General News Thread

[Trav Le Bleu]

4 minutes ago, CornwallFox said:

We're not the only country though are we? The entire premise of your talking point is false.

About to make the exact same point.

 

Nor do I think the 3 bed, small garden thing is right either and I agree with @deep blue, living on top of one another is generally undesirable globally.

 

And on the subject of Deep Blue...

 

 

Any excuse for a bit of Ladytron.

 

[kenny]

42 minutes ago, CornwallFox said:

We're not the only country though are we? The entire premise of your talking point is false.

Whenever I visit a city abroad we stay in an apartment.

 

When you drive around the countryside of foreign countries, you don't see sprawling low density small houses everywhere. (You also see less traffic.....)

 

Every apartment scheme I've designed in Leicester recently has been filled in a matter of weeks.

 

It's a British obsession that defines happiness at home on whether you have your own roof or whether you share it.

[splinterdream]

25 minutes ago, kenny said:

Whenever I visit a city abroad we stay in an apartment.

 

When you drive around the countryside of foreign countries, you don't see sprawling low density small houses everywhere. (You also see less traffic.....)

 

Every apartment scheme I've designed in Leicester recently has been filled in a matter of weeks.

 

It's a British obsession that defines happiness at home on whether you have your own roof or whether you share it.

It's about what you visualise. I'd imagine most people aspire to a griswald style detached house, you're own private castle in a leafy superb with 2.4 children where you can shout hello neighbour across the fence if you wish, the alternative is a soviet style tower block in a city where everyone has a box with little privacy, noise from your neighbours, no green space of you're own, living like drones.

The city life isn't for everyone 

[foxes1988]

1 hour ago, kenny said:

I'll repeat, why are we the only country in the world that believes a 3 bedroom semi with a teeny tiny garden is the only way to live. The rest of the world lives in apartments in cities. Including families.

 

If the issue is one of choice and preferences, then we clearly don't have a housing crisis.

Clearly nonsense. You sound like you've barely travelled if that's what you think.

 

I think everyone agrees with you that we need to encourage more city urban dwelling but losing .3-.8% of agricultural land for example is not some natural disaster you're implying.

 

1 hour ago, CornwallFox said:

We're not the only country though are we? The entire premise of your talking point is false.

 

[kenny]

7 minutes ago, foxes1988 said:

Clearly nonsense. You sound like you've barely travelled if that's what you think.

 

I think everyone agrees with you that we need to encourage more city urban dwelling but losing .3-.8% of agricultural land for example is not some natural disaster you're implying.

 

 

We have been to 42 countries so far. I agree that isn't enough and im very jealous of some those on this board that have amazing travel plans and ambitions.

 

I would tentatively suggest that I am above average in the travelled stakes.

 

I would also tentatively suggest that I have seen many more properties of all types that the average person as that is my job.

 

But what do I know. Once the countryside is paved over, it won't ever be unpaved. As I keep stating is encourages a car based lifestyle which is not what we should be doing in the future.

 

There is a reason that when you drive in other densely populated countries their roads are smaller than ours yet seem to have hardly any cars on them. (I don't mean North Italy of course, worst driving experience ive had abroad.)

[foxes1988]

14 minutes ago, kenny said:

We have been to 42 countries so far. I agree that isn't enough and im very jealous of some those on this board that have amazing travel plans and ambitions.

 

I would tentatively suggest that I am above average in the travelled stakes.

 

I would also tentatively suggest that I have seen many more properties of all types that the average person as that is my job.

 

But what do I know. Once the countryside is paved over, it won't ever be unpaved. As I keep stating is encourages a car based lifestyle which is not what we should be doing in the future.

 

There is a reason that when you drive in other densely populated countries their roads are smaller than ours yet seem to have hardly any cars on them. (I don't mean North Italy of course, worst driving experience ive had abroad.)

It's a good job that's not happening then eh. 

 

Only got 92.3% of the country left after all 

[Trav Le Bleu]

1 hour ago, kenny said:

Whenever I visit a city abroad we stay in an apartment.

 

 

That's called a hotel 

[Trav Le Bleu]

1 hour ago, kenny said:

We have been to 42 countries so far. I agree that isn't enough and im very jealous of some those on this board that have amazing travel plans and ambitions.

 

I would tentatively suggest that I am above average in the travelled stakes.

 

I would also tentatively suggest that I have seen many more properties of all types that the average person as that is my job.

 

But what do I know. Once the countryside is paved over, it won't ever be unpaved. As I keep stating is encourages a car based lifestyle which is not what we should be doing in the future.

