Is our town a shithole..

[FroggletTowers]

Or is this happening anywhere else?

I have been discussing this with friends, family and colleagues recently so won't name our town for privacy reasons, but it is a regular, large town in England, UK.
Nothing particularly special or awful about it, previously.

Since the pandemic, the entire vibe has changed. Almost unrecognisable.
Yes, we have some heavy shop closures like many towns, but the council kept it looking decent as much as it could. Some nice buildings and nature areas, etc.

What stands out most, apart from the general vandalism and dog shit is the weird accumulation of male groups hanging around boozing in public.

So far they have taken over the local park, river walks and nature reserves. They often cluster beneath bridges or across paths where people like to run, cycle walk dogs or take children, making it less safe and filling these areas with waste. Off road bikes have ruined the nature reserves, so less people visit

Sadly the authorities don't seem to be doing much about it, it is as if these people don't have to abide by laws that the rest of us have to. Some buildings adjacent to these areas have windows put through on a regular basis, even in what you'd call 'nice' areas.
Many of them cluster at river bridges and block the path for others, most are very drunk or out of generally.
It isn't unusual to see a large man passed out across the pathway, blocking anyone getting past. If you had a pram or bike it would be really uncomfortable to have to rouse a large drunk at 2pm in the afternoon. Most are local men, with a growing amount of middle eastern men. The vast majority of them are unstable.

We see less women out cycling, walking or exercising now, and this encompasses both MC and WC areas. These people seem to have just multiplied and spread across the entire borough and have taken over all public space.
We live in a decent area that is now seeming to go downhill.
It isn't unusual to see day drinkers sat alone, surrounded by cans on a quiet residential street. And they won't move to let you past.

It's really depressing.

???
where do you think rivers run to?
It's not like a town can only have a seaside OR a river.

OP I wonder if a lot of it is because so many pubs have closed down over the last few years, plus the increased cost of a pint in those that remain. There've always been those without much going for them, for lack of a better word, but previously they could sit in the pub and nurse a pint for a few hours. Now if a pint is over a fiver, even if you only have 1 a day, that's £35 a week, which if you're only getting £92 JSA is a lot. Drugs could work out cheaper and give a much stronger high/better escape.

Plus the cost of housing - again previously such people might not have been living the life of luxury but could at least be in a flat of their own. Now they might only be able to afford a tiny room in a shared house with loud housemates, so getting out and wandering the streets is preferable.

Yeah, my in laws are from here. Dh moved to London 20 years ago and met me. We had to move back here 5 years ago as we were finally priced of renting in London or anywhere close and had no hope of buying anywhere but here.

It’s very different to how dh remembers it. It’s all barber shops, shit charity shops and vape shops. Poundland is still hanging on for dear life, as well as a shitty branch of shoezone.

Dudley high street really isn’t a pleasant place to go, it’s a shame as I’m less than a ten min walk away.

I think that's a simplification. And pretending that they treat all their staff badly is odd. I know people who work for Amazon and love it. I've even tried to apply for jobs there myself.

Yes they have a lot of minimum wage jobs. But that's set by the Government and is why they make profits. Of course they will always use minimum wage jobs for unskilled work - just like everyone else.

Are they more evil than, say, local care providers who are providing nursing/personal care for minimum wage? Why is one evil and one saintly?

Fascinating! I think what has also made things worse in my local area is poor town planning. We have a beautiful river in the town but literally no way of walking by it, or having lunch with a view of it. Everything is built up from the town, where it's ugly - because the river used to flood back in the 1940s before flood defences were put in. But the town planning never moved on!

Towns like Bristol / Birmingham have built up around their waterways and while they are not perfect, they have a real draw for people.

Homeless people dont care if house prices are high or low

@latetothefisting ???
where do you think rivers run to?
It's not like a town can only have a seaside OR a river.

😆😆

Khan's having a sulk now that money's being earmarked for the red wall.
Says London is being neglected.

