54 ms·

I'm not sure it's about attachment, although the fact large residential areas of London are somehow 'protected' does not help. I'd guess it's mostly two things:

by tpm 3y ago

I'm not sure it's about attachment, although the fact large residential areas of London are somehow 'protected' does not help. I'd guess it's mostly two things: * Landlords don't care their tennants pay too much for energy because there is no competitive pressure, the apartments will rent regardless. And many homes in London are rented. * The government does not care. The British society is very classist in my experience and the ruling class does not care the general public is freezing. So even while the UK was in the EU and the EU had various drives to improve energy efficiency of buildings, the UK mostly ignored them.

jl6 3y ago
England has always been run for the benefit of the landowning and homeowning class, in whom the greatest portion of political power, wealth and status are concentrated. This has been the case for at least 1000 years. This is not a "1%" thing; about half of all UK adults live in a home they own. For homeowners, the current setup is pretty sweet. And for a while, the number of homeowners was increasing, hitting an all-time high in 2003 - making it not too undemocratic that the country should be run for their benefit. But now with that figure reducing, mainly at the expense of younger people, it's not surprising that discontent is on the rise (particularly online, where the youngest are the most visible).
cameronh90 3y ago
Lots of people really do prefer the old awful buildings. There was a story just a couple of days ago [0] where residents are protesting having their windows upgraded, despite their existing windows being cold, draughty, rusty, and mouldy. One man felt so strongly about it that he said he'd electrocute anyone who tried to change his windows. They're concerned new slightly thicker window frames might destroy the character of their 60s water-stained concrete brutalist eyesore. [0] https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/yes-it-s-cold-but-you-can-t-replace-our-windows-at-iconi-303338/ https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/yes-it-s-cold-but-y...
- maccard 3y ago
  There's nutters everywhere, to be fair.
- seabass-labrax 3y ago
  > They're concerned new slightly thicker window frames might destroy the character of their 60s water-stained concrete brutalist eyesore. As a huge fan of both brutalist architecture and so-called 'tilt and turn' windows, I had already braced myself for feeling conflicted about this when I clicked through. But no, there's nothing particularly distinctive about the windows that would be lost in a renovation. Here's a high-resolution picture for those who want to see for themselves: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Arlington_House%2C_Margate.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Arlingto... Notice that only a few of the sliding windows are even open on what appears to be a very pleasant day, so sliding-vs-tilting doesn't seem relevant. I don't think the extra centimetre of window frame is going to be visible from the seaside anyway!
- toyg 3y ago
  You have to read between the lines. Apart from the nutter OAP, 150 objections can easily be explained by occupiers actually having to contribute to the replacement. When a landlord does a big renovation program like this, they're going to get the money back somehow - be it with a large lease increase or compulsory contributions. But arguing about money makes people look greedy - or worse (in classist Britain) cheap, aka poor. So they will argue about windows, character, anything.

by tpm 3y ago

jl6 3y ago

England has always been run for the benefit of the landowning and homeowning class, in whom the greatest portion of political power, wealth and status are concentrated. This has been the case for at least 1000 years. This is not a "1%" thing; about half of all UK adults live in a home they own. For homeowners, the current setup is pretty sweet. And for a while, the number of homeowners was increasing, hitting an all-time high in 2003 - making it not too undemocratic that the country should be run for their benefit. But now with that figure reducing, mainly at the expense of younger people, it's not surprising that discontent is on the rise (particularly online, where the youngest are the most visible).

cameronh90 3y ago

Lots of people really do prefer the old awful buildings. There was a story just a couple of days ago [0] where residents are protesting having their windows upgraded, despite their existing windows being cold, draughty, rusty, and mouldy. One man felt so strongly about it that he said he'd electrocute anyone who tried to change his windows. They're concerned new slightly thicker window frames might destroy the character of their 60s water-stained concrete brutalist eyesore. [0] https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/yes-it-s-cold-but-you-can-t-replace-our-windows-at-iconi-303338/ https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/yes-it-s-cold-but-y...

maccard 3y ago
There's nutters everywhere, to be fair.
seabass-labrax 3y ago
> They're concerned new slightly thicker window frames might destroy the character of their 60s water-stained concrete brutalist eyesore. As a huge fan of both brutalist architecture and so-called 'tilt and turn' windows, I had already braced myself for feeling conflicted about this when I clicked through. But no, there's nothing particularly distinctive about the windows that would be lost in a renovation. Here's a high-resolution picture for those who want to see for themselves: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Arlington_House%2C_Margate.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Arlingto... Notice that only a few of the sliding windows are even open on what appears to be a very pleasant day, so sliding-vs-tilting doesn't seem relevant. I don't think the extra centimetre of window frame is going to be visible from the seaside anyway!
toyg 3y ago
You have to read between the lines. Apart from the nutter OAP, 150 objections can easily be explained by occupiers actually having to contribute to the replacement. When a landlord does a big renovation program like this, they're going to get the money back somehow - be it with a large lease increase or compulsory contributions. But arguing about money makes people look greedy - or worse (in classist Britain) cheap, aka poor. So they will argue about windows, character, anything.