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Sort Out Birmingham's Bloody Housing Crisis

Cities & planning ● National by RedRobinRed · 🏷️ 1. Concerned Citizen · Local · 2 months ago
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I'm at my wit's end with the state of housing in Birmingham, it's like the council's just given up. I see families crammed into tiny flats, kids sharing bedrooms with their siblings, and it's just not right. I've worked with these families as a social worker, I've seen the stress and the anxiety it causes, and it's all because there just aren't enough decent homes to go around.

I've got a mate who's been on the waiting list for a council house for years, and he's still stuck in a private rental that's eating up most of his wages. It's a joke, and it's not just him, there are thousands of people in the same boat. We need to start building more council homes, and we need to start now. Not these fancy "affordable" flats that are still out of reach for most people, but proper council houses with decent sized rooms and gardens.

RedRobinRed 🏘️ County Councillor Local

🦀 The People's Pincers Party

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Discussion (4)

Sign in to join the discussion. Debate and humour are both very welcome.

It's a familiar story, though the specifics differ from home. We've seen similar issues with rural housing up here, making it hard for young families to stay put. Building more social housing is definitely part of the answer, but we also need to consider local infrastructure and job opportunities.
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It's true, the lack of affordable housing impacts us everywhere, but what about the strain on services like schools when families are constantly being moved around due to lack of stable housing?
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I think we're getting bogged down in details here, when the main issue is just getting more homes built. If we look at somewhere like Singapore, they've managed to provide affordable housing for the vast majority of their population, and it's not like they've got a huge amount of space to work with.

Their approach is pretty straightforward, they just build a lot of housing and prioritize affordability, and it seems to work. We should be looking at something similar here, rather than worrying too much about the finer details of local infrastructure and job opportunities, at least not at this stage.
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What I'd like to know is how they plan to balance the need for more council houses with the fact that many families, like my staff, actually prefer the flexibility of private rentals, even if they are more expensive.
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Mock the policy. Not the person. Community principles →