I lived very close to the center of a large town, near a college, university and park and it became awful, significantly during Covid. Parks and college areas overrun early evening by large groups and yes it was non UK nationals, can't lie. My DS got threatened with a knife and it scared the living daylights out of him and his friends. Police took it seriously but in the end, nothing done. Drugs were exchanged openly in the pathway to the junior school - there was no CCTV. The council wouldn't fund one. Police did patrols but only after an incident was reported.
I moved further out of town and the area couldn't be more different. No gangs/groups, no drunks, safely walk along the river without incident. Totally different vibe. Would never live close to a town center again, the perks of walking everywhere - shops, cinema, leisure facilities, restaurants etc is not worth it against feeling safe.

We live near a large northern city and I wouldn't say the city centre has changed drastically recently, although it's always been a mixed bag- still lots of homeless people and more and more closed shops but like others have said I think sadly that's a broader theme. I have also noticed more men drinking cans in the streets during the day though now you mention this. In the city centre rather than elsewhere I'd say.

The most concerning issue we seem to have at the moment is antisocial driving/use of the roads. The city we're near has a problem specifically with gangs of young males in balaclavas on motorised scooters absolutely terrorising the streets/committing crime. It's grim and definitely a newer development, even in the suburbs where we are. Police don't seem to be able to do anything about this.

We're on a new build estate and a few of the lads on scooters unfortunately live on the next street down from us in housing bought by the local authority. And before people jump on me, no it's not a dig at those living in social housing- just a fact that these people are in the social housing on our new build estate, and they cause nothing but trouble. I point this out to highlight the fact that the demographic in our area is very mixed due to it being a new estate- most are homeowners and in professional occupations and have young families and the contrast is very stark. Most of the other people in the local authority owned homes are perfectly pleasant folk who do not wreak havoc on the roads in balaclavas.

I live in a city in NZ about the size of a town in the UK, and its worse here too. There was a couple of homeless people before the pandemic and were generally kept to themselves. Now the homeless people are clearly mentally unwell and have increased considerably.

The town centre has lost a lot of major retailers, and the shops can't be leased. The govt, had to switch to cost saving after all the borrowing in the Pandemic so government job losses were huge and its unable to support the local economy. Huge amounts of people are moving to Australia its all a bit depressing.

I work in central London and next to my office is a tent city. Row upon row of tents and rubbish. People passed out on the street or begging or fighting. It stinks to high heaven and is intimidating.

Interesting to see several mentions of Peterborough here - agree it is absolutely dire. It has always had its problems but the city centre isn't worth going to any more - so many shops have left. Yes there are plenty of restaurants but the atmosphere is awful. Men hanging around, groups of addicts behaving erratically, just a general very depressed air, rubbish everywhere, vape shops and empty premises. Teenagers fighting in the shopping centre. Drug use along the riverside walks. It's a shame as there are some nice areas of the city but everyone I know agrees there is no reason to actually go into the centre any more.

I live in a midland town and we have our fair share of immigration. Most of the Eastern European’s here do bring plenty to the table, but some of the men do loiter in the back of supermarkets etc, drinking openly. I also happen to live along a river bank but have seen anything like this there. The drinking behaviour seems to happen around the shops and off licences that sell the booze. These places also stink of piss.

I live 15 miles down the road and have vowed never to visit this shithole again. It’s a shame as I always loved Peterborough as a teen. John Lewis rightly shipped out and it’s getting worse there. It’s literally the boil on the arsehole of humanity.

