To be sad about houses being built on Greenfield sites

[Orangemochafrappacino]

Its rife in my village at the moment. There are a few brownfield sites but these seem to be being ignored and farmland is being snapped up for development instead.

The rulebook for this seems to be slowly being torn up by this current government and I'm now hearing stories of developers being able to purchase land on a forceful basis and even proceed building giant housing estates without proper planning permission.

Has anyone else noticed this in their local area? I understand houses need to be built but it seems completely nuts, we are going to have no farmland or trees left at this rate.

So I think that is what has gone wrong, instead of having so much immigration we have failed to support the young people already here.

This includes job opportunities and training too. Real shame

YANBU. It’s a real shame to lose fields and irreplaceable countryside, it’s happened a lot in my parents East Dorset town- often without a new school, shops or amenities being built to take off the added pressure of more residents!

We do need more houses though, and the vast majority of our island remains green (thank goodness), so I’m not sure what the solution is, but it is sad, and unsustainable.

If it’s any consolation I live in London, and near me every inch of brownfield sites- railway sidings, you name it- is being built on too.

Everyone wants an individual house with a garden
Honestly I wouldn’t mind if we had French style grand apartments with big windows, balconies and nice little courtyards that you can sit in, plus public parks. But they’re invariably shitty flats with tiny windows and no balcony or courtyard, and apart from big cities we don’t really have a good supply of parks (and those we do have often aren’t safe because of anti social behaviour).

I suppose it is what you are used to. I've always lived in houses with a garden but df lived in a flat as a child and has gone back to one now.

I do love the garden even though I don't necessarily want to garden. DH does though.

I've got no issues with flats, our first home was one and I loved that place. Agree that a lot of people dont want to though.

Dingy tower blocks with no outdoor space (communal or balconies), storage or parking seem to be the norm for flats though. Why cant more suitable ones be built that would people would actually want to live in?

If there were more accessible blocks of flats that were suitable for those less mobile it could be a good alternative for bungalows for the elderly thus freeing up larger homes for families perhaps.

@SilverOak

Everyone wants an individual house with a garden Honestly I wouldn’t mind if we had French style grand apartments with big windows, balconies and nice little courtyards that you can sit in, plus public parks. But they’re invariably shitty flats with tiny windows and no balcony or courtyard, and apart from big cities we don’t really have a good supply of parks (and those we do have often aren’t safe because of anti social behaviour).

Agree. A massive shame.

Noisy neighbours are more of a problem in flats though. Ideally I'd love to be somewhere away from people being too near tbh but then the internet is probably not great

[quote AlaskaThunderfuckHiiiiiiiii]@Dontwatchfootball it just makes me so cross, they wax lyrical about climate change but build
Over the things that absorb carbon dioxide! So they’ll continue to build millions of houses whilst forcing people to drive electric car with no infrastructure for those either![/quote]
Yep absolutely. It has been happening where I live for about 10 years now, and if you ask directly about it you get the most hot air. The simple fact is that until they are required to do so, builders will always maximize their profits which means building the houses they think they can get the most for, rather than what is perhaps required in the locale, and will go for greenfield, while brownfields continue to be eyesores.

So I think that is what has gone wrong, instead of having so much immigration we have failed to support the young people already here.

I think so & also the obsession with house prices & using them to prop up the economy. Ever increasing prices don't benefit many people but a lot don't get that.

Honestly I wouldn’t mind if we had French style grand apartments with big windows, balconies and nice little courtyards that you can sit in, plus public parks. But they’re invariably shitty flats with tiny windows and no balcony or courtyard, and apart from big cities we don’t really have a good supply of parks (and those we do have often aren’t safe because of anti social behaviour).

Agree

Everyone wants an individual house with a garden.

But so many put shitty decking and plastic lawns that will inevitably go to landfill. If there is enough land to fill.

@Whoarethewho

I’m not against housing being built but the sheer number of them and the areas that will be gone forever is upsetting.

Then we need to reduce demand let's start with making the UK a hostile place to emigrate to and the TTC section of this site are also part of the problem. Currently this site seems to want more people but no more houses which is quite frankly stupid and inhuman.

I literally stated that I am not against more housing being built. But a deprived area that is already struggling is not going to be improved by building over 4000 new homes without improving the infrastructure.

I think new builds may be popular for people who are desperate to move and sometimes they can sell their old house to the developers and not have a chain.. Especially if they retire and can relocate

There has been real problems with gazumping recently so that must have an affect on trust in the market etc

Yes, I agree many flats could be designed better. But, in the European countries I lived in when I was younger, people were simply less fussy about their living environment. For example, the noisy neighbours thing. In other countries it's considered normal that there will be some noise. For example in Spain people gathered in the courtyard and had BBQs late into the night, played the guitar and sang, and children played out. In the UK people expect quiet and to not be disturbed or inconvenienced in any way, and also to have lots of privacy. I'm not saying this is wrong, just that if people have these expectations and want individual houses then the countryside is going to be built on at a faster rate.

There are huge cultural differences

@AngelDelight28

Yes, I agree many flats could be designed better. But, in the European countries I lived in when I was younger, people were simply less fussy about their living environment. For example, the noisy neighbours thing. In other countries it's considered normal that there will be some noise. For example in Spain people gathered in the courtyard and had BBQs late into the night, played the guitar and sang, and children played out. In the UK people expect quiet and to not be disturbed or inconvenienced in any way, and also to have lots of privacy. I'm not saying this is wrong, just that if people have these expectations and want individual houses then the countryside is going to be built on at a faster rate.

That sounds lovely and the community joined in but not the thump thump of drum and base possibly and abuse for asking for it to be turned down for example

I think our society has become very inconsiderate

We have thousands of houses and flats crammed into as little space as possible. Im sorry to say the flats are horrible looking. Ive seen better looking state penitentiarys.

@AngelDelight28

Also, people in this country don't want to live in flats. Everyone wants an individual house with a garden. That can't happen without building on vast swathes of land. If people were willing to adopt European style apartment living with communal areas between the buildings instead of private gardens. that would help the problem. But any post on here where someone is wondering if they can have a child in a flat it met with horror. I bet lots of the people complaining about houses being built wouldn't consider living in a flat.

Agreed: in other parts of Europe, there is a communal staircase leading to flats, which is much more efficient use of land, rather than building many staircases, which use up a lot of space. Then they have communal gardens and attractive balconies. There may be better bus services, cycle lanes, low traffic neighbourhoods and a much safer, quieter atmosphere. Examples are in Denmark which are lovely. Every outside space got a tree.

Highways don't liaise with planning & vise versa
New builds can claim Vat back
Renovations are charged at 20% Vat
I'll just leave that there......

Sorry, meant to add that it really doesn't matter which party is in office, the advisors stay the same.