Worst towns in Britain?

[Toad]

Top of the table for me -

Chesterfield

Play Offs

Hanley
Leicester
Burton
Stoke

 

[Zamracene749]

Another vote for Peterlee from me- sadly I grew up in the dismal, violent, drug and gang ridden godforsaken place......

A few more-

Hastings- seedy and full of wideboys
Southampton- concrete hole occupied by surly locals (and one of the roughest bits is called Shirley- that's how confused they are...)
Washington- Another newtown slum
Kirkby (Liverpool)- at least Basra had some character once
Croydon- downright malevolent atmosphere
Hull- tramps, begging with threats, smackheads, stained concrete architecture( see also Plymouth, Bristol, Newport)
Scunthorpe- Soulless( see also Billingham, Watford, Crewe, Blyth, Thornaby, Castleford, Merthyr, Gateshead etc etc)
Holyhead-occupied by some of the worst mannered, ugly, anti social people in Britain- ( apart from in the Irish bar near the station) (see also most other NORTH Wales towns- oh and Guildford...)
Eastbourne- dull, dull, dull
and of course everybodies favourite, Middlesbrough.

No offence intended to any of the nicer folk that live in any of the above of course

 

[Spaceflower]

You didn't go to Shotton Hall did you?

 

[43021HST]

In the crap towns book my hometown Reading came 33rd out of 100 odd towns and I was really proud.

Heres a list of the pitiful crap holes I have visited,

Lewisham (aka Chav Central)
Croydon, People have said this place is crap and I completely agree with them. (Like the guy who has posted a couple of post up.
Windsor, full of snobs and royalist tat.
Upton, your typical run down Yorkshire pit village which has spent the last 30 years having the crap kicked out of it thanks to Mrs Thatcher.
Anyone who has said Doncaster is crap is entirely right, but I would rather spend a day in Doncaster than Windsor.
Apparantly Birkenhead is pretty grim.

 

[Zamracene749]

You didn't go to Shotton Hall did you?

I did m8, class of 86, 'towers' ,got out in one piece lol.

Attended around the time some glue sniffing ex students burnt down a large part of it for a laugh one night.....

 

[Spaceflower]

Ha ha, 97' Towers

Those house blocks will be long gone now though. Heard about the lad who burnt down the A block, must remember to thank him some day. Actually I dont think we were assigned house blocks when I was there, I just remember being there more than anywhere else.

 

[Zamracene749]

Ha ha, 97' Towers

Those house blocks will be long gone now though. Heard about the lad who burnt down the A block, must remember to thank him some day. Actually I dont think we were assigned house blocks when I was there, I just remember being there more than anywhere else.

Yeah, the house block thing lost its relevance once we started our O levels proper.

Don't know if you still live up here, but the new buildings actually look quite smart- just hope it lives up to its looks cos my kids start there soon (and yes, that makes me feel bloody old lol- but then I can remember the Gamecock too )!

 

[185]

Seems people missed out our Crapital.

Not the great city it's cracked up to be. Many tourists say that, mostly crime issues.
They need to do what New York did ten years ago and just go OTT with policing for a couple of years, and jail half the city. Well, sort of.

 

[Metroland]

Worst places in the UK

Middlesbrough
Stoke-on-Trent
Scunthorpe
Sunderland
Luton
Southampton
Barking
Skelmersdale
Rotherham
Westbury - only because the town centre is the most disappointing ever

Other places to avoid:

Parts of S Wales, Liverpool and Glasgow suburbs, parts of north Manchester, Poole, most of south Essex, Coventry, parts of north Birmingham, parts of S Yorkshire - in short old industrial places fallen on hard times

 

[43021HST]

Seems people missed out our Crapital.

Not the great city it's cracked up to be. Many tourists say that, mostly crime issues.
They need to do what New York did ten years ago and just go OTT with policing for a couple of years, and jail half the city. Well, sort of.

Boris does next to nothing so I cant see that happening in the near future. Anyway London isnt that bad, its not as bad as it was in the 80s. I think my least favourite place in London has to Canary Wharf, its too full of guff clouds (bankers)

 

[WestCoast]

Boris does next to nothing so I cant see that happening in the near future. Anyway London isnt that bad, its not as bad as it was in the 80s. I think my least favourite place in London has to Canary Wharf, its too full of guff clouds (bankers)

Although I do like how the Isle of Dogs Docklands have been transformed, its so odd to see all that wealth is surrounded by the relative poverty of Tower Hamlets.

