UK housing experiment leaves a Ghost Town on a mountain!

[@pauldavies5655]

i worked there --- during the early 90 s doing refurbs. the security guard said " mate , you can t park your van outside the compound it will get robbed" i said " son i m from merthyr tydfil " ---- went down the shops up to a gang of local youths and said " see that van there , every week that does not get touched i shall give you £20 " BEST security guards ever !

[@BestGta6plays]

I was one of them kids can confirm he also touched us up in the van for an extra tenner good times

[@kunga72]

Went there about 30 years ago. All I can remember are gangs of feral children in shell suits and a Mad Max vibe.

[@j_cara]

😂

[@SelfMade717]

Went there too for a work contract. I'm being serious when I say some of Afghanistan looked better than this place. I even seen someone taking a shite by a wall. Mental

[@djx-tec4580]

I went there 3 years ago saw the same thing😂

[@PeanutButter111]

Owe, I was there 30 years ago in my shell suit, best time of my life. Going down the mountain on a cardboard box, the bonfires were out of this world. Old little lady used to give out sweets to us little feral shits, but with all that said the memories of looking at the clouds while lying on fresh grass knowing you're away from society is something so precious that I wouldnt trade those memories for all the monies in the world. It doesn't matter if it was a shithole it's our shithole

[@FireInTheSoul]

I was one of those feral kids in a shell suit, and had the best childhood living on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere, no one bothered us, we were allowed to live free and the vibe up here has continued ever since. We're a step away from society and surrounded by nature. The community was always amazing back in the 80s. Someone couldn't pay me to move from here. I wake up to the sounds of birds and look around to nothing but mountains and greenery, my kids play on the mountains everyday and when the sun shines we get the best of it. When it snows we get the best of it too and the most beautiful scenery. Not all is what it seems.

[@eyezwideopen1889]

I lived here as a new born baby in the mid 80's as my parents were young and skint. My old man told me that because of the rediculous crime rate at the time he used to push his motorcycle up the stairs every night to our three story flat to keep it safe on the balcony... That was until it was slolen from the outside!

[@CaymanIslandsCatWalks]

Lol

[@predictivetextisforaunts]

Not as ridiculous as your spelling of that word.

[@George-gg1ny]

Gee that place must be bad to do a shift every time you fancy a run on the motor bike... That was hilarious thanks 😂

[@christopherjones8209]

Errrm....Wellyeah.

[@christopherjones8209]

It was just like that ther then,in the early 90s my and my friend just moved onto one of the empty flats.Went on a crime wave everywhere,Wally Talkys back in them day, burgling chemist,sport shops,.Take over the smaller valley Nanti Moyle cut the tiers on every police car and the town be our for ages,pub safes the lot.

[@andrewstones2921]

I went here in 1983, so that was 40 years ago. I don’t remember it looking so run down at that time, and the house that I went In was ok. The thing actually that stands out about this part of wales is how nice the people were, but the kids all seemed to get into trouble with the police and many of them would take extended holidays in Portland in what was a Borstal at the time. But again the thing is my memory is that the people were actually decent, just that they had very little opportunity and the kids were bored and got in trouble.

[@stevejelly3161]

Andrew Stones ... you mention the good people ???..... Mining heritage 🙂 . Plus somebody can move into a "posh" area and just get "hell" !!! . Hey must be clean air up there as it's so high 🙂

[@gregmuir4001]

Yoo sir?? 38 years ago slow down please lol 😆 I was born in 83! Haha

[@richardpennington5445]

No excuse for kids getting bored there. There were sports facilities and countryside to explore. There was even a Community Centre.

[@andrewstones2921]

@@richardpennington5445 I’m sure you are correct In theory, but in practice sports cost money and many of the kids that grew up there had parents so poor that they didn’t buy sports gear or encourage their kids to participate. If you had been there you may understand. Whilst a lot of kids found themselves In trouble with the law they were not intrinsically bad kids at all, not that would be any consolation if your house or car was broken into every month. I know a few of those kids, one of the reasons I went there is a good friend of mine grew up there. He got in trouble like many of the kids, but later he turned his life around and runs a successful building business.

[@pseudonayme7717]

That's a good description of every working class town/community in the UK 😁 Hello from Dundee 👍

[@sandrafinbar]

I watched a Tv programme about a village called Perthcelyn that was also built on a hill in the same area as Penrys. Feel sad for those who have to live in these bleak places.These Turdtown videos are very interesting. Thankyou

[@badcampa2641]

Gurnos, Perthcelyn and Penrhys. All within in a few miles

[@benjamin-ri2do]

I live near them all where I live Rhymney came in at number 2 in Valleys turdtown haaaaa

[@jungatheart6359]

There's also Fernhill in the same valley as Perthcelyn, built in a similar architectural mould (no pun intended) to Penrhys, yet still largely occupied and quite lively. Bizarrely, immediately below the estate by the main road are some of the poshest houses in the Valleys - at least 4 or 5 bedroom suburban villas which wouldn't look out of place in the Surrey commuter belt. It also has the advantage of being close to Aberdare, which is as far above turd status as Mid Glamorgan settlements get, whereas poor Penrhys is girdled by the almost uniformly depressing Rhondda towns.

[@benjamin-ri2do]

@@jungatheart6359 we came in at number 2 Rhymney I live pontlottyn it's a step away same place when u grew up around a turdtown you can't smell the shit 😂

[@rhianjones4422]

I actually lived here for over 16 years and loved living here. My brother still lives here, the views from his room window are amazing. The houses are lovely and spacious inside and the people living are lovely too. I love going back up there to visit, I have so many happy memories of Penrhys

[@angrymuffinsb]

Why’d you leave if it’s so amazing?

[@rhianjones4422]

I left to look after my mother who was quite ill at the time, also my brother needed somewhere to live and the council agreed for him to take over the tenancy of my flat...that's why I left.

[@angrymuffinsb]

@@rhianjones4422 I understand, I’m sorry to hear that

[@jonbaker1697]

I love the sloping roof , of the houses. Better looking than horrible tedious terraced/ track houses. The colour of the exterior was wrong. Cream is always going to look terrible after , just one yr. I would have used mute colours. Eg.a colour scheme near near that looks wonderful , BLK from the top third of the building. To the roof. And the bottom two thirds was bricks coloured burgundy -ish

[@fontainejohn]

lol@@angrymuffinsb

[@robwebber1217]

I had to deliver up there in the early 90’s. Air gun pellets used to pepper the van as I drove out.

[@adamweston4152]

I also delivered meat there to Woody's shop in the late 90s and early 2000s .

[@samanthawoodward7551]

😂😂lmao

[@deanieleet]

Is it weird that I really want to live there? It's like living at the end of the world or a post apocalypse or something, it's a total vibe. I dig it.

[@Turdtowns]

It certainly is my friend

[@Bob-ts2tu]

somehow i can understand what you mean lol, but i'm not sure if i'd really want to live there myself.