 

There is a reason that when you drive in other densely populated countries their roads are smaller than ours yet seem to have hardly any cars on them. (I don't mean North Italy of course, worst driving experience ive had abroad.)

Tentatively?

 

You smashed it out the park mate! 

 

[Trav Le Bleu]

For the record, we definitely need brownfield redevelopment. Ever expanding cities are getting ridiculous. You can drive from Leicester to Loughborough on the old A6 and you will barely see countryside. 

 

Similarly the A52 between Derby and Nottingham. By the end of the century, Leicester, Derby and Nottingham might well be one huge conurbation similar to London today. Goodness knows what London will be like.

[kenny]

4 minutes ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

For the record, we definitely need brownfield redevelopment. Ever expanding cities are getting ridiculous. You can drive from Leicester to Loughborough on the old A6 and you will barely see countryside. 

 

Similarly the A52 between Derby and Nottingham. By the end of the century, Leicester, Derby and Nottingham might well be one huge conurbation similar to London today. Goodness knows what London will be like.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/sep/24/almost-15m-homes-could-be-built-on-brownfield-sites-in-england-report-finds?utm_source=chatgpt.com

 

According to some reports, Labour could build their entire 5 year target on brownfield only. With more than half already having planning permission and could start to building within weeks if required.

[Heathrow fox]

2 minutes ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

For the record, we definitely need brownfield redevelopment. Ever expanding cities are getting ridiculous. You can drive from Leicester to Loughborough on the old A6 and you will barely see countryside. 

 

Similarly the A52 between Derby and Nottingham. By the end of the century, Leicester, Derby and Nottingham might well be one huge conurbation similar to London today. Goodness knows what London will be like.

Gtr London is ever increasingly going skywards.

[Wymsey]

Just now, Heathrow fox said:

Gtr London is ever increasingly going skywards.

Especially Stratford.

[Trav Le Bleu]

6 minutes ago, Wymsey said:

Especially Stratford.

Stratosphereford

[kenny]

14 minutes ago, Heathrow fox said:

Gtr London is ever increasingly going skywards.

There are some boroughs (Haringay and Croydon, im sure there are others) that have done brilliant work on incremental densification rather than just the bigger high rise stuff people notice.

 

Both these councils were mentioned by Rayner prior to the election as being something to follow as they have done brilliant work, but the ideas were dropped by the time of the election.

 

In Haringay there are permittted development rights to raise the height of the existing terraced houses by a storey. There are pre-agreed designs for the owner to follow and essentially turns streets of 2 storey buildings into 3 storey with no other changes to the area.

 

In Croydon, there is permtted development rights in areas near stations, to flatten a pair of semi-detached houses and replace with small 3 storey apartment blocks. Essentially turning 2 units into 8-12 on an existing plot of land. 

 

Its clever stuff, simple and costs the council nothing to achieve.

[Heathrow fox]

59 minutes ago, Wymsey said:

Especially Stratford.

Not wrong there.It reminds me of Gotham City.Might not be to everyone’s taste but certainly a massive transformation

[danny.]

15 hours ago, leicsmac said:

Building upward (and downward) rather than outward certainly seems a better general option to me. 

Do you live in a high-rise flat yourself, and happy there?

 

3 hours ago, kenny said:

Whenever I visit a city abroad we stay in an apartment.

 

When you drive around the countryside of foreign countries, you don't see sprawling low density small houses everywhere. (You also see less traffic.....)

 

Every apartment scheme I've designed in Leicester recently has been filled in a matter of weeks.

 

It's a British obsession that defines happiness at home on whether you have your own roof or whether you share it.

You can't compare cultures though. I saw a documentary on social housing flats in Austria and it looked like a 5 star hotel with a pool and social clubs etc, looked amazing. Bring the exact same building to the UK and people would be using the pool as a toilet and playing drub and bass until 5am weekdays. I've lived in enough flats in the UK myself to understand why no one wants to live in a flat in the UK.

[Heathrow fox]

1 hour ago, kenny said:

There are some boroughs (Haringay and Croydon, im sure there are others) that have done brilliant work on incremental densification rather than just the bigger high rise stuff people notice.

 

Both these councils were mentioned by Rayner prior to the election as being something to follow as they have done brilliant work, but the ideas were dropped by the time of the election.

 

In Haringay there are permittted development rights to raise the height of the existing terraced houses by a storey. There are pre-agreed designs for the owner to follow and essentially turns streets of 2 storey buildings into 3 storey with no other changes to the area.

 

In Croydon, there is permtted development rights in areas near stations, to flatten a pair of semi-detached houses and replace with small 3 storey apartment blocks. Essentially turning 2 units into 8-12 on an existing plot of land. 

