Nottingham, The Social Mirror Of Everything Thats Gone Wrong In This Country?

[acer]

Nottinghams funny as if you eradicted the locals you would have a very nice city imo.

Well, based on my 13 years living there, this seemed to be what the city council leaders thought, too.

[erranta]

notinghams def rougher than sheffield, i know both areas well. Sheffield has some bad areas like manor top, but actually has some wealthy suburbs, like hallam.

Bristol and nottingham are very similar in some respects, similar vibe. But nottingham seems a poorer version of bristol.

Manchester i dont know very well so cant comment.

Nottinghams funny as if you eradicted the locals you would have a very nice city imo.

Wot about the implied symbolism of the dreaded Norman castle sitting on top of "Ye olde trip to Jerusalem" INN

No doubt - old Gnostic-Cathar 'Templar' Caverns

Refused room at the INN + He-brews

(devised by 'witty' faux christians!)

Edited August 26, 2011 by erranta

[ianb78]

I think Nottingham gets an unfair reputation.

It's great for nightlife and retail. It has leafy suburbs such as West Bridgford

Top class Unis and sports venues

Whilst the centre may have some 60s architecture it has a nice big square with great bars and restaurants especially the Lace Market

I'm not sure why it gets such a bad rep nationally when real holes such as Hull Middlesbrough and Coventry get away with it - ah well who cares what outsiders think. Come to think of it London is pretty scummy in parts - look at level of rioting!!!!!

[MrPin]

I think Nottingham gets an unfair reputation.

I'm not sure why it gets such a bad rep nationally when real holes such as Hull Middlesbrough and Coventry get away with it - ah well who cares what outsiders think. Come to think of it London is pretty scummy in parts - look at level of rioting!!!!!

Totally agree with you! I am a great fan of Birmingham, but you can't explain that to Londoners!

[nickd]

Nottingham city centre on a saturday night has had a rough edge for decades, certainly I've heard it was like this in the 60s. Don't most UK cities have similar problems? Nottingham has its issues but has a lot going for it too. Its a very vibrant place with good diversity of people, much fun stuff to do (whether you're into drinking, clubbing, sport, theatre amateur & pro, bands, music of any genre, you name it, more than other cities). Its easy to get around with a good network of cycle lanes, good frequent cheap buses, the tram now, line 2 of the tram about to be built. There's a great diversity of employment, many small hi-tech companies, small manufacturing companies, as well as Boots, financial companies, the universities, EoN etc. I think in this recession, just like the last one, while other cities that are more public-sector-dependent will stagnate, Nottingham might weather the storm better because it has more diverse employment. Also with relatively cheap housing etc you can have a reasonable quality of life in Nottingham on a lowish salary, compared to other places.

I don't think Arnold or Sherwood have been "posh" for a long time - they're kind of middle of the road. Not bad places, in fact Sherwood is quite fun, a bit artsy with cafes etc. But crime is noticeable there.

Compared to other cities - well Sheffield might be safer but it has a severe problem with wealth divide which can't be healthy. A lot of Sheffield is super rich or super poor. Sheffield is brilliantly located next to the peak district but the downtown was damaged by Meadowhall sucking the life out of it. I guess overall both Sheffield and Nottingham are pretty good places to live.

There's some persistent unemployment in Nottingham but I think that's largely more to do with people's lack of skills rather than lack of local job opportunities.

For some reason the media has "got it in for" Nottingham.

South-easterners may like to slag off Nottingham but lets face it the price of a slave box down there would get a decent detached house up here even without a HPC.

[ianb78]

Nottingham city centre on a saturday night has had a rough edge for decades, certainly I've heard it was like this in the 60s. Don't most UK cities have similar problems? Nottingham has its issues but has a lot going for it too. Its a very vibrant place with good diversity of people, much fun stuff to do (whether you're into drinking, clubbing, sport, theatre amateur & pro, bands, music of any genre, you name it, more than other cities). Its easy to get around with a good network of cycle lanes, good frequent cheap buses, the tram now, line 2 of the tram about to be built. There's a great diversity of employment, many small hi-tech companies, small manufacturing companies, as well as Boots, financial companies, the universities, EoN etc. I think in this recession, just like the last one, while other cities that are more public-sector-dependent will stagnate, Nottingham might weather the storm better because it has more diverse employment. Also with relatively cheap housing etc you can have a reasonable quality of life in Nottingham on a lowish salary, compared to other places.