[@PeanutButter111]

Bring some hot chocolate in a flask and I will show you around 🤣

[@jonathanpork-sausage617]

@Andrew Minns Who needs a car? Straight out of the front door onto the hill! Boom!

[@PeanutButter111]

@John Rothwell because I was brought up there, my sister is still living up there, as are my nieces and nephews. I have such lovely memories of this place and it's not what people think. Yes it's totally run down. There has been a lot of crime. But it's like that all over the Rhondda it's just penrhys looks more messy and run down. It's also a close community. In the rest of the Rhondda valleys crime is distributed more widely. It's the same as most places it's just amplified because it stands out on a hill alone. Majority of the people are really nice up there. Even if some people have addictions like the rest of the Rhondda. It doesn't make it any different. If there were more resources and development programs so the community could get involved in I think it would help. A youth club for a start a doctors, but the council are not going to do that for 200 odd people unfortunately.

[@anokata-kd8oc]

If this wouldn't be this far away from everything and the condition of the houses weren't this bad, I actually could imagine living there. "Away from all people" - What a wonderful phrase, isn't it? :X

[@sandrafinbar]

Yes, but people need shops, services and facilities etc such as transport to other places because most won't have a car and the bus fare is an extra expense to get out for the day.

[@tinderboxcreations]

You wouldn't be away from all people though. You'd be stuck with those you would most likely want to be far away from.

[@anokata-kd8oc]

@@sandrafinbar This is right. But I'm young and I'm up for a hour-long walk every two days, so I would be fine with it

[@anokata-kd8oc]

@@tinderboxcreations Oh, the "asocial" ones are sometimes the most social ones when you're living next door with them. You're right anyway, but it is a beautiful imagination.

[@TwinTowerTwo]

If this place wasn't so isolated and hilly and if the houses were in better condition I think it could work, I quite like the angular design of the houses and their positioning is spacious; this has potential and more appealing than a tight terraced street with nowhere to walk or park.

[@jonb3311]

You're taking the piss.

[@reddwarfer999]

The only reason the positioning appears 'spacious' is so many houses have been knocked down!

[@thetruthwillout3347]

Someone should build a cable car to take you to and from the valley below. That would be fun and useful.

[@juliebone4929]

​@@thetruthwillout3347 before it's vandalised.

[@timothypowell6298]

I would say use them repair and upgrade. As it is they is a lack of housing in many areas throughout the UK for local people's here is a chance to get a good number up and running in that area alone .

[@crystalcars5210]

I’ve delivered parcels here a number of times and I can 100% agree with this video. I hated going here and always wondered “who the fuck built this shit hole up here”.

[@swanvictor887]

the answer is Assholes who knew they would never need to live in the dump! Architects and Planners in the 60s remind me of War Criminals sometimes!

[@thestallionspeaks640]

I also delivered parcels here once, at first I felt like it was a dangerous council estate, but after speaking to residents, everyone was nice to me and I felt like the arsehole, so I relaxed. Even delivered to the smaller of the two large abandoned buildings at the top. Nice to know people are inside it.

[@moreton61]

@thailanderhe has a point, it is a dump though mate. Makes Baghdad look beautiful lol

[@quantro65]

I do delivery too & if I had to deliver round there I'd turn back & fail all of them . Looks like 10 minutes a drop No thanks 😅😅

[@crystalcars5210]

@@quantro65 if you think that’s bad, you should try the Hayes apartments in Cardiff. FUCK THAT!

[@markstill515]

It was the right thing to do at the time, but they needed infrastructure. There’s similar estates built in Slovakia in the 1960s but they had railway tram services stopping at the villages and mainline connections. They should have got Soviet’s in the 1960s to do the planning

[@swanvictor887]

looked like they did, frankly!

[@Bob-ts2tu]

It's like many places that were thrown up in the 60's like system built tower blocks, a product of there thinking and time to produce affordable housing for increasing post-war populations, and although we see them as abject failures now, it's part of our history, and as you say happened the world over

[@swanvictor887]

@@Bob-ts2tu indeed and through that period, there was very much a feeling of optimism and looking forward to the future with excitement, as Europe rebuilt itself after the war. Architects and planners perhaps, it could be said, got a little too excited and swept along with new ideas and fashions/fads. Not a lot of thought was put into long-term maintenance of these projects, if you see what I mean, everyone was caught up in the excitement of the 'new'.

[@Bob-ts2tu]

@@swanvictor887 hahaha yes, we used to see some of the new buildings a 'futuristic' and how the future will be. An analogy is that we all wanted digital watches when they were new and analogue was seen as 'old fashioned', but later realised digital had no 'soul' and now you wouldnt dream of wearing a digital dress watch, but that's not to say digital doesnt have a place. GL

[@colin25250]

Ideal place to site illegal immigrants instead of army barracks and small village communities

[@DrQuadrivium]

This place has many things in common with Skelmersdale in Lancashire. Town planning _(together with charted accountancy)_ should be considered an imprisonable crime.

[@JB-yn4cs]

I used to do a lot of work for the council in Skem. A very grim place. I was busy doing a rewire for a sweet old lady only to have her crack head son trying to start a fight with me because he thought I looked at him (all I did was hold the door open for him..).

[@ljchampion7952]

What’s wrong with chartered accountancy?? (Genuine question)

[@04smallmj]

What's wrong with (good) town planning?

[@DrQuadrivium]

@@04smallmj ... 'Good' towns evolve according to the needs of the communities who live in them. Most 'planned towns end up as disasters because it's impossible to predict, or plan, for the future.

[@DrQuadrivium]

@@ljchampion7952 ... Like Estate Agents they charge exorbitant fees for very little actual work.

[@705johnnyboy]

back in the 90s i remember installing alarms up there jesus it was bleak and some young kids nearly stole my ladders ....

[@jamesbeeching6138]

To add to the original residents misery the houses were very badly built and suffered from leaks and damp...Apparently the original architect based the house design on an Italian mountain village!!

[@DessieTots]

Must have been the same Italian mountain village that Erskine in Scotland was based on.

[@gamingaccount9890]

They filmed a zombie movie in that area with the slanted houses. Nazi Zombies.. They had a zombie war in that neighborhood.

[@richard8016]

It was based on the Basilicata region in Southern Italy where the houses have similar single roof lines and are also built higgedly piggedly. But the hill tops there tend to be a bit warmer.

[@swanvictor887]

@@gamingaccount9890 was it a movie or a documentary...?!

[@swanvictor887]

an Italian village bombed by the Allies during WW2...?!

