Hope you enjoyed this look inside a couple of the most deprived areas in Walsall; Pleck and Darlaston. As always, all comments, questions, and feedback are welcome!
0:27 I used to manage Pleck youth centre back in 2007/8 - it was tough / challenging work. But we did everything we could to make it recognised as one of the best youth clubs in Walsall at the time. Shout out to all the young people who passed through and all the staff that supported.
@@hassan_2478 I used to do detached in darlo. There was a reputation about the place but we had amazing young people and the support of the community.
I think one of the things that truly highlight the future of these regions is the fact that, despite all the derelict houses, empty stores, poverty, crime and lack of services... The cost of living, rent, property, store leases, bills and taxes are equal or even higher than when things weren't in this state. Purely for morbid curiosity, It'd be interesting to see what happens when the cost of living exceeds the average income or when nobody can afford rent or mortgages or when every type of company becomes too financially high risk for a bank to provide a loan for..
That time is coming. When nobody can afford mortgages. The entire economy is reliant on an unrealistically inflated housing Market & when that collapses, it will be economic meltdown. For too long the UK has been reliant on the housing market and dodgy service industries, which are just rob Peter to pay Paul, taking the Country nowhere, but on a downward spiral.
My late mother grew up around Pleck during WW2. I grew up around the Walsall area but moved to the north of Scotland 20 years ago when the kids were little. Best thing I ever did to be honest
Darlaston town center used to be a lot better before they knocked a large chunk of it down to replace the old Asda store with new current one. Also not meaning to be pedantic but Darlaston is pronounced Dar-Las-Ton. Oh, and Caldmore is called Karma by the locals.
Yeah I remember the toy store Zodiac in Darlo town center, it used to be much better, and not even that long ago in the grand scheme of things. What a shame.
Yeah, like I said, how does this become the norm that people live in and just accept it because it's never changing. That's a tough one for me to come to terms with.
@@ukexploredabsolutely it’s always been a pet hate of mine. I went to school in Rugeley in Staffordshire old mining town in the 80s, it’s ok and at my school you were picked on if you dropped litter it seems like standard now just to fly tip or drop litter anytime anywhere and no it’s not Martini. Breaks my heart to be honest, sounds a bit OTT but it’s true like the River pollution issue. Anyway Bill Bryson writes about the fly tipping issue in this country real decent chap like Paul Whitehouse and Fergal Sharkey just trying to retain some of the beauty of our wonderful isle which is consistently treated with no respect …. Sign of the times sadly. I live in Surrey now and I’m a mountain biker and last year reported 5 major fly tips in the Surrey Hills as they know they can get away with it because the posh and not so posh folk of Surrey report it as we live in such a beautiful county albeit ridiculously expensive to buy a house in. The thing is we could be getting all these Albanian men who come across the channel who are now just dossing about in hotels up and down the country sorting this problem out by having a mass litter picking session helping different poorer UK town communities to try and have some pride in where they live and it would be a win win on both sides. Maybe that’s just too obvious. I walk near the River Mole and have a plastic bag in my rucksack and go picking up litter and also so do some of the companies that are based here.
This is honestly shocking, I grew up in north England, and the news always makes it seem like north England is the poorest and most destitute part of the UK. But I've started to realise over the past few years that that's not the case at all. It's mind blowing how house prices can be so high in the midlands when there's so much poverty.
I live here you should see the local hill billys like Jimmy unitt, Micheal Morris aka mozza, Mark Harrison aka hazlitt, these type of people make Iraq look like a expensive luxurious holiday resort.
I grew up in Pleck in the 70´s. It was OK and most people took pride in their home/area. Pleck park was lovely in those dreamy summer days. There has always been poverty in the UK but something has changed with peoples mindset. What drives people to trash the environment or dump litter? It must be a sign that people have no hope for the future economically or socially.