 

It’s clever stuff, simple and costs the council nothing to achieve.

Which is the way for Gtr London to go as I can’t see it expanding any further except for maybe the marshlands out east.

What I do find a tad wasteful is the amount of 4 bed 15 toilet type new build plots being built that are likely going to see long periods of their lifespan only having one or two occupants living in them,and might be difficult to shift in a generation or three.But then that’s where the short term money is I suppose.

[leicsmac]

28 minutes ago, danny. said:

Do you live in a high-rise flat yourself, and happy there?

 

You can't compare cultures though. I saw a documentary on social housing flats in Austria and it looked like a 5 star hotel with a pool and social clubs etc, looked amazing. Bring the exact same building to the UK and people would be using the pool as a toilet and playing drub and bass until 5am weekdays. I've lived in enough flats in the UK myself to understand why no one wants to live in a flat in the UK.

At the present time, no, but that's only because of the daft rules regarding leasehold in the UK - I have spent most of my adult life living in apartments on the other side of the world and was totally happy with it. No strong feelings either way tbh. 

 

If people do feel strongly about the idea of the "home is my castle", "3 bed detached with the garden and the picket fence" then that's totally fine as well. Like on other matters, it's when such sentiment bleeds over into self interest that has a direct and detrimental effect on other life that is the problem. 

 

 

[kenny]

42 minutes ago, danny. said:

Do you live in a high-rise flat yourself, and happy there?

 

You can't compare cultures though. I saw a documentary on social housing flats in Austria and it looked like a 5 star hotel with a pool and social clubs etc, looked amazing. Bring the exact same building to the UK and people would be using the pool as a toilet and playing drub and bass until 5am weekdays. I've lived in enough flats in the UK myself to understand why no one wants to live in a flat in the UK.

Nail on head.

 

That would be much better than a typical UK housing estate.

 

As for the people, anyone that can't look after their social housing should lose it, regardless of what type of housing it is. The better the quality, typically the better it is looked after in my experience.

[Zear0]

Loved living in my flats in town. Needleworks on Albion Street and Cotton Mill on Wellington. Was full of professionals and, for the most part, no d**k heads so was really nice place. There's snobbery with flats but they're great when you're younger. 

[Tommy G]

10 hours ago, Livid said:

Rachel Reeves struggling to answer a single question on the BBC. 

She’s had the same problem for the past 18 months, learnt from her boss well at least. 

[leicsmac]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gv76r5qpvo

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the country's President, Isaac Herzog, for a pardon over corruption cases he has been battling.

The president's office said Herzog would receive opinions from justice officials before considering the request "which carries with it significant implications".

Netanyahu has been standing trial for the past five years on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in connection with three separate cases. He denies wrongdoing.

He said in a video message that he would have preferred to see the process to the end but national interest "demanded otherwise". 

 

..."I'm a "wartime" leader! That means I can be as corrupt as I like!"

[UniFox21]

9 hours ago, kenny said:

But what do I know. Once the countryside is paved over, it won't ever be unpaved. As I keep stating is encourages a car based lifestyle which is not what we should be doing in the future.

 

There is a reason that when you drive in other densely populated countries their roads are smaller than ours yet seem to have hardly any cars on them. (I don't mean North Italy of course, worst driving experience ive had abroad.)

I'd argue car based lifestyle isn't too difficult to combat, we as a country just seem against any sort of public transport funding. 

[leicsmac]

9 minutes ago, UniFox21 said:

I'd argue car based lifestyle isn't too difficult to combat, we as a country just seem against any sort of public transport funding. 

American individualist mindset in a country with a land area and population density totally unsuited to it. 

Edited 30 November 2025 by leicsmac

[Parafox]

43 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gv76r5qpvo

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the country's President, Isaac Herzog, for a pardon over corruption cases he has been battling.

The president's office said Herzog would receive opinions from justice officials before considering the request "which carries with it significant implications".

Netanyahu has been standing trial for the past five years on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in connection with three separate cases. He denies wrongdoing.

He said in a video message that he would have preferred to see the process to the end but national interest "demanded otherwise". 

 

..."I'm a "wartime" leader! That means I can be as corrupt as I like!"

 

We know it, the developed world knows it, he himself knows it. Nobody, no government with any political power has ever made any really robust challenge against him and his actions, even after 5 years.

 

The things he's been on trial for are relatively minor given the genocide he's presided over.

 

It'll just be given lip service and he and his corrupt cohorts will never stand trial in any international or any other court, and the USA and other countries will just ignore everything and let Israel get on with whatever they're doing.