[@leonbishop5183]

In the 1960’s when this “good idea” was built the government and their councils actually spent money on the people with a no expense spared approach to the point that they actually built entire new towns, hospitals, schools, leisure centres,shops,churches and all the things laughed at in this video all around the country and places like this were a lovely place for the working man to live. What destroyed this place was it being sold off years ago and put to private hands where profit and cost cutting are the main concern, all around (and I live in England and I’m successful ) I’m seeing everywhere the relics of these “council days” being hurriedly demolished and replaced with private pay through the nose modern equivalents and everybody’s oblivious to what we had in the past. This place was actually so lovely back in the 70’s, from Cardiff we visited my mums cousin there many times and it was lovely, we were a little envious of how nice it was but like anything that’s not invested in soon goes down hill, what could be nicer than a modern small estate at the top of a mountain? Great views and a small community all living decent working class lives, it was a “good idea”. Coal was replaced in the valleys sure but today like everywhere leisure, food and hospitality are the main employment around the country,other parts of Wales and the uk also have lost their industry but employment is abundant in those modern things. Made me very sad seeing this as I remember it lovely just the powers that be mishandled things from the top replacing investing large scale in the people to now just leaving the likes of housing associations, private short term renting, private care homes, rent paid for your room and a bus pass, and crime should be neutralised by the police? More busses subsidised by the council if they cared and spent the money could’ve got those people down that hill to those jobs and the grey houses could’ve been painted, the welsh do need to stop fly tipping as many a picturesque natural place is littered I’ve seen worse than anywhere. They closed the old people homes, mental hospitals,privatised everything, almost totally stopped spending on the nation, even took the milk off the schoolchildren, its the health service next?! Everybody’s forgotten what the people used to be entitled to and what was the norm....Thats what really happened to Penrys 😐👍

[@Turdtowns]

True doesn’t feel like anything is attempted on a large scale anymore.

[@calvinmondrago7397]

That's true. What people don't get about Thatcher's aspirationalism (I'm by no means a Labour supporter btw) is that, rather than being a way to enrich working class people, it was a way for the government to divest itself of its responsibilities to working class people.

[@narannavan]

Coal was NEVER replaced in the Valleys. You're wrong to state that or even think that. Otherwise, all correct, but you're missing a name and a place. It's Margaret Thatcher and Westminster.

[@Walesktf]

That's the tories for you!

[@pauldavies5655]

and YOU and people like you are the reason i cannot do business in that part of wales ----- you think your ENTITLED ( your words ) . i could make that place superb within 2 years but people like you will ALWAYS blame the people who make money !

[@bigglestornado3882]

Good description. One of those large buildings had a boiler that was powered by coal from the mines nearby.

[@mattjones8723]

i grew up here, best place ever to growup!! it as gone bad now but there was everything you could want! he didn't say about the old centre, best place to hang about and the old fishshop! plus we would get a chinese van that would park behide the centre, and the cafe in the church! everything we ever wanted! so do some more research!!!

[@_stoatchaser]

There was a similar looking estate just outside Oldham called Sholver. It was built to re house people from old slum terraced houses that were way past their best. Within a month of people moving in all the doors had been burnt and the baths were full of coal !! My Dad worked there as an electrician for the local council as an apprentice. Some of the tales he told of that place were unreal

[@lablackzed]

😆😆😆I went to counthill grammar school loved the place .👍🍻

[@halfbakedproductions7887]

I saw a documentary shot in another town where a site was cleared and new housing was built in 1975. It was all demolished in 1984 because the whole area had turned into Mad Max and the junkies and toerags had basically just trashed it all beyond repair. 9 years. And I thought those tower blocks were bad coming down after less than 40.

[@leopold7562]

Funny you should mention that. Watching this reminded me of Sholver as well. Or, more specifically, Upper Sholver. The lower bit was a big standard council estate, but the upper bit was a complete hovel within a couple of years of being built. They even decided, in their infinite wisdom, to build a ring of shops in a well, so the whole place was completely obscured from view, allowing the bored youths to rob, smash and torch the shops without fear of reprisal, as they’d just brick any police cars that went in there and became trapped. Even the shiny new bus terminus didn’t last long. It was originally a standing point for buses to wait for the return journey back to Oldham, but GM Buses very quickly retimed them so that they stayed for just long enough to let passengers on and off, as a bus stood there any length of time was never leaving in one piece. Last time I was out that way, it looked like the whole place had been pulled down. And just as well, I suspect nobody liked living there

[@Racernumbersix]

Wow just wow! Your views should remain unverbalised

[@AallthewaytoZ2]

@Andrew Minns You need to distinguish between the ordinary wc and the lumpen proletariat. But the lumpen proletariat seem to be growing!

[@chrismattravers5434]

I grew up in the Rhondda and Penrhys had a poor reputation. So many folk were plonked there and if you haven't got a car - you really could feel stranded - it is an eye sore. I know many who live there now have done much to try to improve it and it's reputation has improved. He is right though about 60s planners, architecture - dreadful!

[@PeanutButter111]

Yeah grew up here too. Got some fond memories actually :)

[@FlashyVic]

And I bet all those architects and town planners lived in lovely Georgian or Tudor houses. God forbid they might have to spend even a single night in the hovels they are responsible for.

[@cajsheen2594]

This area looks to me as though it has potential. The planting of trees and large shrubs could have helped if sited with care, a coat of paint and a good clear up. A site could have been designated to leave rubbish to be collected. Lastly, some estate staff to be on call for residents when needed. Where there's a will there's a way! XXX

[@nxxynx5039]

Does nothing to fix the fact that even the poor of society have little desire to live in horrible concrete boxes prone to condensation, mould, cold and genuinely depressing atmosphere. Something councils and Labour struggle to understand - brutalism and USSR inspired design is not what the working class families want, we want traditional homes - to live in dignity in the homes we grew up in.

[@AJ-qn6gd]

@jonahwhale9047Sad but true, Margaret Thatcher (love her or hate her) summed it up when she said, give a man a garden and he’ll turn it into a desert, sell a man a desert and he’ll turn it into a garden !

[@dieseldragon6756]

Ah, remember that we're now in the 2020s... ...I think the modern version of that cliché is: _„Where there's a Will, there's a Solicitor trying to get 30%...“_ 📜💸😉

[@cajsheen2594]

@@nxxynx5039 I grew up in a place very similar to this one, thankyou. Sometimes mould is caused by things that can be remedied with a little thought. Airing regularly being the first, I believe, XXX

[@cajsheen2594]

@@dieseldragon6756 Only 30! XXX

[@AstronomyWales]

Looking forward to this. Penrhys is right up the hill from where I live. Can't wait to hear your perspective on it.

[@paulsengupta971]

Ystrad or Tylorstown?

[@dieseldragon6756]

Out of curiosity (Assuming you're living close to the bottom of the hill) how far uphill is Penrhys? ⛰↖😇 From the video it looks to be a little ways (Perhaps 300-500ft) but it's hard to scale what I'm seeing accurately. (And living in a part of the UK that's as flat as the Netherlands doesn't help that much! 🙃)

[@JudeTheYoutubePoopersubscribe]

​@@dieseldragon6756no idea but the hill is massive, I've rode up it even on an electric bike it was extremely difficult.

[@kurman4749]

If it's Tylorstown then that's great. I used to live there once, on Parry Street. I moved away in 1994 for work and got married a second time. I love Tylorstown.

