The end of the private back garden? AIBU to think this is a crap idea?

[2beesornot2beesthatisthehoney]

www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/architects-hope-to-tear-down-garden-fences-of-englands-future-homes/ar-BB18huJd

Reported in the Guardian this morning. The shortlist of developers drawn up to attempt solve our housing crisis by new design
includes the idea of communal back gardens that have to be booked in advance to use privately!

Oh yes I can see that going down really well on Mumsnet future AIBU

"My next door neighbour overstayed their time"
"I hate sharing and want peace and quiet"
"Cynthia has just repotted all my begonias"
"Can I put a swing up in the communal garden, the neighbours are complaining"

AIBU to think that this is just a really crap idea?

Council houses used to be built with large private gardens to allow people the space to grow their own vegetables.
There is nothing snobby about living in a house with a private garden.

Some chuffing architects live in la-la land. I can’t see any of them wanting to live in such a house.

Culturally, we’re far too insecure and selfish for this to work. We’re too bothered about what other people did or didn’t do or what other people have or don’t have to have communal anything. Obviously there are exceptions and many people would rub along perfectly but for the most part, we don’t have a very “community minded” culture.
How many post do you see on here about neighbours as it is?
I saw one yesterday where someone was complaining that her neighbour looked at her through the window, the bloody nerve 😂
Can you imagine the carnage of a shared garden? Steve has never once mowed the garden. Kelly’s kids are so noisy in the communal garden so I’ve told them they are banned after 4pm. I put a bench in the communal garden and saw Fred sitting on it without asking...
You’re right. It’s a terrible idea.

I would actually not mind this provided I didn't have to maintain it. I only really sit in the garden if it's at least 25 degrees (so about twice a year). DH and I pay a bloke 20 quid a month to mow the lawn and that's all we do.

Not the best idea in a pandemic when we're encouraging social distancing!

And I have young children and a dog, I couldn't leave either of them unsupervised in communal gardens.

It would cause never ending arguments about mess, damage to property, double bookings, safety... Just a ridiculous idea.

We're looking to move but are already ruling out new builds as the gardens are too small.

I live in a house conversion with a communal garden and I am currently in a legal battle with my landlords for allowing one tenant to take possession of the garden. It’s a blooming nightmare, the issue is that she has installed so many hazards including a “path” of house bricks and broken terracotta pots shoved into the soil as a feature, and a house brick “garden feature” that consists of precariously stacked broken loose bricks... yes I will let my DS2 out there trip over the netting she’s put out so he can fall over on to sharp edge terracotta path and crack open his head on the cobbled together brick feature.

All it takes is one person to commandeer the area and that’s when the trouble starts and in this age of distancing why would you want to “put people together” when we are being encouraged to stay apart.

'Crusade' ?! I think these may be of interest to some as an alternative to living in a flat but most young families and singles who like their privacy would object. Forced communal /social living sounds horrendous but I do like the idea of a plot of land saved for communal veg growing!

The whole thing is impractical! Who'll make a final decision if one neighbour wants an apple tree, another a pear tree and others want to completely pave over their shared garden? Who is going to penalise the neighbour who doesn't do their share of garden work?! Neighbours with private gardens already get into issues that can end up in court. It's just silly.

I can't imagine living in a city without my own small private outdoor space where I can wear what I want and I don't have to do my hair & makeup to hang out my washing or cut my hedge!

Zillions of people already have shared gardens.

This is about NEW homes - designing new housing estates that don’t have private gardens. But most housing estates are already being designed that way. Not removing or touching pre-existing homes with private gardens.

No one’s coming to confiscate your zinnias.

YANBU...... can you imagine this on council estates, it will be a bloody nightmare.

I lived on various estates for 10yrs prior to buying my house and I still have PTSD 11yrs on. Add communal gardens in and it will be unbearable.

It's a no from me.

There are lots of very smart garden squares in London which have communal gardens in the square and these work very well. Everyone pays a bit to their upkeep and if anyone wants to hold an event (eg a garden party) then they have to book. What’s the problem?

No, no, NO ! Can't think of anything much worse. Just watch 'Neighbours from Hell' for any ( slight) idea of what would happen. Murder/assults would skyrocket and we have goton on with all our neighbours.

There’s nothing in the article that doesn’t already exist.

Why are people acting like the sky is falling? If you don’t want to live there then just don’t move there. I doubt many MNers live on housing estates anyway.