 

[4SRKT]

Although I do like how the Isle of Dogs Docklands have been transformed, its so odd to see all that wealth is surrounded by the relative poverty of Tower Hamlets.

I would have described Tower Hamlets as 'absolute poverty' rather than 'relative poverty', unless you're talking relative to a favela in Sao Paolo that is. Driving into thatLondon on the A13 through Newham and TH is instructive in that it shows that although the North-South divide is undeniably very real, the worst deprivation in the country is in London. There are of course crappy places in West Yorkshire, but nothing on the sheer scale or scope of East London.

 

[ChrisCooper]

Seems people missed out our Crapital.

Not the great city it's cracked up to be. Many tourists say that, mostly crime issues.
They need to do what New York did ten years ago and just go OTT with policing for a couple of years, and jail half the city. Well, sort of.

Start with the politicians and the bankers and go from there!

 

[WestCoast]

I would have described Tower Hamlets as 'absolute poverty' rather than 'relative poverty', unless you're talking relative to a favela in Sao Paolo that is. Driving into thatLondon on the A13 through Newham and TH is instructive in that it shows that although the North-South divide is undeniably very real, the worst deprivation in the country is in London. There are of course crappy places in West Yorkshire, but nothing on the sheer scale or scope of East London.

Well yes, to be truthful 'absolute poverty' would be more accurate. I have to agree that the worst deprivation is in our capital, it's is the sheer scale of socially and economically deprived areas, the endless scenery of grim tower blocks in some areas of London. It's depressing to look at - never mind for those who live there. With places like Greater Manchester and the West Yorkshire conurbation, as you rightly say there are some grim holes. You can't escape the poverty as easily though in London as you are hemmed in but elsewhere it's easier to get away from. The way that East Manchester is so close to the pleasant land of the Pennines is an example that I always think of.

 

[43021HST]

Although I do like how the Isle of Dogs Docklands have been transformed, its so odd to see all that wealth is surrounded by the relative poverty of Tower Hamlets.

Yeah well thats capitalism for ya, dirty scumbags (The bankers).

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Yeah well thats capitalism for ya, dirty scumbags (The bankers).

You would prefer communism?

 

[43021HST]

Well yes, to be truthful 'absolute poverty' would be more accurate. I have to agree that the worst deprivation is in our capital, it's is the sheer scale of socially and economically deprived areas, the endless scenery of grim tower blocks in some areas of London. It's depressing to look at - never mind for those who live there. With places like Greater Manchester and the West Yorkshire conurbation, as you rightly say there are some grim holes. You can't escape the poverty as easily though in London as you are hemmed in but elsewhere it's easier to get away from. The way that East Manchester is so close to the pleasant land of the Pennines is an example that I always think of.

Ive often wondered how people actually live in those high rise depressotowers without killing themselves. Those towers were built to replace ground level slums with guess what? A slum in the sky.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

You would prefer communism?

I prefer socialism, but lets not get into another petty arguement about capitalism v communism

 

[4SRKT]

Well yes, to be truthful 'absolute poverty' would be more accurate. I have to agree that the worst deprivation is in our capital, it's is the sheer scale of socially and economically deprived areas, the endless scenery of grim tower blocks in some areas of London. It's depressing to look at - never mind for those who live there. With places like Greater Manchester and the West Yorkshire conurbation, as you rightly say there are some grim holes. You can't escape the poverty as easily though in London as you are hemmed in but elsewhere it's easier to get away from. The way that East Manchester is so close to the pleasant land of the Pennines is an example that I always think of.

Indeed. The Buttershaw estate on the edge of Bradford (as featured in Rita, Sue and Bob Too) is pretty grim, but the houses themselves are solid structures with a bit of garden, and plenty of open spaces in the estate. It's also within walking distance of good countryside and decent facilities in nearby Wibsey. How many ghastly parts of London can say the same?

 

[prod_pep]

London Boroughs of Brent, Newham, Hackney and Tower Hamlets
Middlesborough
Bolton
Newcastle
Bradford
Birmingham
Leicester
Birkenhead

 

[142094]

Ive often wondered how people actually live in those high rise depressotowers without killing themselves. Those towers were built to replace ground level slums with guess what? A slum in the sky.