[@jimandmarypowell9783]

To add to this, a murder was committed here some years ago. The residents were either too scared or too tight knit to co-operate with the police investigation. The murdered person, apparently, had broken too many of the cultural norms that abound. Read "Cider With Rosie" , noting a similar incident in rural Gloucestershire.

[@paulsengupta971]

"The Greater Good" - if you've ever seen Hot Fuzz.

[@thecardboardsword]

I smell shite

[@terencebarrett2897]

Honestly I can't believe it,, surely there's bleeding millions of people, who would jump at the chance to be away from uncivilized xxxx" give this town ,village ""to people who want to live in peace

[@jonb3311]

Off you go then. Put your furniture where your mouth is.

[@FireInTheSoul]

@terencebarrett This is true. I've lived here since the 80s and its so peaceful. We're a step away from society and surrounded by nature.

[@JB-yn4cs]

Yup - I spend most weekends going to somewhere peaceful & rural for bike rides & walks. The houses might not have been all that, but saying there's nothing for kids to do - there's plenty of exploring, walking, fresh air.

[@FireInTheSoul]

@Andrew Minns I can't speak for others but my house is lovely, my garden is beautiful and I've been planting on the hillside next to my house, trees and suchlike. I do agree that that council should be up here and painting some of the houses. There is only so much residents can do as there is no painting these houses without scaffolding. They are rather large.

[@FireInTheSoul]

@@JB-yn4cs that's true, these is loads for kids to do here, plenty of nature walks and there's a swimming centre on both sides of the mountain.

[@mathewjenkins5829]

Born and raised on Penrhys ...Loved the place!

[@larryjimbob]

The Full Log delivered. Glad you went back for an extra squeeze 😁

[@braggminiaturesAnthonyBragg]

I WAS BORN THERE IN 72 AND LIVED THERE FOR TEN YEARS.HAPPY DAYS INDEED .THAT WAS JUST BEFORE THE PLACE STARTED TO CRUMBLE ...SPENT LOTS OF TIME BEING A KID IN THE FOREST ON TOP.G..REAT DAYS....YES THERE WAS THE INFAMOUS OLD BOILER HOUSE ON THE TOP ROAD THAT WAS ALWAYS BREAKING DOWN AND HAD LOTS OF POWER CUTS DUE TO THE EXPOSURE TO WIND AND RAIN UP THERE.

[@budycelyn]

the blue bombshell up the top, in the late 80's was a training centre, i took a course there in computer science for a year, hated the place.

[@new_memeplex]

Your videos provide more insight into the uk’s social, economic and cultural dysfunctions than a thousand academic papers or a legion of patronising speeches about ‘levelling up’.

[@jonathanpork-sausage617]

No they don't. They are just half-funny often ill-informed rants.

[@OmmerSyssel]

​@@jonathanpork-sausage617seems like Thatcher started the process?

[@DukeofBlasphemy]

@@jonathanpork-sausage617 Care to explain to us what's so ill informed about them?

[@jonathanpork-sausage617]

They don't look at the whole picture.@@DukeofBlasphemy

[@iaina3251]

Those houses are soooo Scottish looking. I used to live in a town in Scotland full of those kind of houses

[@markcf83]

Plenty of housing like that in Merthyr......

[@vintagevic4593]

Eg Cumbernauld

[@MDM1992]

They're all over the uk. Just the posh and privileged don't venture out into the "rough" areas to see them.

[@nicolad8822]

I always think the grey render which goes streaky when it rains is just about the worst type of housing you could build in Scotland. We had a brand new council house in Glenrothes in the mid 60s, looking at it on Streetview,glad we moved on within a few years.

[@rad44rr]

They should hold an art event here where people get to paint houses, murals, get involved with DIY community stuff such as gardens/allotments, play area/nature areas, skatepark for those inclined, a youth club etc. Community builds places up !

[@laurahall3094]

But they don't want Strangers there...

[@davidlittle5816]

As the sign used too say "Welcome to sunny penrhys-Watch your wheels". The road round is a great proving ground for any car mods you might make, it's like Wales own Nurburgring but a bit shitter!

[@271chrissy]

So many poorly designed houses in the UK. How any of these plans got approved by councils is just shocking...Cold damp houses...How an architect can walk away with pride knowing that this was his or her work.

[@raymondadams7570]

the architects don't live there

[@halfbakedproductions7887]

It was the 1960s, that's why. Brutalist shitheaps plonked wherever they would fit. And basically no concepts of listed buildings or conservation meant that beautiful and perfectly serviceable older buildings were just levelled for concrete crap, which itself was levelled less than 40 years later.

[@vorebiz]

Damp in UK houses should be a national scandal. I don't know a single person who has purchased a house or rented who hasn't had some sort of problem with damp and mildew. That includes brand new builds.

[@OmmerSyssel]

​@@vorebiz❤what's the issue with you Brits? Seems like normal western development of tech and housing standards were and still are ignored? In DK these concrete structures were built everywhere, with no heating or construction issues... Insulation of hundred year old houses in private hands started mid 70'es.

[@OmmerSyssel]

No architect get away with ignoring building regulations.. It's the policy makers who fails developing suitable regulations. These concrete structures were built allover Scandinavia without mentioned indoor climate issues, only the imported workshy Middle Eastern clan and ghetto culture ruined such communities.

[@filmremaker4436]

what a location though a lovely forestry behind the site with such lovely walks access to both valleys a beautifull golf course and sunshine all day in the summer with no major roads running through here i would imagine all new houses to be built there in the future id love one

[@davekennedy6315]

What a shame. I actually like the odd looks of the houses, makes a difference from all the clones you get on most UK estates. Surely they could fix the place up?

[@tobyjackman3212]

Would struggle for employment though

[@davekennedy6315]

@@tobyjackman3212it should surely be a cheaper place for big businesses to set up. Its completely @#£%ed up the inequalities in the UK. This kinda thing shouldn't happen in modern times, they say we have a shortage of houses/flats yet happily let existing properties fall into ruin. Such a load of bollocks!

[@tobyjackman3212]

@@davekennedy6315 Good point

[@monk3yboy69]

Modernist architecture….something the UK just dies not understand .

[@davekennedy6315]

@@monk3yboy69 yeah I think it looks good, makes a change from all the clones.

[@amcluesent]

Would probably have been quite nice if all owner-occupied

[@iwobbly9374]

Biggest problem was that no one had any money. To go off the estate they had to catch the bus down and back up the hill. It’s a really steep continuous slope which is about a mile long, that takes no time at all in a car. Once you arrive at the roundabout you then have to traverse the rest of the site, which is on a steep hill, to get to your house. Not a good idea to walk in any inclement weather as the wind, rain and snow can really come down in this part of the world. The bus service was very infrequent so a two way journey would take half a day, few people could afford to run a car. The bus service would stop early evening. People were just isolated and abandoned here on minimal social security and unemployment benefit.

