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.

The problem is, we have a benefit system that encourages the worst members of society to have lots of kids, who they then raise to be just like them. I don’t mean the poor (it’s the good people on low incomes who are their main victims). I mean the violent, ignorant, anti-social scumbags who make their neighbours’ lives a living hell. Some people are not fit to have or raise children. Every sane, rational human being knows this. It’s crazy that people with a record of abusing and neglecting children are allowed to have more. We (quite rightly) stop people who’ve abused animals from keeping them. Yet people who abuse and neglect their kids, and who raise them to be violent and feral, are not only allowed to have more but paid by the taxpayer for doing so.

I’ve lived in Peterborough for 20 years. It’s reassuring to see that other people think their towns are shit holes too.

I moved here to be with DH and it was fine then. I used to think people were being unnecessarily rude about it. It’s really changed in the last few years.

Libraries are at risk of closure, the only affordable swimming pool has been knocked down due to wrack with no proper plans for replacement, our beloved lido was going to be “mothballed”, antisocial drinking has increased.

We’re only staying because our 11yo is happy here. We’re off as soon as he goes to university.

@taxguru The Planning Authorities have actively prevented redevelopment of many town centres. Lots of people didn’t like the sprawl of out of town shopping zones. My nearest larger town has several mostly anchored by big supermarkets. The planning authority still zone the town centre for retail and don’t want shops to change to residential. So empty shops. The torn centre is obviously too big with a mall that doubled its size. Even the small town 2 miles away from us has empty shops where owners have battled for years to get them returned to residential. They even look like houses.

We actually have a lot amenities for younger people but the ones who cause the issues (a tiny minority) don’t use them, as they didn’t use the youth club when that was running. Councils can provide all sorts of amenities but these don’t appeal to the people who wreak havoc. Especially in larger towns. Their lifestyle isn’t sport, enjoying a park (except for dubious reasons), or using amenities. Around where we are it’s racing cars on the roads late at night whilst the police are tucked up having cocoa.

I'm in Wales

We have boy racers at night on narrow winding country lanes in Wales. It does end in tears.

Main street 45 minutes parking only. Back street 90 minutes or parking meters. Our M&S relocated to a retail park, others following. Commercial rates more than the rent in the high street and beyond. We do have a swimming pool the bulk of the time taken up by schools and swimming clubs. Libraries many closed down now.

It has always seemed illogical to me that the most important job in the world - raising children - is a job that no-one gets any training for.
And more importantly, if you haven't been parented properly yourself you have no idea at all what 'normal' parenting looks like.

You can go to dog-training classes but not kid-training classes.🙄

Sure Start centres were fantastic for exactly this, but most were closed due to austerity.

Well you pay for dog training classes. Would people pay for kid training classes?

I have no idea !

@PiggyPigalle just out of interest, when was that?

In the last 10 years the town I live in has changed beyond recognition.

I won’t give details as there’s a risk that might constitute hate speech, but let’s just say it’s lots of young men with not much to do.

It's OK @PansyPotter84 we get your drift 🙂

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgenykz3p3o

North wales has been particular hit by increases.

@justasking111 The young lads in cars weren’t going to libraries! Our libraries are volunteer staffed and work incredibly well. They have professional librarian oversight. They seem to have lots of activities for dc. However some parents obviously never take dc to a library.

North Wales yep that's us 🙈

Nor me.
Im up North. Not partic affluent.... just 'normal'

This is a bit of a thread highjack but not totally. I live in France, and dc are starting to think about university. This lead me to think of the university I went to which was lovely - it was a big campus university, attached to a hospital and next to a town - which I will name - Nottingham. But then I have been reading threads and I am wondering whether it has all changed beyond recognition, both the university and the town. I have been wondering about Nottingham and also about the other Russell Group universities - many attached to large midland or northern towns - how much has changed for both the universities and the cities/towns in the last 30 odd years.

Yep, town in cornwall is now a
Complete shithole. It was tv recently. A famous shithole.
Drunks, drugs, vandalism, theft, homelessness. The shops remain empty because the rents are so high....
I avoid going in

There are really good websites and well written books and so the information is there and easy to find, and there is a lot of it, research based and the research is all long standing and conclusive. But I agree, this sort of information should be far more widely taught. It is also amazing that most professions who deal with children are completely unaware of it all. Proper training would be a game changer for teaching and social work (and therefore the children involved) for a start.

It is also very helpful in relation to coming to terms with a not normal childhood, learning about what should have happened but didn't can be very therapeutic!

I live in a yorkshire seaside town and its gone right down hill. The town centre as like ur town has had heavy shop closures and more happening every day. You go into town and all u can smell is weed. There are piss heads and druggies darted everywhere in groups. When did smoking weed become so blazay? Yes I smoked it when I was younger but never put it in people's faces. Foreigners drinking in groups everywhere. My kids hate going into town and they aint really kids any more but still hate it. So I am with u on this one

@Dappy777 I don’t know if it’s the benefit system per se - as it’s quite restricted on ‘numbers’ these days however I do think many professional scroungers are aware having a fair few kids gives them ‘priority ‘ for services and housing - I think also many have moved on from the ‘more kids equals more cash ‘ to the ‘adults and kids with something diagnosed that is a bit intangible, get more cash’ - this isn’t to belittle the very genuine out there in this position - it is a fact though there are some very sharp elbowed scumbags out there who know every trick in the book to get the most cash for the least amount of effort - and I am not right wing either before anyone says it - just a god observer who doesn’t drive and has listened to more unsavoury grifting conversations on busses , trains and bus stops than I would like. And strangely by the way a lot of those spouting freely about their grabbing ways are also racist right wing tossers too- who don’t like the idea anyone ‘not like them’ may get money from the state - but they and their families don’t count as scroungers purely by being white British

I suggest you start reading the local papers and follow them on FB. Pay attention to the comments. My DIL was there 20 years ago

Yes I thought you might be, thats why I edited it and added that it was in England.

One of mine went there, graduated ten years ago but never left.