Not under my (sun)roof

The local Leeds rag, the Yorkshire Evening Post, is famous for taking the side of the city's half-wits and attention seekers and on today's front page, it's standard fare.



The local media have been sympathising with this family who it's claimed have been "forced" to live in a Ford Mondeo.

It's the term "forced" though that is not only emotive, but completely innaccurate. The family have been on the council accomodation list with Leeds City Council and have gone through the system like many thousand others.

So by being in such a system, it's hard to see why they have ended up living in a car, parked up on whatever side-street they can find.

The problem is that they have been offered a home on Broadlea Hill in Bramley, but refused the property. Bramley is one of the areas focused on as part of the new "Respect" initiative and the Broadlea estate isn't exactly the most pleasent area of the city. Whenever there's a story on the local news about ASBOS's, anti-social behaviour and deprived inner-city areas, then you can guarantee that the reporters first words will be "Hi, I'm on the Broadlea estate in Bramley." It's hardly down-town Baghdad by any stretch of the imagination, it's a just typical inner-city council estate.

The family claimed that the home was "uninhabitable" and that "gangs of yobs roamed the streets".
In other words, it's a Leeds council estate.

Quite what this family were thinking they'd get one can only guess. When you are on the Leeds City Council housing lists, you aren't going to end up with a detached house in a leafy part of Bramhope or Calverley. Yes the house might have been in one of Leeds' most deprived areas, but that's a seperate issue and one which is far more important that your choice of home.

Leeds City Council, like all councils, have a finate amount of properties. If you reject one address, it's unreasonable to expect the housing department to have a range of homes on tap to offer you.

The sad fact about all of this is that this family have managed to create sympathy to their cause. They've been offered a house and turned their noses up at it. With council house waiting lists as long as they are, it's only right that they've been put to the back of the queue.