[@robertely686]

Pebble dash suddenly takes on a beautiful hue if the house is owned privately. The private house owners wouldn't need jobs in the area either, they could fund their houses from their own sense of self importance.

[@jonathanpork-sausage617]

I have lived in a housing assocation place for the last 7 years because the house prices in the area where I moved to were/are bonkers and am lucky to be over 55. The area is fine. Plenty of tenants take care of where they live. The idea that renters are an inferior species is a bit of a myth.

[@normanboyes4983]

@@jonathanpork-sausage617 Get a tad more realistic rather than idealistic. When someone is renting and the landlord does the bare minimum the property goes downhill fast. Witness what happened when people bought their own council houses in the 80s - suddenly the mortgage payer spent more money in a year on improving the house than the council did in the previous ten years, they also take more care of both the exterior of the property as well as the interior. If you look at the horror stories of mold in houses it is almost exclusively people renting and rarely mortgage payers (who funnily enough don’t dry their clothes indoors on rads).😊

[@jonathanpork-sausage617]

@@normanboyes4983 I don't see how more realistic you can get than being a housing association tenant for years. But you know better or are an ill-informed bigot. Whatever. I am happy where I am.

[@jondixon4937]

I delivered a bed here for work in the 90's. It was the last drop of an awful winter's day and just getting dark. I delivered across the UK including deprived areas of cities like London and Birmingham and I never felt unsafe until I went to Penrhys. It felt like one of those places you would just disappear if you looked at someone the wrong way and the other lad with me wouldn't get out of the truck so I had to do the delivery on my own. The amount of people out and about was unnerving considering the weather up there that day.

[@LeonJones-xn5kc]

Penrhys is f all like that

[@l1andn154]

Never would have expected markyd123 to be making content like this, but I’m all for it, good job man keep it up!

[@jasehargreaves]

Fascinating vid, I want to go and see this place

[@robertalford2257]

Believe me,.....no you don't.

[@Peteakwindsurf]

In 1989 We got taken here on a geography field trip to conduct interviews with locals - needless to say it didn't go well...

[@moonbeammoonbeam5739]

This is very sad to see. It feels very depressing.

[@ohnoitisnt]

try living here

[@davem9208]

Nice video as I actually know of Penrhys and have driven past it on many occasions. One interesting, if not a morbid fact about the area is, that in 1962, after a smallpox outbreak when the local hospital was used as a main site for treatment of it, rather than clean and fumigate the hospital, it was burnt down, being fed with a constant petrol supply to keep the fire going. Were you to come off the island, go down Penrhys Rd then turn first left, it would have been to your left before you got to the golf club. Its footprint can still be made out in the field there, if you know where to look.

[@kurman4749]

Yes, I lived just down the hill in Tylorstown at that particular time in 1962 during the smallpox outbreak, I was 13 at the time. When you drive or walk past that spot you find yourself at the golf club and take in some incredible views.

[@jonjohnson2844]

Seems like somewhere I might be able to afford to buy a house

[@Turdtowns]

They aren’t for sale 😂

[@benjamin-ri2do]

How can. Buy my aunties it's in the thumbnaill 😂

[@vincentbrooker3062]

I live in the south of England. The issue of problem families all being dumped in one estate happened here as well. The local council had taken it over and they thought it was a great idea. Before that it had been used to rehouse families for inner London as part of a plan to improve people living standards and it it was a good place to live. The place became a good place to get your drugs amongst other things such a place to dump your old cars. In the end the council had to pull the whole estate down and at the same time they erased its name from history! So much for council social engineering.

[@mac1975]

Rowner?

[@dieseldragon6756]

I'm also in the south and an estate near mine was similar - When I moved here, it was somewhere you never went unless you were pretty good at looking after yourself or were wearing Police-issue body armour! Since that time it looks like they've mixed housing allocations up a bit to try to „Even things out“. The estate I mention is now a lot more moderate after many of the problem households have seemingly been dispersed over a wider area (There's now a security detail and community Police office there, which also helps) and this seems to be better than the approach they took in the 80s. However, you still get „Hot pockets“ here and there. One block in my estate is known to have an array of issues which means the Police visit it a lot. Probably better than the other estate used to be, but still a bit of a „No-go“ area on occasion.

[@rolyswansea8439]

Back in the 80s, I was doing a recce for a gig at the Star in Pentre and decided to find out whether Penrhys was as bad as its reputation. Seeing malevolent expressions on the face of the kids, I rapidly changed my mind and put my foot down til I reached a paved area and the crunching noise of broken glass. I didn't want to get stuck up there with a flat, so slapped on some right lock and the van arse-ended on the rubble in a handbrake(-less) turn. As I GTFO, the kids were picking up bricks, so was glad to see them fast receding in the mirrors. The gig at the bottom of the hill was a little like the Country Bar in the Blues Brothers film.

[@AallthewaytoZ2]

Blimey!

[@christopherjones8209]

@rolyswansea8439 The star ain’t in Pentre.Its in Ystrad,Yeah at the bottom of Penrhys hill,What band was you in then.I saw half man half biscuit and cowboy killers play there but this was like 1990/91.In the 80s Penrhys was rough but if you knew everyone it’s a lovely place lol.

[@paulball1767]

Penrhys Estate was built and opened in 1966. I lived here from 66 to 72 and these houses were spacious and the comunity are very close. We had the comunity centre the pub and a spar in the 60s. We did have a lot of black pats due to heating coming then from the boiler house through coal.

[@davidharris4062]

I have heard that there has been a planning application for a new school, also the site is going to be sold to a developer, no doubt new houses will be sold which no locals can afford, the building with the blue roof was part of original boiler house, the boiler house has been demolished, also the pipe used to supply the houses used to freeze, so no heat 😂😂😂

[@Turdtowns]

Thanks for clearing that one up

[@davidharris4062]

@@Turdtowns no problems

[@OmmerSyssel]

Maybe it's about time for another Viking raid to straighten out some issues over there? No households are forced to deal with frozen pipes here around

[@fabioantoncini1451]

Always welcome to visit the Medway towns in Kent

[@MATTY110981]

My Grandparents lived in Rochester and got to know to Medway towns very well. Considering it has a historic centre, good transport links, employment opportunities and has the geographical advantage of being in the south east. The place should not be such a dive.

[@paulosullivan3472]

Yeah Gillingham and Chatham are two of the worst places in the UK for sure.

[@falls333]

Maybe you can make a Turdtown on Jaywick in Essex along with Clacton-on-Sea and other towns in Essex, Jaywick is the most deprived area in the UK and has an interesting back history to explore.

[@lucieni]

I made a comment about Jaywick too! I’m Kent but have visited Jaywick on a trip from Norfolk to Suffolk via Essex to Kent and discovered Jaywick…. I wish I hadn’t!!!

[@glencurtis6052]

This is a great shout and needs to be done

[@davidrobert2007]

In one area of Jaywick most of the roads are named after old time car companies, and the roads are laid out like a car radiator grille when viewed from above. I think it was originally built as a holiday resort, nowadays it's the last resort.