I don't think Arnold or Sherwood have been "posh" for a long time - they're kind of middle of the road. Not bad places, in fact Sherwood is quite fun, a bit artsy with cafes etc. But crime is noticeable there.

Compared to other cities - well Sheffield might be safer but it has a severe problem with wealth divide which can't be healthy. A lot of Sheffield is super rich or super poor. Sheffield is brilliantly located next to the peak district but the downtown was damaged by Meadowhall sucking the life out of it. I guess overall both Sheffield and Nottingham are pretty good places to live.

There's some persistent unemployment in Nottingham but I think that's largely more to do with people's lack of skills rather than lack of local job opportunities.

For some reason the media has "got it in for" Nottingham.

South-easterners may like to slag off Nottingham but lets face it the price of a slave box down there would get a decent detached house up here even without a HPC.

[ianb78]

Well said brother

I've just bought a four bedroom brand new detached house in a village on the outskirts of Nottingham for 212k!

In the south east slums you'd be looking at a terraced house for double that!!! Plus you'd have to watch out for the hoards of rioters!!!!

On a lighter note Nottingham has won two European Cups (nottm Forest) whereas no London team has ever won it!!!

[erranta]

Well said brother

I've just bought a four bedroom brand new detached house in a village on the outskirts of Nottingham for 212k!

In the south east slums you'd be looking at a terraced house for double that!!! Plus you'd have to watch out for the hoards of rioters!!!!

On a lighter note Nottingham has won two European Cups (nottm Forest) whereas no London team has ever won it!!!

"The life of Brian" ?

[copydude]

To me, the face of Nottingham is that nutter from Big Brother a few years ago.

Nutty? Don't you mean Notty? Notty but nice?

Anyway, Brian Clough. Simply Red. Places that throw up an oddball cultural mix are valuable in our society. Nottingham still has an identity . . . another 999 towns couldn't say the same.

[cartimandua51]

notinghams def rougher than sheffield, i know both areas well. Sheffield has some bad areas like manor top, but actually has some wealthy suburbs, like hallam.

Bristol and nottingham are very similar in some respects, similar vibe. But nottingham seems a poorer version of bristol.

Manchester i dont know very well so cant comment.

Nottinghams funny as if you eradicted the locals you would have a very nice city imo.

Not much changes - I grew up in Nottingham, and fights outside Yates' wine lodge on Slab Square were the norm on Friday/ Saturday nights. Then went to Bristol uni & found it rather genteel by comparison ( though Kingswood was a bit rough - I gather back in the 18th century the militia went in pairs, though it didn't stop John Wesley making a stronghold there.) Thence to Manchester which I loathed, and Leicester - nasty parochial smug little city in the 1970s - and finally Inner City London until retirement.

What all these had in common (with the possible exception of Bristol) was a difference according to whether you "belonged" to the area. I never had any worries round the Elephant and Castle, though a lot of my out-of-area friends were terrified of it after dark.

In Nottingham some bits of Arnold were always dodgy - if you were a teenager stopped by the police an address on Front Street was always convincing as where a troublemaker would be likely to come from. What Nottingham shares with London is the cheek-by-jowl wealth and poverty - The Park being but a stone's throw from Radford, for example, or Mapperley Park from Forest fields.

[crashmonitor]

From the first link:

"The figures – put out by the GMB union and based on official Government statistics – show the city council area..."

The reason Nottingham often seems rather a desperate place (the figures for crime and gun crime are also often shocking) is that the figures are often just for the City Council area. This is mainly the City centre and a few of the poorer outlying districts. The richer areas like West Bridgeford, Arnold, Carlton are not in the "City". This means that when compared to other cities the average is poor as the affluent suburbs are mainly discounted.

