole island is just full of traffic lights, massive Asdas, you don't know your neighbourhood because it is so vast and everyone shops in faceless supermarkets so you never bump into anyone really.

This is more a rural/suburban picture, IME; I'm lucky enough to live in London and I know loads of my neighbours and local business-owners, get greeted as a friend in shops, cafes and the dry-cleaner's etc.

the world is to crowded

This is, as other posters have observed, subjective. I am fortunate to have a little choice about where I live and not to have grown up in an overheated/overcrowded area, but the small town I moved to 10 years ago has plans for 4500+ new houses. I don't object to people having homes, but there are no plans for any significant road or public transport improvements. It is the short-sighted fastbuck nature of everything where developers regard contributing to the infrastructure as "a burden" that I dislike.

^And this sort of attitude to afforable housing
www.section-106.co.uk/?gclid=CNvc0b7Glc0CFRITGwodUvYOsA^

The whole "planning" system is a joke, it's a cosy cartel run by a few jargon-touting folk for their own benefit.

Big builders (particularly retirement property builders) are using bully boy tactics and their huge financial clout to force local authorities to build where ever they like.

I know of one instance where a developer boasts that they can get 'planning permission' anywhere. They employ the best lawyers and fly in their top personal to intimidate at planning meetings.

Most don't stand up to it. Or don't have the resources to do so. To be honest I see the problem is that local councillors often can't do very much.

It comes down to national level policy not backing them up.

Incidentally do try and put any concerns you have or what you would like to see in your area in writing to local and borough councillors. Or even stand as one with a view to get onto planning committees. This adds weight to anyone trying to get affordable developments rather that developments that are purely for profit.

Its OUR future. We can do more good by getting actively involved rather than opting out of things and blaming x, y and z.

As for the UK being overcrowded. Its not.
We could deal with problems if we made a concerted positive effort.
The problem is not a UK one anyway its an international one, that we need to work together to resolve.

London needs someone working full time in that capacity....

www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants

from what it says here table 615 about 200,000 empty properties some food for thought.

Local authorities are broken though as housing development gets built on flood plains, they get bullied into reducing and even removing the % social housing. Also no road improvements, I dont get how it even gets past planning without needing these changes.

If the country is 'full', then we all have a duty to stop at 2 children. If we want to have more than 2 children, then that is an acknowledgement that the country is far from full and has plenty of space and
resources for more people.

Most people do stop at two children. In fact less. The average woman, according to the 2011 census, has 1.9 children.

In fact, for UK born women the average is 1.79, so significantly less than two.

But for Afghan (4.15), Pakistani (3.82) Bangladeshi and Eastern European (2.19) women that figure is significantly higher.

So there is no point berating white British women saying that them having all these children mean there must be more room for immigrants. They're not the ones having the children.

Some white women are having their fair share. Katie Price and V Beckham to name just two. Let's keep race out of it please. It will only be the first generation of Afghans that have big families anyway.

It seems to me the UK economy is very much, south east oriented. I'm in west London and yes, it is ridiculously over crowded. Every bit of space it seems, is being developed into luxury flats.

The new build estate I live on was developed from a brownfield site (old factory complex) and has a new primary school. They've also built a new access road onto the big A road to ease the congestion in the north of the town from all the new estates!

Don't forget it won't just be houses, schools, offices and shops being built. Airports, roads and railways will also be needed. As will reservoirs, sewage farms, landfill sites and power stations. All of which will have negative impacts on our environment and landscape.

Meeting future power demand is a big challenge. Made much bigger by having no idea at all how large the population will be in any given year in the future. Nobody wants to live next door to a new nuclear power station - do they? Or should we have fields full of solar panels and wind turbines? Rebuild some of the coal-fired power stations? Where will this all be built?

What about the requirements for fresh water? New reservoirs and pipelines across the countryside? Or will we all be drinking "fresh" water that's actually been processed from seawater via a desalination plant?