Just walked from Moor St to New Street

[Duffers]

That’s what? Couple of hundred meters? So bleak and moody, nothing but beggars and crackheads everywhere. Must have been asked for money six or seven times, by about the fourth I’d given up trying explain that we now live in a largely cashless society.

What the fuck happened to Birmingham? Don’t recall it ever being this grim.

[Dumbo]

The route I’m sure you took has always been beggar haven tbf. Train stations are popular amongst beggars and then you’ve got pigeon park which is a bowl of crack.

[SW4Baggie]

Walking under the underpass and across the plaza out front of New Street is a gauntlet for beggars sadly.
I’m surprised there’s still so many when so few people carry change these days.

Brum has been going downhill massively for years, but then so has every city… walk from Piccadilly to Victoria or Piccadilly Gardens, or do a lap of Lime Street and it’s all the same.

[backsidebaggie]

The number of homeless has increased in all major cities in recent years, no doubt. God knows how they survive the winters. Awful. Some tremendous charity/volunteering work done taking food to them on evenings in the city centre.

There’s a lot of homeless on the ring road at the traffic lights asking for money when cars stop too.

[Duffers]

Was just surprised to see it all looking so run down to be honest.

In town for a funeral tomorrow and one by one it feels any ties I had to this city are being cut.

[backsidebaggie]

Was just surprised to see it all looking so run down to be honest.

In town for a funeral tomorrow and one by one it feels any ties I had to this city are being cut.

Like any city there’s good and bad parts. It’s grim down that end, no question. Other parts are quite good, great improvements to Paradise circus for example.

[Squid]

The worst homelessness I've seen in the past few years was Munich city centre. There were whole groups of people sleeping in shop doorways. It was very sad indeed.

[Borin' Baggie]

The worst homelessness I've seen in the past few years was Munich city centre. There were whole groups of people sleeping in shop doorways. It was very sad indeed.

Paris is on a different level, the area around Gare du Nord is ridiculously neglected which you'd not expect at the entrance to an international station at one of the world's greatest cities.

Going back to Birmingham, that underpass is not the worst of it. Been harassed more be people inside New Street station recently than going through there, there was some incident in New Street this morning on the north entrance leading to New Street. That said, as pointed out above it's not unique - Manchester, Liverpool and Bristol have similar homeslessness problems around their transport. Nottingham was the worst of the city centres I've visited recently. A lot of factors are contributing, constraints to charity response, local budgets being cut, policing budgets being cut etc.

[Kit Kat Chunky]

Birmingham is spending a fortune to house these people. Most of the independent hotels are closed, and rooms filled from Social Services.

You have to question if some people choose to live on the streets - as extreme as that sounds.

[CA Baggie]

Birmingham is spending a fortune to house these people. Most of the independent hotels are closed, and rooms filled from Social Services.

You have to question if some people choose to live on the streets - as extreme as that sounds.

Spoken like a true Tory.

Gets pop corn.