That said theres plenty of places in Shottingham I wouldn't venture to in daylight, let alone at night

Arnold and Carlton affluent? you've got to be joking. Both are unattractive white working class areas with not a lot to commend them. Certainly West Bridgford is quality and as it falls into Rushcliffe is unable to massage the terrible stats as you rightly say. Three of the more affluent boroughs are indeed within the city boundaries (though) in Wollaton, Mapperley and The Park. Beeston and Bramcote are reasonably affluent to the west but again fall outside the boundary and into Broxtowe.

What pulls Nottingham down are the inner city areas namely St. Annes, Radford and Sneiton. Obviously Carlton might seem like paradise compared to these three areas where a stab vest is to be recommended. My friend got a gun in his gob in Carlton from a black gang from neighbouring St. Annes who were after some cash, not even worthy of a mention on the news.

[crashmonitor]

My main frustration in living in the Nottingham area (renting at the moment) is the few areas that are worth living in command a ridiculously high price. In fact the far more beautiful rural areas such as the Peak District to the North West or the rural villages towards Newark in the East are much better value. Lincolnshire more so where Georgian rectories are two a penny.

Typically a three bed detached backing onto Wollaton park (and there are a lot of them around the seven mile perimeter) would set you back between350K-500K. A bog standard three bed detached in say Bramcote around 250K. There's nothing that great about these areas, you still get the grafitti (on your house if you side a public right of way) you still get the Jafaken hoodies, the build quality is crap, the area is a bit crap too. But then you have competition with doctors at the QMC and academics at the Uni all on six figure salaries and s**t stuff sells at half a million. I'm not a comfortable urbanite and the countryside offers so much more for your money.

[jaspers]

Bit code t'day int it?

Edited August 27, 2011 by jaspers

[nickd]

My main frustration in living in the Nottingham area (renting at the moment) is the few areas that are worth living in command a ridiculously high price. In fact the far more beautiful rural areas such as the Peak District to the North West or the rural villages towards Newark in the East are much better value. Lincolnshire more so where Georgian rectories are two a penny.

Typically a three bed detached backing onto Wollaton park (and there are a lot of them around the seven mile perimeter) would set you back between350K-500K. A bog standard three bed detached in say Bramcote around 250K. There's nothing that great about these areas, you still get the grafitti (on your house if you side a public right of way) you still get the Jafaken hoodies, the build quality is crap, the area is a bit crap too. But then you have competition with doctors at the QMC and academics at the Uni all on six figure salaries and s**t stuff sells at half a million. I'm not a comfortable urbanite and the countryside offers so much more for your money.

Much of Wollaton is grossly overpriced, and a bit insular too. Do you really need to border on Wollaton park? The cheaper parts of Wollaton still have under £200k for 3-bed detached.

Beeston is overpriced due to student landlords and the hourly London trains but has a lot going for it.

If you want to live somewhere you won't get your head kicked in and is close to countryside, also try these -

Bramcote and the better parts of Stapleford (OK be selective where in Stapleford) - 3 bed detached £165-£210k if you shop around

outskirts of W Bridgford towards Ruddington - (between S Notts college & the big A606/A52 roundabout) £200k ish, much cheaper than central Bridgford.

Gedling side of Carlton - 3-4 bed detached £140-180k , there are still some decent bits, off Oakdale Rd isn't so bad either.

Mapperley - again £150-200k will get a decent family home, stay away from the parts bordering St Annes though

Chilwell - parts of that are fine too, even the ex-council bits have lots of uni staff there now.

I know people that live in Carrington / edge of Forest Fields which might sound like it'd be bad but is OK. That's a bit hemmed in and not green, but walkable from city centre which is great.

The bottom line is, in Nottingham 100-110k will get you a terraced house in a perfectly decent area, 140k a detached family house in a so-so area, 170 for a detached in a fairly decent area, or semi in a good area, and 200k should get you all you ever need really, maybe 250 if you want a detached in a very good area but that's really not necessary for a good standard of living. Meanwhile it is possible to get a terrace for 65k in dodgier parts which are still less dodgy than much of London

[Colin]

very misleading lol, you,d be talking about a city centre mackies, which is sorounded by pubs, this makes total sense to me

nottingham is a big city with the same problems as any other big city,

I don't think so. I have never seen bouncers outside MacDonalds in this country. Only places like Ukraine or Kazakhstan.