Sounds like you've been listening to the song 'Up in Heaven' by The Clash.

 

[LE Greys]

Ive often wondered how people actually live in those high rise depressotowers without killing themselves. Those towers were built to replace ground level slums with guess what? A slum in the sky.

Mostly comes from their disastrous design, which goes as far as not having a sloping roof, so water pools on top. I've noticed some that now have "Chinese hats" to encourage the water to run off, and it cures the damp problems. Putting shops and common amenities, such as laundrettes, on the lower levels would have helped as well. Really, they ought to have been designed so that prestige would come with height, enabling our cities to increase their population density to something resembling Tokyo, thus preventing urban sprawl. I'm not suggesting a concierge service, but certainly give each building at least one dedicated caretaker.

 

[BrummyBoy]

Other places to avoid:

Parts of S Wales, Liverpool and Glasgow suburbs, parts of north Manchester, Poole, most of south Essex, Coventry, parts of north Birmingham, parts of S Yorkshire - in short old industrial places fallen on hard times

I live in north birmingham and think its ok, sure theres shootings, stabbings and muggings but that happens in most cities

 

[DarloRich]

The land of the concrete cows - Milton Keynes. What an eyesore.

Do any of you live in Milton Keynes? Because I now do. I had this opinion about the place until I actually came here. I had never been but EVERYONE said how awful it is . Well it isn’t! It is quite nice. I have lived in many worse places in this country. it feels very safe here, it is clean, easy to get around; on both foot and car, you could not want for any amenity ( even a stolen football team! :roll there seems to be plenty of work(which brought me here), even the "rough" areas seem pretty decent compared to where I come from. It has good public transport links, good private car links, good rail links, even good bus links, which is rare these days!

People will say there is no history and that the place is manufactured. MKC is, obviously, a made up city. However the 7 or 8 villages that surround the centre are very old, established communities. With all the architecture you would expect from an English country village, with all the pubs and facilities you would expect from an English village.

I think you should challenge your preconceptions!

Now Great Yarmouth, where I have also lived, IS a dump lol

 

[lm321412]

I live in north birmingham and think its ok, sure theres shootings, stabbings and muggings but that happens in most cities

You seem to live in Erdington, where I live and one of the better places in North Birmingham. But on the whole, Birmingham is a S**th**e

 

[Toad]

Careful.......

Here in Harborne is ok

 

[ralphchadkirk]

London Boroughs of Brent, Newham, Hackney and Tower Hamlets
Middlesborough
Bolton
Newcastle
Bradford
Birmingham
Leicester
Birkenhead

Newcastle's lovely!

 

[BrummyBoy]

You seem to live in Erdington, where I live and one of the better places in North Birmingham. But on the whole, Birmingham is a S**th**e

Cant arguee with that lol

 

[43021HST]

Mostly comes from their disastrous design, which goes as far as not having a sloping roof, so water pools on top. I've noticed some that now have "Chinese hats" to encourage the water to run off, and it cures the damp problems. Putting shops and common amenities, such as laundrettes, on the lower levels would have helped as well. Really, they ought to have been designed so that prestige would come with height, enabling our cities to increase their population density to something resembling Tokyo, thus preventing urban sprawl. I'm not suggesting a concierge service, but certainly give each building at least one dedicated caretaker.

You know those god awful flats you see when you come into Paddington, I think its called Trelick tower, they are actually listed. You know the basic defination of Brutalist archetecture is to be uniform and oppresive.

 

[BestWestern]

Was it just me who thought that Swindon was actually okay then?! I did some training there and was informed repeatedly that it would be an awful place. I was fairly pleasantly suprised to be honest! Not breathtaking I confess, but not bad either? Except for the Magic Roundabout What the....

 

[Ivo]

The Magic Roundabout actually works though! Shock horror! I've been there on a bus at 6pm and we virtually flew through, even in heavy traffic!

@ Metroland: What's wrong with Poole? I especially like it as, last I knew, it was the largest place in England or Wales I have been to that my father hasn't

Regarding East London, is it any wonder that England's most dangerous football rivalry [Millwall - West Ham] is local?