Would be interesting to see you cover parts of Coventry like Foleshill, Hillfields, Longford etc. I've spent the last decade living around Walsall and Coventry so seeing this outside perspective on what our communities are like is fascinating.
i was born in darlaston and grew up between there and pleck it was always "rough" in places but nothing like this! I think it was the thatcher years and the massive loss of industry that really started the rot now compounded by the rise of online shopping and the huge hikes in rents and commercial tax's that have killed the shopping areas. amongst some (other) changes now live in rural berkshire and it pains me to see how far darlo has fallen!!
Yes I agree these areas are horrendous. I have been to all the places in this video, as I used to live not far away. It is an absolute dump, and getting progressively worse.
Thanks, I appreciate that. I enjoy visiting Birmingham and the Black Country, so those areas are on the list of places to visit for sure. I’ll hit you up if I have any questions then!
I went around it while I was there. It was quiet and didn’t look that bad to be honest. Nowhere near as bad as the Swindon town centre video I did, for example.
@@ukexplored I live in Walsall. It is bad for gangs, littering, knife crime, there's been shootings, some homelessness, and most of our shops have been closed down. There's nothing in the town anymore, apart from anxiety and danger.
I used to live in Darlaston once upon a time. I was an immigrant who arrived there in the sixties. It breaks my heart to see how it's gone down hill😢😢. What will be the future for mankind? Is there any hope for life? Tell me if you know the answer!!!!!!
Should definitely check out the Foleshill area in Coventry, fly tipping is rly bad been going on for years, high deprivation. Really industrial area, lots of drugs n crack dens
@@ukexplored Ah I came to your playlist from the vid you did on Walsall and reached the most recent video, idk if you put it in the playlist or if its something TH-cam did. I did notice it was unlisted so I thought i'd leave a comment to hopefully puzzle you a little bit; it seems to have worked lol
You are depressing me, moved from Caldmore area to a new council house in Pleck 1952, just before the coronation, nice, safe. lot of industry, good jobs and at this point in time we had no migrants. In 1961 started my apprenticeship at Rubery Owen Darlaston, they employed around 6,000 people, well paid, on site doctor, dentist, optician, convalescent home, welfare department, full range of sports plus sports ground, and social side. It all started falling apart after we joined the EU, then Maggie stepped in, Darlaston employment fell from around 27,000 to around 3,000 in not much over 3-5 year period.. The problems we have today are due to actions taken by Governments, management and unions going back to the 60's, we look at yesterday, no 50 years back.
My one memory of Darlaston is the terrific chippy. Orange chips were the best, no idea if the shop is still there. The house prices in these areas are absurd!
@@deanjarvis8441 Looks Closed down now still got stuff inside but the Shop is never open I've walked past on a Saturday at 1 or 2 and it was closed it used to be rammed but then started to die
Thanks, appreciate the honest feedback. I’m always committed to improving in whatever I do, still have a long way to go to reach the ‘mini documentary’ style videos I see in minds eye, but getting there. I’m watching my back the best I can 😀
I agree. I definitely get a team for backup (and also help with covering the videoing etc). Do you ever interview the locals? That would be great to see / hear & give a more real insight into what they say about their areas.
You should do great yarmouth mate and other seaside towns and how they have been affected by the situation...the seaside towns were the first to start dying!
Very surprised you haven’t been to Teesside. It’s been the countries most dangerous and poverty stricken area in the country for years. From Southbank, Grangetown, Stockton, Hartlepool and beyond, the North East is one rough place.
The shops in darlaston town on a Saturday afternoon are definitely open and there will definitely be people out. There is a giant asda you didnt show that everyone goes to on a Saturday afternoon. Looks like youre showing us sunday morning
I think he worked hard trying to find the bad in the town. Yeah if your gonna allow J9 do what they do with housing crack heads and people just out of prison live in their ramshackle bed sits then yes the crime rate will rise drastically I know they have to live somewhere but it seems Darlo is a dumping ground for them sadly.
Yeah, I don't film people to avoid confrontation. There were 4 high end expensive cars outside one of the worst blocks of flats in Pleck, not sure what business they were running but they want it kept on the down low.