[@QwadLuzr]

Jaywick is the turdtown of all turdtowns.

[@alwayspooh1588]

Jaywick, what a dump. Most towns in Essex are fine - except for Pitsea, Basildon, Southend, Clacton, Canvey - oh crap, there are lots of crappy towns in my county! It is mainly just the coastal areas that are in poverty, like in Suffolk and Norfolk.

[@theharold6703]

Go there in the depths of winter. Looks like something from the ussr. It's fantastic.

[@Turdtowns]

I’m actually considering that would be cool to see

[@PeanutButter111]

​@@FireInTheSoul lol. You on a history rant again? 😂

[@FireInTheSoul]

@@PeanutButter111 always 😊😎❤🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@scoobyyt1548]

Sounds like a plan to me . I’ve driven along the m4 from my area near Bath all the way down through wales and only ever passed these places . I’ve gotta take the car and go and explore it properly on foot.

[@kurman4749]

USSR is capitalized.

[@pipoo1]

To my eyes the location looks stunning, so I’d say it’s more the people than the location that was at fault. Then again I was raised in Aberdeen which is a very hilly city, being built over the peaks and valley of 7 hills before becoming flat as a pancake along the coastal edge.

[@gregkennedy8545]

Did a lot of landscaping in areas like this, all over the Welsh valleys, i remember planting 30 odd mature trees in a park, as we put them in kids came behind us and ring barked them all. Bricks hurled at us as we built sports pitches and so on. Charming

[@AallthewaytoZ2]

1000-2000 newly planted trees were torched by kids on a hill overlooking Port Talbot. All the trees were planted by volunteers (mostly good kids).

[@ddraig1957]

Penrhys is an extreme case,but there are similar looking estates all over the UK.There is one in Barry,also on a hillside but not nearly as high.I think 60s architects meant well but some of the social housing they designed have been outlasted by the old terraced houses they were meant to replace.

[@R118GSiVVC]

Is that the one down past Lidl?

[@LeviBandito]

Billy banks that used to be in penarth was absolutely bizarre too. Got knocked down about 10 years ago

[@JimBow-d2y]

My old man worked in construction in Penrhys when it was being built. He said it was so high up that when driving up there in the winter you would drive through clouds.

[@lucieni]

If ever you cover Essex…. Jaywick… You’ll absolutely love it x

[@wastelander138]

Reminds me of the village of Hallglen in Falkirk. The brutalist, angled buildings are very similar to what was done there. It is also high up and has had a reputation for being a bit of a craphole. Then again, that could be said for a lot of Falkirk 😆

[@briankemp2290]

😂 yep it's a concrete jungle.

[@tarana9329]

Given a lot of people work from home now I can see this place making a come back. Scenery looks lovely.

[@AdamGoodman4U]

it really has got MASSIVE POTENTIAL.

[@kurman4749]

I can assure you that the views from Penrhys are absolutely stunning.

[@dazzanomas9418]

As youngster back in the 80's we was always warned to stay away from Penrhys, when i got my first car i took a drive up to see it and understood why we was all warned to stay away from the place. From this video you can not grasp how rough this place really was, even the police wouldn't go up their at night unless they where in a convoy of riot vans because they would always be attacked by local gangs of teenagers. The local feral kids would start a house fire in the hope a fire engine would turn up just so they had something to throw bricks at, back then it was how they entertained themselves.

[@tonyalways7174]

Architects and Town Planners- geniuses all.

[@AallthewaytoZ2]

Corruption has had a hand in all this throughout the country.

[@dotpeat1372]

Looking at a global scale this still a grande place to be, no belligerent government, completely off grid and quite some space; educate all with watching the 11 series of Walking the Dead, and you can create Heaven on Earth. Small note; I am Daryl! Great upload!

[@matthewbriggs9414]

You gotta do West of the Lake District! Beautiful countryside encrusted with bleak, deteriorating settlements. That stretch of coast is in stark contrast to the picturesque scenes that can be found just a few miles away. Really love these vids! These places need plubicity to remind everyone about the unacceptably substandard conditions that linger around the UK and how the nation still needs to figure out how to deal with boom towns and villages that fall into decay.

[@Turdtowns]

I really want to mate. How busy is it up there early June? I think I’ve missed my chance

[@matthewbriggs9414]

@@Turdtowns Can't say for sure. Based myself in Cockermouth for 7 months, back in early to mid 2021. Plenty going for that little town, which is why I was shocked by the depressive deterioration of the towns and villages when I eventually ventured out towards the coast. Whitehaven had a lot of potential for rejuvenation, but just wanted to escape the other places. No idea what the tourist season is like for that area, but the Lakes is heaving and accomodation prices do start getting crazy, even in Cockermouth.

[@jonathanpork-sausage617]

Yes. The interestingly named Workington would be a start.

[@michellebyrom6551]

​​@@jonathanpork-sausage617 I recall Workington from a few visits around 1990. A lovely setting with a basic old town layout that works elsewhere. Even then, it didn't have the hordes of tourists found a few miles east. Like this video and many other towns, there's no economic base supporting them. Right through history, major towns and cities developed due to trade routes and local features serving particular industries. Sometimes that was raw materials like coal, other times its flat land or strong flowing water for mills or just the damp atmosphere of Lancashire and Ulster that's good for textiles and paper production. Derwent Pencils in Keswick shifted focus when the wad ran out at the other end of the valley. Now they import from South America. They also go far beyond lead pencils. They became a producer of a wide range high quality art supplies. And a surprisingly interesting museum. That's the kind of thinking needed across GB now. What else can be done with what materials? There's a limit to online services, solid products are needed to provide sustainable jobs.

[@jonathanpork-sausage617]

@@michellebyrom6551 Interesting I didn't know the pencil people were still at it. Indeed long-term structural shifts account for a lot of what we see in Britain, but I do wonder sometimes how areas which were once decimated (I know the Derbyshire coalfieds a bit) have quite high property prices and higher levels of employment than they did in the 90s, yet you can't really see where the jobs or the money are coming from. Down here in the Westcountry it's different. A town I revisited after many decades is infested with the middle class. The stats show in the 60s agriculture and forestry main employers and now education! Did some training work for a theatre group who said there were "tons" of home schooled kids joining their projects. All parents seem from outside the area. Anyway that's enough sociology xx

[@trudilm3864]

The concept wasn't terrible, it was just the execution of it. The 60's were a time of concrete housebuilding. Most of that housing has now been removed right across our islands. We've demolished a number of huge estates as 'failed' but the issue still remains: people need homes. We now have more 'people' than we ever did before. All the land formerly designated for housing needs to be used for housing (along with appropriate infrastructure) and the land designated for farming needs to be used to produce food. That shouldn't be rocket science.