Bahahaha. What????

my city in the k Midlands is in a real state and it is so sad to see. It is not especially wealthy but has always been lively, with a lot of positve things happening and it has two universities. I am in a rough area, it used to be rough and ready but full of life and it was always clean. The council is broke and struggling to provide essential services. Community centres and libraries are being shut or only opening for very restricted hours, the streets are filthy and even the pest/rat catchng service has been axed to cut costs! Where I live is just vile now, used to be a bit scruffy but it looks almost Dickensain now, the only shops that are ooen are takeaways and off licences, there is a big supermarket but it is a gathering place for drinkers, drug users and beggars, I have walked past people smoking crack in the afternoon in full view of kids coming out of school. One of my friends lives in one of the "better" areas and I have noticed that this is on the slide now, i have seen drunks on the streets there in the middle of the day, they have people rough sleeping in the door ways of the boarded up Wilko and fly tipping is creeping in. City centre is just like so many others, nail bars, vape shops, chicken shops, burger places, discount stores and would be hard pressed to count all the coffee shops. We have a big M and S and a big John Lewis , a large Next, a Primark and that is about it. Loads of beggars and rough sleepers in the city centre and there is an air of tension at times. We have had quite a few stabbings too, most recent one was in the middle of the day in the middle of the city centre. Grim times

I was born and broought up in Peterborough, it was dull but spotless and reasonably prosperous. Last time I went there it was unrecognisable, it is a wreck of its former self

PP nailed it partly, there's no collective shame, I live on the edge of a town surrounded by fields, walking my dog today and various contractors parked down a small lane doing some work, all of whom had thrown their filthy fucking mcdonalds out the window so litter strewn everywhere, scum. They obviously have no shame though, and have been brought up like this, god knows what their delightful children will behave like, maybe just eat from the floor do away with any utensils etc.? Won't have to worry about what to do with litter then. And no before anyone says anything I didn't challenge them, I can pretty much guarantee what the response would have been to a lone older woman, and I doubt very much they would have picked up the litter so no point.

I live in a nice crime free village. If I leave any power tools in the garden, they'll still be there in the morning.
Young people here are lovely. Always say hello, no graffiti etc.

Local Coop was refurbished. Only one proper checkout, the other tills are on the cigarette counter. Before refurbishment, they were open, now there's high perspex protecting it all.
That's not to protect anyone and anything now, that's future planning. Even if the locals stay law abiding, there's always outsiders who go where there are easy pickings.
I'll go in there of a late evening, no customers, just a couple of staff stocking shelves. They are so vulnerable. The nearest police are stationed seven miles away.

So what do you all propose is the actual solution for this? I feel the same by the way….but rather than just sharing anecdotes, experience and complaining….WHAT needs to happen?

Hello fellow Nottinghamian! Hyson Green I presume?

The town I live in is a sadder sight since the pandemic IMO. There are more feral kids on bikes being intimidating and using catapults to shoot at animals. However the streets are more or less deserted in the evenings and pubs restaurants empty in the week, leading to many only opening Thursday to Sunday…
The whole place has been neglected and is very run down although levelling up money is being used to try and improve things. There is are a lot of people litter picking in lots of areas, sadly there are lots of people throwing rubbish and fly tipping alleys…. so yes I think things have changed for the worse… less dog poo on streets though as I think more people are aware of how disgusting it is…

I'm in a Northern city and there's a massive drugs problem. I've had to call the police to move users on from near where we live. I've picked up needles outside of our doorway before as I didn't want the children stepping on them. It's depressing that my kids even recognise the people as addicts. They also recognise the stench of cannabis too. I do have a lot of sympathy for some of these people though, life has probably treated them really hard. It just makes it miserable to witness. They regularly fight, throw up, urinate everywhere etc.

These are almost always local, working class men. We do have a lot of Eastern Europeans here and people of Asian descent but it's not them (however much Reform like to push that's the problem).

I also agree with another poster that a lot of mums seem quite rough at the moment. At the school gates there are men with huge dogs. I've moved a few times along the coast and it's been the same everywhere.

Despite all of this, the city still has humour and a warmth. I'm happy here!

I think we can conclude you live in a shithole.

@Mimilamore
Oh yeah there are a lot of kids on bikes here too. They often wear balaclavas.
Same issue with fly tipping - the alleys are disgusting.