http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/20...unch-recession
It is a scene that would not look out of place in Soviet-era Belarus. Rank with weeds, parkland is dotted with burst pallets of bricks, drink cans, and a builder's broken barrow. A burnt-out car was recently towed away. Streetlights are missing or faulty on some roads. The new community centre is fenced off, its glass doors shattered by stones.
Welcome to Arbury Park, a "contemporary, attractive and vibrant" private development of 900 homes in affluent Cambridge. Residents lured here by jobs in the nearby science park and the developer's promise of a sustainable suburb boasting green spaces, shops, and excellent public transport are instead living in a desolate landscape created by the recession.
With 380 homes completed, two of the three big construction firms, Persimmon and Martin Grant Homes, have downed tools because of the meltdown in the housing market, leaving residents surrounded by large swaths of a derelict construction site.
Antisocial behaviour has flourished. Residents, many with young families, complain of hooded gangs roaming the streets and robbing garden sheds. "We've had trouble with kids throwing stones at the house when we moved in. The builders left loads of rubble outside which is ammunition for them," said Emma Wren. "There are no pavements so you can't walk along with a buggy. Even walking to the bus stop you have to go through long grass and weeds."
Sounds lovely.
It is a scene that would not look out of place in Soviet-era Belarus. Rank with weeds, parkland is dotted with burst pallets of bricks, drink cans, and a builder's broken barrow. A burnt-out car was recently towed away. Streetlights are missing or faulty on some roads. The new community centre is fenced off, its glass doors shattered by stones.
Welcome to Arbury Park, a "contemporary, attractive and vibrant" private development of 900 homes in affluent Cambridge. Residents lured here by jobs in the nearby science park and the developer's promise of a sustainable suburb boasting green spaces, shops, and excellent public transport are instead living in a desolate landscape created by the recession.
With 380 homes completed, two of the three big construction firms, Persimmon and Martin Grant Homes, have downed tools because of the meltdown in the housing market, leaving residents surrounded by large swaths of a derelict construction site.
Antisocial behaviour has flourished. Residents, many with young families, complain of hooded gangs roaming the streets and robbing garden sheds. "We've had trouble with kids throwing stones at the house when we moved in. The builders left loads of rubble outside which is ammunition for them," said Emma Wren. "There are no pavements so you can't walk along with a buggy. Even walking to the bus stop you have to go through long grass and weeds."
Sounds lovely.
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