Why are people acting like the sky is falling? If you don’t want to live there then just don’t move there. I doubt many MNers live on housing estates anyway
It strikes me as yet another attack on the poor tbh.
Another way of widening that rich/poor divide.
Mistreating those who have less money while maximising profits for those who do.

Just don’t move there
Most people don’t move into high rise flats or box houses with no gardens through choice..
They go there because they were forced because it was all they could afford.

The rich can have their nice, large, expensive properties with their nice large private gardens while the paupers can be squashed into tiny homes with shitty ‘communal’ courtyard gardens.
Lovely

Crap idea for those who enjoy their gardens, but on the other hand how many days per year do Brits actually use their gardens, given that it's cold and rainy for approx half the year, and pre covid most people were out at work or in education most of the time?

Crap idea for those who enjoy their gardens, but on the other hand how many days per year do Brits actually use their gardens, given that it's cold and rainy for approx half the year, and pre covid most people were out at work or in education most of the time?
I’m in my garden most days..

Borderstotheleftofme you’re missing the point that the posters clutching their pearls acting like the sky is falling most likely ARE the rich ones who have options and would never live in a housing estate to begin with.

The fact so many posters don’t know communal gardens already exist, and the sheer horror expressed at the idea of not having a private garden, shows it’s mainly not lower income posters expressing shock. Rich posters are acting like a SWAT team of architects are about to descend and forcibly confiscate their gardens, when this “new” idea (which isn’t even new) will likely never apply to most of them.

^ I’ve never had a garden nor lived in a house in my entire adult life, so don’t pull the class warfare card with me.

The booking system's new though, isn't it?

Meh! I live in a new build townhouse. I have a tiny garden that leads out onto a shared green and it is awesome, best set up! We have enough space for our own design/BBQ etc, then the kids tip out into the communal space (shared with 100 other homes/flats) and can run mad in a safe space. We pay a factor to maintain the middle.

Been here 15 years and it is fab. Big enough that if you want a family party you can spill out.

To add, I live on a very middle class development and we can all deal with a communal garden!

At present we have 1 set of neighbours that are alcoholics and high on weed most of the time and the other side have parties every weekend with the BBQ on for breakfast, lunch & dinner.
It's rare I can enjoy my garden due to the noise they both create as it is. A communal garden would see me very depressed.

My garden might be small but at least it's mine and I don't have to share it with people I happen to live next door to or pay someone to look after it. If that makes me a snob so be it.

@caplin you are missing the point, what is proposed is not what your set up is. Rather it’s that your small private area that you currently have would be shared with 2/3 /4 other other households, all that close to you and having to book the area in order to use it. So where you back fence is would be another house, and the same for your side fences.
It’s NOT proposing a massive green garden open space which is what shared gardens currently are in the U.K. it’s no private space at all and a tiny space to be shared.

We live in a block of flats with a communal garden in London and it’s lovely - well maintained and we all generally get on well so have had communal BBQs etc there. The neighbours who have kids (two households) use it for them to play out in sometimes and no one minds. There also a shared garage area above. A couple of flats on the ground floor have their own private areas but often come and say hello if we’re sitting outside there (me and dh hosted relatives for a BBQ at the weekend). In lockdown it was nice as we felt less isolated. I also lived in a ground floor flat with a beautiful communal garden outside London and often had it to myself as most people above ground floor used their balconies, but again, it was nice and sociable and we could plant things and the gardener gave us advice. I do think people have some weird ideas about what communal gardens are like. But then people also have very fixed ideas about living in flats in this country too.
I admit that now in our 40s we are moving to a house where we can go directly into the garden (we’re currently above) and also have a bit of a project. But there’s nothing wrong with communal gardens per se - done me fine for years, and clearly people with kids also manage fine.

But I could have predicted that the idea would go down like a lead balloon in the UK where our homes are our castle and we like to be more segregated.

I can totally see they’re not for everyone but they could work well for some. They encourage community. I do worry we’re going to get even more shut away and cut off from each other with home working and just retreat into our little households.

But most flats have communal areas anyway. Which generally cause issues as you are almost guaranteed to have at least one family with children who will run around screaming.
My very noisy and troublesome neighbour has actually said she regards the communal area onto which many flats look onto, as 'her' garden.
In fact she recently hired and erected a children's 'entertainment' type construction. Not saying what.
She was duly complained about I suspect.
The thing is, people need to learn to be considerate, and quite frankly the general message is to do as you like.