[@pootle5096]

Yet the Government have a clear agenda to reduce farming land - they're reducing subsidies and actually paying farmers huge amounts to let land go wild. It won't be too long before we follow Holland and Ireland with the MASSIVE reduction in cattle just to "reduce methane" because of this crackpot psychopathic green agenda bullshit of which the ONLY thing green about it is the money being made by those pushing it.

[@TheWolfXCIX]

The geography of Penrhys is terrible though, unless you have a car you're stranded and services are difficult to reach. No point trying to rebuild there, especially when there is not huge demand in that area

[@Pizzpott]

When I was a kid, 6 years old or so, living in Llwynipia, directly below Penrhys, we used to climb over the back wall and walk straight up the mountain to Penrhys, stopping at St. Mary's Well on the way, which was at that time wide open and accessible. There were no houses there and it was beautiful up there then but by the time I was 8 and we moved to Ynyswen, there were houses. I used to go up there as my dad worked up there as a carpenter. He used to call them 'Little Boxes' and sing a bit of the song by Pete Seger to me about them. Roll on 15 years and no one wanted to go to, and as vandalism was then a thing, after centuries of being open to anyone, St. Mary's well was enclosed in Railings, a gate used to be open to allow access then, I doubt it does now though.

[@Foxys1974]

Looks similar to housing in Cumbernauld

[@paulhcan]

The house designs look depressingly familiar - every way you described it sounds a lot like parts of Newton Aycliffe in Co Durham. The main difference being they decided not on Grey for the outside, but black brickwork....which looks surprsingly similar in terms of the emotional impact it has.

[@bh_92-k4t]

In some ways that’s even worse

[@MatthewEng2593]

I think it has potential for renewable energy. The roof design looks ideal for solar and the mountain is ideal for wind. It could be free energy with a little investment

[@mickymidnight1]

It must be suitable for wind as there are quite a few large commercial turbines quite near by....like 15 minute walk away

[@noctuary28]

I live a little further up the valley in Pentre but me and my boyfriend sometimes go to Mary's well for walks I've taken some mad liminal space pictures up at the town, you summed it up perfectly. Everyone says 'don't park up penyrys they'll nick your car doors' 😂😂

[@MrSekund]

wow . Thank you, Turdtowns ! Now this moves up to a top priority for the next weekend trip

[@dogcatdogable]

The pitched roofs look cool to me. I don't think the architecture is/was really the problem, the infrastructure is.

[@monk3yboy69]

Yup, nothing wrong with the architecture, it’s beautiful . These properties just require looking after, like any building.

[@AallthewaytoZ2]

The houses were poorly designed and poorly built. That is one of the reasons why there was a problem with black mould, damp, and freezing temperatures in winter. The orientation of the rooves also means they don't take advantage of the sun so are naturally cold, dark and damp which are not helpful on top of a windy exposed cold wet mountain. The layout of the houses was also not conducive to healthy social interaction. The pipe from the big furnace at the top of the mountain would also freeze meaning people were without heating for prolonged periods of time. The southern Italian mountain village the architects based their plans on, in addition to being in southern Italy and being in a warmer and drier area, looked pretty but was also itself poorly designed and not a good template for building a village on a cold, wet and exposed mountain in northern Europe. Why didn't they use a Swiss village or Scandanavian village instead?

[@lleweybyrne]

Very interesting story. Never heard of this place. The 4th most deprived town in Wales. God help the other 3 above them on the list!

[@LIVERPOOLandFARBEYONDNEWS]

An interesting town with mad looking estates is Skelmersdale which was built to house thousands of liverpools scousers who lived in slum housing. The estates look like some of the worst you will see in Europe

[@heleni9331]

Your video has made the national news, it was featured in an article in the Daily Express. Congratulations, and keep up the good work.

[@nickyjlyons]

My ex girlfriend grew up in the village at the bottom of the valley, Pontygwaith. She once took me on a little tour of Penrhys, it really is bizarre. I’ve never seen such a depressing place in my life. I just feel so bad for the people who live there. It’s fascinating though so if you’re ever nearby it’s a must see!

[@LeonJones-xn5kc]

Pontygwaith is the place to be 😊

[@Ian-bq7gp]

I wild camped in october on that hill above Rhondda. It was flooded and the vango tent ended up in a lake. Theres a shortage of housing for many and refugees would be good occupants like Afghans who are often strict muslims and want to work and they are not into using drugs generally. I would live there if it is safe and secure. You dont want kiddie fiddlers and thieves around. The church being there open is very positive and a great inspiration for Rhondda.

[@OmmerSyssel]

Are you for real? Entire western Europe are haunted during generations by your adored religious nutters! 😮😂😂 Skyrocketing inbreeding, crime and unemployment statistics proves your romantic nonsense completely out of touch with reality! 🙄💸💸💸

[@Sinaisid]

I remember going there in 1977 looking to buy my first car (I lived in Pontypridd) - and it looked new and fresh then - better than the run down estates of, e.g. Trebanog. However, its issue was obvious even to a 17 year old me!! It was remote from the Valley’s with no community at all, and was like a wind tunnel!! Oh and the car - complete scam!! I bought a nice Morris 1300 from a colleague of my dad!! Instead ( Well ok my dad paid for it!!).

[@torquemaddertorquemadder2080]

It doesn't matter if you're 'the-worst-person-in-Wales', and you're bored; there's no excuse for fly-tipping!

[@presterjohn71]

I had to do some debt collecting in that area during the 90s. A bloody terrifying place at night. What made it worse is that you could never find the house you were after. He's not joking about the random doors etc.

[@darthkek1953]

Debt collectors should never be made to feel safe.

[@davidaston1644]

I bet you got bullied at school didn't you? Who else would be a debt collector?

[@thestallionspeaks640]

A few months ago I had to deliver parcels in Penrhys, it's the only time I've not gone straight through the roundabout. There were plenty of kids out playing, and some residents gathered around a running car, but I remember the further up I went the more empty and abandoned the place felt, lots of clearly abandoned cars, plenty of available parking spaces, fly tipped rubbish. I had to deliver a parcel to the smaller of the two large boarded up abandoned industrial buildings at the top, I was confused on if it was the right building, but I knocked the metal door and some lad answered the door. I'm not sure what's going on in the building, I can only hope it's been purchased for renovation.

[@mishav90]

I live next door to the building you delivered too, it is privately owned by one man who lives there and is slowly renovating the building.

[@courtingpsycho]

I used to live up there until 2004, it was a shit hole back then but christ it's got worse now

[@eatinsomtin9984]

For a degenerate homosexual you love using religious words like "Christ"

[@Sirthanksalotmind]

The large building at the top of the village is/was the boiler house for the communal heating system, I believe.

[@sandrafinbar]

The heating system must have been inefficient or expensive. Possibly the homes were not insulated well or not at all, especially for the hill top location. Not sure about the concrete construction and the grey is horrible.

