The Evil Decline of Britain’s Dystopian Estates

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I lived in massive high-rise developments in South Korea for 16 years. They were great places to live. Clean staircases and lifts, ordered, perfectly safe, lots of lovely landscaped garden areas, and playgrounds which were never vandalised....it's not the architecture's fault. It's all down to the residents. When there's mass unemployment and little hope of economic progress in life, people stop caring.

It was not an accident, it was done on purpose. Now middle class are busy being mad at the lower class and lower class are mad at the middle class. While the top are profiting and the rest of us are distracted trying to stay alive.

It's a similar situation in Ireland, I earn too much money to qualify for social housing, but not enough to pay rent AND save for a deposit.

I’m grew up in Peckham, in what was the largest estate in Europe for some time. My mum did everything in her power to get us out of there as soon as she could. At the time I didn’t want to leave but looking back, and seeing how well I’ve done in life thereafter, I’m forever grateful for the struggle she went through to make a better life for us.

I love these little documentaries about the UK’s architectural history. I fear a lot of the buildings we’re throwing up in the present will end up like this too

Politicians are the same everywhere. They care more about their pocketbooks than people.

I grew up on an estate in a block of flats in Eastern Europe in the 90s and the working class (my parents and the neighbours) did indeed take care of the grim buildings and concrete filled environment. Most people owned their flats, and only tiny percentage was subsidised by the gov. I grew up poor, no vacations, second hand clothes, meat only on Sundays etc. but in a civilised and relatively safe environment. No gangs, no dirt, no mess.

Same thing here in Sweden. We built masses of council owned estates in the 1960s. Economic problems in the 1970s led to them being underutilized. In the 1980s when masses of immigrants stayed to arrive, especially from the Middle East and Africa, they moved in and that’s when these areas became crime filled ghettoes. However, it seems really weird that legal entities/investment funds can buy individual apartments/flats. Here in Sweden that’s not possible.

Talking about the compulsory purchase thing reminds me of a neighbour of mine who worked very hard for many years to buy some land in the countryside to build a house. They paid £70k for the land outright and then started building their dream house with a £300k mortgage. They finished building their house and they moved into it on December 2017. In February 2018 the government decided to build a bypass for the nearest town and their home was in the pathway for the road.. So the council gave them £110k and said gtfo. 2 months of living in something they spent the previous 15 years of their life working for, and they're forced to take a £260k loss on it. Absolute bullshit how the government can do this to people.

4 years ago myself and the people left in my east london estate were evicted so they could flatten it out and build new “luxury apartments” and my family had to move out of london. was recently back visiting family nearby and the estate was still entirely intact

Landlords buying old council homes (because they are cheaper to buy) and turning them into HMOs is a big problem for council estates... Over time whole streets become brought up and have treble the number of people living in them on top of each other sharing bathrooms kitchens etc. HMOs are turning decent (all be it boring) council housing back into Victorian slums.

It's interesting watching the old images of the council estates in the UK from the 40s/50s/60s and not seeing a single ethnic person. Mass immigration for better or worse has also had a massive impact on the working class and lower middle class. Rents are higher and services are now stretched to breaking point. Just watching the images of the old slums in UK cities make me wonder if we are coming full circle back to that slum living again. Is adding 700,000 people a year a good idea when you have so much homelessness and poverty already?

Grew up on the Yew Tree Estate Walsall, was built as a showcase estate in the 60s as an example of what Social housing of the future could look like. It was amazing. 2 schools with their own swimming baths each, 3 pubs and probably the largest social working club in the country with concert halls we would have our Christmas parties at, large 4 table snooker room, Dentist, doctors surgery, library, 2 retirement homes 3 parades of shops, it's own petrol station, beautiful semi dethatched houses with big gardens, lots of fields and two parks, 3 churches, a community hall. Everything you could possibly need to live and all within walking distance. You could call it the original 15 minute city. Amazing community where everyone knew each other, looked out for each other and was proud as punch of what they had. My dad said all that started to change just after I was born (1980) when Sandwell Council (Labour run) decided to move the 'Naughty Nigel's' onto the estate that started ruining the place. It quickly started to go down hill and people started to sell up (after Thatcher had privatised the housing) and moving away. By the mid ninety's it was declared one of the roughest estates in the country. It was one of the first to be fitted out with CCTV cameras everywhere, they decided to knock down all the tower blocks (which was great for me and my mates as we tatted out all the copper piping and boilers and made a small fortune for teenagers but I digress) and the land was sold off to private housing developers. Both schools was bulldozed and one new school built and more land sold off to private housing developers. 2 pubs and the club was bulldozed and yes, the land sold off to private housing developers. None of whom built any new useful to the community projects just little box houses putting massive strain on the local infrastructure. Today the estate is a shadow of its former self with only a small core of the original community still here feeling alien amongst the atomised new comers who have no interest in community. We wasn't rich growing up, far from it but I would never trade my childhood to have grown up anywhere else. And I look at my nephews and niece today and my heart sinks for what they have missed out on and will never get to experience... Thank you Jimmy for putting together this video giving body to what I have been saying and railed against for years. Much appreciated my man. 👍👍

Grew up around the corner from Thamesmead and Woolwich in Plumstead, South east London. I was always told from a young age to avoid the large estates in both areas, they were seen as run down and undesirable places to live exactly because of the people. Fast forward now and because of the Elizabeth line and gentrification a one or two bed flat in either area can be now worth upwards of 500k in Thamesmead or more than 700k in Woolwich to buy. Their literally pricing the poor and working class out of these areas and making them commuter hubs to central london for the struggling middle class who can’t afford to buy a flat there, so have to survive month to month paying 2k in rent. Where does it stop?

Thatcher, the worst thing that happened to Britain.

I grew up in an Estate in East London. It was brilliant. Things started to change in mid 80s when crime started to increase.

I grew up on Castle Vale estate in Birmingham. It was so bad the entire place had to be torn down and rebuilt.

Growing up in Australia, all I knew about council estates was what I saw on The Bill, and they looked well grim. This vid is an eye opener. As usual, the working class gets screwed over by those who have money.

Ironic thing is though these council houses are twice the size of private rented or "luxury flats"