[crashmonitor]

Much of Wollaton is grossly overpriced, and a bit insular too. Do you really need to border on Wollaton park? The cheaper parts of Wollaton still have under £200k for 3-bed detached.

Beeston is overpriced due to student landlords and the hourly London trains but has a lot going for it.

If you want to live somewhere you won't get your head kicked in and is close to countryside, also try these -

Bramcote and the better parts of Stapleford (OK be selective where in Stapleford) - 3 bed detached £165-£210k if you shop around

outskirts of W Bridgford towards Ruddington - (between S Notts college & the big A606/A52 roundabout) £200k ish, much cheaper than central Bridgford.

Gedling side of Carlton - 3-4 bed detached £140-180k , there are still some decent bits, off Oakdale Rd isn't so bad either.

Mapperley - again £150-200k will get a decent family home, stay away from the parts bordering St Annes though

Chilwell - parts of that are fine too, even the ex-council bits have lots of uni staff there now.

I know people that live in Carrington / edge of Forest Fields which might sound like it'd be bad but is OK. That's a bit hemmed in and not green, but walkable from city centre which is great.

The bottom line is, in Nottingham 100-110k will get you a terraced house in a perfectly decent area, 140k a detached family house in a so-so area, 170 for a detached in a fairly decent area, or semi in a good area, and 200k should get you all you ever need really, maybe 250 if you want a detached in a very good area but that's really not necessary for a good standard of living. Meanwhile it is possible to get a terrace for 65k in dodgier parts which are still less dodgy than much of London

A good summary of the Nottingham market. Having lived in rural areas most of my life, where it is nice just about everywhere, it is hard to justify urban premium valuations (Parkside, Harrow Road, Beeston Fields Drive etc. etc..) If an area looks a bit rural it might command twice the price of the genuine article in a village twenty miles away).

I tend to agree with you that perhaps something middling like Carlton in the East or Chilwell in the West represents better value, especially if you are not wanting to lay down roots.

[crashmonitor]

Let's be fair to Nottingham, it is not alone in being pretty rubbish. Some of these are at least as bad, maybe worse......

Doncaster

Stoke

Burnley

Blackpool

Hull

Walsall

Dudley

Liverpool

And no doubt a few others too.

[caparn]

yes its always had rough areas, but you cannot deny its got a decent city centre. A russell group uni and trent uni is not bad for law and busness studies.

Plus it had its working class jobs gone, but experian, capital one and boots are all employment bases there.

Capital One has left Nottingham and gone to India. It's offices are now used by Nottingham Council.

Boots is reducing in size and relocating to Hong Kong and Poland

Experian is also off-shoring to India and reducing in size in Nottingham

The one plus point it there will be plenty of houses for sale with everyone having to relocate away, so give it a few years and there will be some real bargains.

[crashmonitor]

Capital One has left Nottingham and gone to India. It's offices are now used by Nottingham Council.

Boots is reducing in size and relocating to Hong Kong and Poland

Experian is also off-shoring to India and reducing in size in Nottingham

The one plus point it there will be plenty of houses for sale with everyone having to relocate away, so give it a few years and there will be some real bargains.

One must not forget the largesse of the QMC, City Hospitals and the University, which have real budget increases and employees that are recession proof. I look at the over the top valuations in Wollaton, Bramcote and the Park and reckon good salaries must be holding things up.

I reckon we are only 10% off peak in premium spots, but up to 30% down in other areas of the East Midlands, much nicer areas in fact. The Lincolnshire Wolds values have been decimated, you are lucky if you can spot a single sold sign anywhere.

For the first time since I have been monitoring the market, premium Nottingham is more expensive than the beautiful peak district, the market in rural Derbyshire is struggling.

Edited August 27, 2011 by crashmonitor

[larrydavid18]

One must not forget the largesse of the QMC, City Hospitals and the University, which have real budget increases and employees that are recession proof. I look at the over the top valuations in Wollaton, Bramcote and the Park and reckon good salaries must be holding things up.