[@Sirthanksalotmind]

The creator of this video has it spot on. People who lived on the estate had no control over their energy bills, meaning that anyone who actually worked was at a disadvantage, financially. I live in Pontypridd and have been up to Penrhys a few times. It is truly a s**thole of a place. Should have been torn down in its entirety, decades ago.

[@richard8016]

The population of the Rhondda was already falling when this place was built, Families including my grandfather's had their homes compulsory purchased to force them up the mountain. It was the first of many such villages planned by the old Rhondda borough council as a grand master plan for how people should live. Not surprisingly there was such opposition including d##h threats that these plans were quickly forgotten. Unbelievable the houses were supposedly modeled on a village in Basilicata, Southern Italy, Ironically thats where my grand mother came from! There's a bit of a difference between a southern Italian hill top village and a wet windy Welsh mountain top. The big blue building was the boiler house for the heating system you mentioned. The ducting for the pipes were a super highway for cockroaches.

[@Turdtowns]

Yea I heard homes were compulsory purchased. Can’t stand that if you buy a place it shouldn’t happen. Unless they pay you massively over the odds.

[@richard8016]

@@Turdtowns He didnt live long after the move. My Aunties swore it was from a broken heart. He'd voted labour all his life too.

[@lucieni]

You’re doing great! Nearly 23k xx

[@Turdtowns]

Thanks my friend

[@lucieni]

@@Turdtowns Keep on keeping on mate x

[@gazb2740]

@@Turdtowns Are you Markyd123?

[@chloerees5023]

I have lived in this place you call a ghost town all my life and I absolutely love it there may not be many things to do but it’s a community that stands together when times are hard, whoever have given this information is lies nobody burns peoples homes down maybe back when it was first built that’s what happened but it no longer like that people shouldn’t throw bricks at glass houses the people who live in Penrhys maybe forgot but when something is wrong we stick together. This video is just slandering the estate as a bad place to live it’s not it’s a good place to live, the people who live here like the estate and nobody should comment on that unless your willing to comment on other places because no matter where you go there will always be good and bad things about a place

[@NathanSvensson]

Did you watch the whole video?

[@andyt3121]

Place is a dump

[@stephenlawrenson2380]

Very similar design houses to Beth Avenue in St Helens. I lived there in the early 70’s. Now gone, it had a lifespan of about 35 years before being flattened

[@suzannehaigh4281]

Plenty of empty houses, how about this place for out boat people? These homes need filling.

[@laurahall3094]

If ghost towns are "incredibly rare " in the UK, and there are over 3,000, how many are required to be able say there are a fair few?

[@pjdee5879]

If it was cleared they could sell serviced sites for self-builders. The roads, sewage, electric, etc are already in place. Great views for people who can afford to build.

[@monk3yboy69]

Thinking the same thing

[@AdamGoodman4U]

@@monk3yboy69 it has got MASSIVE potential of becoming some sort of an Eco Town.

[@mericet39]

Wales - beautiful countryside, terrible depressing towns. Sums it up.

[@robertquinn8210]

"From Bauhaus to Our House," is a great book not about Penrhys, but about why crap like Penrhys exists.

[@cleetusboon]

I spent a part of my childhood in Penrhys in the early 90s when my Auntie and Uncle lived there. It had more life back then and I actually have some fond memories of big family barbeques. Strangely the most vivid memory I have of the place was watching the Formula 1 in 1994 when Ayrton Senna lost his life.

[@cmilter6360]

The Mount Estate in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire looks just like this

[@lat1419]

Same reputation and same problems. I know someone who lived there while parts were still being built who has fond memories of having lots of kids and open spaces to play. Like Penrhyn, it is now classed as "post industrial sink estate". No jobs, no infrastructure and no future. There are plans to turn the area into a Freeport zone.

[@timbounds7190]

Think....it must be 10 times worse in the winter when there will be more frequent snow due to the elevation, and all those steep slopes will turn into ice rinks when the temperature drops below 0C. Effectively you'll be trapped until the thaw comes!

[@sputumtube]

I'd imagine there are a good many homeless people who'd welcome the chance to live here (and perhaps make it better).

[@celtspeaksgoth7251]

They're homeless because they trash sheltered accommodation and want to hang out with their mates at all hours.

[@jonathanpork-sausage617]

Semi retired outdoor types like me would be there in a shot.

[@monk3yboy69]

I would happily move there . It looks incredible.

[@gregaroivanalininovich9019]

I doubt it. Not many places to beg, not much to steal and a long drive for drug dealers.

[@tinachristine4573]

I drove past your place and I sped up. Thank you for the background story.

[@bobobobobobob2810]

I went to a rave up here in the early 90s, it was an afterparty type of rave, at someone's house, two houses had been knocked into one, and sprayed on the wall outside above the door, it had "Get your drugs here" - I think the chaps name was Tubby Crew, or something like that. Was a good night, huge PA speakers in a residential house, I think i'm still feeling the effects of that hearing loss today.

[@bluemeannie]

The architecture and buildings are very similar to the Menzieshill housing estate in Dundee, Scotland

[@Shagyamum]

Need to do a vid on Bradford. Constantly gets voted UK's worst city and was recently named most dangerous city in Europe. Lived there my whole life and can't wait to move.

[@nervousheadache]

I’m going to assume it isn’t as bad as it’s made out.

[@turquoisecat761]

In 1993-95 I used to go to the Hillside club in Tonyrefail, afterwards about 2 am loads used to go to a flat / house in Penrhys to continue the party, they were interesting times, even then there were boarded up windows, burnt out cars etc. IIRC the guy who lived in the flat was called "Crewey" or something like that.

[@pebblepod30]

Big problems: (1) They assumed cheap energy prices forever (2) They did the exact opposite of successful public housing for working people that pays itself off (e.g. Vienna, Finland, Singapore). With energy price differences, they incentivized working people to leave and people with problems to come.

[@OmmerSyssel]

Doesn't make sense, mid 70'es energy prices exploded allover Europe. Over here only one certain imported culture creates equal ghettos, never mind the heating costs, or whatever provided for free by public money 🤷🏼💸💸💸

[@pebblepod30]

@@OmmerSyssel yes it does, those energy cost rises in the 70s was exactly what i was referring too. Vienna Singapore & other places have shown an already as a proven solution what successful Public housing for working families looks like, and it costs nothing (actually makes the local council more money). Instead, local councils in low rise US places are usually broke. Did you know that Low density housing and no decent transport choices are EXTREMELY expensive for the taxpayer or ratepayer?

[@pebblepod30]

@@OmmerSyssel That last sentence i said: did you know that? Not Just Bikes & Strong Towns are urban planning channels that explain why that is so ( why American urban planning is so much more expensive for Govt to fund).

[@AallthewaytoZ2]

Corruption and gross incompetence played a part in how bad so many of these estates. Also, this estate and a few others, also located on the top of mountains, were never intended for normal families, as another poster noted, they were effectively isolation units for the maladjusted.

[@Respected_Gentleman]

Looks like a fantastic place to cycle and ramble in summer and an absolute nightmare to live in in winter.