In article ,
"Sir Benjamin Nunn" wrote:
"David Boothroyd" wrote in message
...
From where do you get the idea that one should only be permitted to live
in central London if one needs to be there for ones' job? My constituents
in Westminster, many of whom struggle to find well-paid jobs, would be
appalled.

The point is that a lot of people with jobs in Central London cannot afford
to live there and thus the transport infrastructure is pushed to unnecessary
extremities.

What a surprise that not all of the 1,000,000 people who work in the City
of London and Westminster can live there. Even if we had developed at
the typical densities of European capitals (instead of our unusually
low densities), there is no way all of them could possibly live within
easy reach of their workplaces.

I've struggle to find well-paid jobs, and I'm appalled at the number of
people who have to pay lots of money to live in not-particularly-nice areas
that aren't close to their workplaces, and suffer miserable commutes every
day.

For nine years I've paid over the odds to live in central London, but
that's my choice. I could have a much larger home in the suburbs but I
prefer to live here.

But I don't begrudge home to those in social housing in Westminster. The
fact is that there has always been a working-class population in central
London. The area between Victoria Street, Pimlico and the river was
historically a very poor one containing slums, and Peabody blocks have
replaced slum housing by Aldwych and in Soho. Even in Mayfair there are
social housing blocks (around Balderton Street).

Radical idea, I know, but if people who wanted to do so were actually able
to live close to their workplaces, there would be savings in transport costs
(both to the customer and the state), reduced pollution, reduced disparity
in deprivation, and increased leisure time.

Do you think people are prepared to put up with housing densities which
will go considerably over 1,000 habitable rooms per hectare in the city
centre? Or are you the new Pol Pot, determined to abolish cities and
move everyone back to the land?

--
http://www.election.demon.co.uk
"The guilty party was the Liberal Democrats and they were hardened offenders,
and coded racism was again in evidence in leaflets distributed in September
1993." - Nigel Copsey, "Contemporary British Fascism", page 62.