In the NHS they are not directly laying off staff, but freezes on pay, and not replacing staff thats leaving/retiring is sublimal layoffs.

Also with trent and nottm uni upping their fees to 8.5 and 9 grnd respectively that could all change.

Mind you, i hink you were referring to more the top high end professos and NHS concultants?

[larrydavid18]

Well said brother

I've just bought a four bedroom brand new detached house in a village on the outskirts of Nottingham for 212k!

In the south east slums you'd be looking at a terraced house for double that!!! Plus you'd have to watch out for the hoards of rioters!!!!

On a lighter note Nottingham has won two European Cups (nottm Forest) whereas no London team has ever won it!!!

you make ou nottingham was riot free, you do realise it was one of the worst cities, especially for its population outside of london???

heres some Skynews and footage to show a sneak preview

and firebombing of a polic station, one of the 5 stations attacked ovr 2 days..

[sammysnake]

Some good observations about my home city. some true, if not a little harsh.

I'll can honestly say this though. It's a fantastic place to live. Great nightlife, good shopping. A very friendly and welcoming place (there's very good reason tourists continue to come despite the shottingham title..)

It's quite a large city guys, so some perspective is needed here. Yeh it can be improved, but FFS..Have you ever witnessed places like Derby or Leicester

[Executive Sadman]

I lived in Nottingham for a while. Always surprised me how pretty much every other building that wasnt residential was adorned with the words 'Nottingham city council' on it: I thought the East Midlands was nothing like as Saturated with government mis-spending compared to the North proper.

Some lovely old buildings though. The town is fine, its the people who all seem on edge.

Leicester isnt as cosmetically pleasing as Nottingham, but it always felt safer, as did Derby.

[caparn]

Some good observations about my home city. some true, if not a little harsh.

I'll can honestly say this though. It's a fantastic place to live. Great nightlife, good shopping. A very friendly and welcoming place (there's very good reason tourists continue to come despite the shottingham title..)

It's quite a large city guys, so some perspective is needed here. Yeh it can be improved, but FFS..Have you ever witnessed places like Derby or Leicester

I think you might have been brain washed by TRENT FM they were always saying "Nottingham the greatest city in the world!"

[larrydavid18]

IM going to make a few points as i know nottingham pretty well as its my home city. Teh ill conclude everything from my perpective, then i promise i wont bump this thread anymore.

In regards to nttingham having wealthy areas close to very poor areas, well id like to add to that b going as far as saying they are some very poor areas in the wealthy areas.

Take wollaton and beeston for example. Wollaton is lovely, but has some tiny pockets of extreme poverty if you know the area. "lego land" and balloon woods area is very rough imo, id go as far as saying id rather walk through some of the less desiable areas than those parts.

Also beeston imo has some tasty parts, more so than desirable imo. yes you have beeston fields drive. Very wealthy and exclusive. But you also have beeston rylands and beeston central areas which are on the poorer side of the scale. Ive been in the cow pub(now shutdown i think) and various other beeston watering holes, and they are not very welcoming. On the flipside the vic, near beeston station is brilliant.

The reason i posted this was to show that on paper nottingham should not have the highest unemployment in the UK, regardless of issues over city bounderies which can be debunked.

I feel the city council are the main problem, as they are bringing in a parking Levy for business's in nottingham to fund a tram, add the fact they are taking out a 500 million pound loan as well and it could be real callapse for nottingham

i also feel nottingham boomed in the nineties because birmingham and machester city centers were very poor, and wer behind nottingham in the shopping stakes. But Now birmingham(love or love it) has got its act togather with its bullring, and current 600 million pound redevelopment of the new street station. Derby and leicester Also have recently improved their city centres, whilst nottingham has the white elephant broadmarsh development that keeps getting put back.

My conclusion is, i like nottingham in some respects, it could be great imo. But im also realistic in its flaws. The city council on crime and other social issues just give excuses with no solutions. They never admit theres a problem. Unless that changes i predict nottingham could turn into the middlands croydon by 2020 if its not careful.