The UK is the test bed for Net Zero and Smart cities. Think ULEZ, 20mph zones, etc. They want to redefine what is a city, so these areas are being run down, because they don't tax Amazon (PULL FACTORS), make it difficult for physical shops to survive, high taxes for them and no deterrent for shoplifting (PUSH FACTORS). If your city is being run down but the next one is OK then you know what has been decided.
Walsall is a toilet. I worked there for 10 years and walking around the town Centre was very, very grim. I got out of the place as quick as I could every evening. To be honest, most of the UK looks like this.
@@ukexplored It's in a weird state at the moment, Scunthorpe was The Industrial Garden Town of the UK, the Scunthorpe and Port Talbot Steelworks are the last to have Blast Furnaces but a Chinese company has bought out the whole of the steelworks and is closing the blast furnaces and replacing them with electric arc furnaces same as whats happening to Port Talbot and it has been job cuts after job cuts mixed with inflation and the rising cost of living it doesn't mix well when the majority of the town works at the steelworks with over 2000 jobs threatened the whole town is so run down and barren it will only make things worse when the blast furnaces go too. Data released by End Child Poverty in 2019 shows 46.4 per cent of children are growing up in poverty in Scunthorpe I can only imagine how much worse it is now with the past couple years of inflation and cost of living crisis.
I think it actually says something like 'If you are cought flytipping...' it's spelled wrong, and I can't see the bottom of it - but it's saying not to flytip, and someone has dumped some stuff next to it!
As someone who lives in Darlaston have done for 10 years and had commuted through it as a kid with my dad for a few years or used it when I lived in Moxley, It is a town that is misunderstood. Yes it's poor so to is Walsall, and yes there is fly tipping but I will get to that. 20 years ago Darlaston pronounced Darl as tun or Darl us ton Black Country Accent Everyone just calls it Darlo used to be a busy town, Asda was smaller and that is what caused the town to be like it is now as Asda wanted a bigger shop, years before that Darlaston used to be a massive employer you had Rubery Owen in Darlaston Green you filmed part of it actually it is just a frontage near to the bridge over the Canal, Garringtons, GKN, James Bridge Copper Works, FH Lloyds a big Steel place and Patent Shaft more Wednesbury those two, you also had Servis the Washing Machine Maker and Jebron Door Factory both opposite each other in the Kings Hill area near to Wednesbury. They closed around the late 80's to late 90's Servis was much later and Jebron to, you also had Wardys in Moxley/Darlaston. The town was decimated and people fell on hard times. But the one thing about Darlaston is actually the people are all working class salt of the earth people all know each other once you make a friend in Darlo you know like 5 other people as that person knows like 3 other people who ask who you are and then they know others and eventually you know a lot that you recognise people but don't know them all directly. Basically if someone who was well known was being chased or attacked by someone you would get help as that person who sees you would get involved then the people they know and so on, meanwhile you have cleaned yourself up and am playing PlayStation in say your Mates house whilst his mum makes you a cuppa and his Dad sorts it downstairs. But another less voilent example is actually a pretty horrible one but at the end of September it was about half past three and the school run was taking place when two Girls aged 6 or 7 were hit by a Dangerous Driver and then ran over as the guy tried to run, the Parents of other kids stopped the guy. He wasn't charged but the outpouring you had Current Parents and Ex Parents as there isn't a crossing doing Crossing Patrols, getting Petetions, Getting Better Speed Limit signs as the Sinage is awful and printing Banners you may have seem them on your way to the Park in Darlaston, but not just the parents of that school, other parents and People came out to get the council to do sometime. The local councillors said they were aware but the problem lay with the higher ups. Darlo is that sort of place everyone knows everyone struggles because Darlo ay what it was when my dad remembers it 20 years ago so they do community events and sort stuff out we have the wombles to counteract rubbish. Darlo managed to find a lost Dog from Wednesbury all the people looked for it and it was found in Bilston but people were helping the owner who didn't know the area out and trying to call him and left food out for it. The problem amongst with Darlo is there anywhere for people to work or to properly go we have Pubs sure, George Rose Park but in the middle of Winter, employment opportunity in Darlo are slowly rising in small manufacturing but at 7AM the bus to Walsall gets rammed with people either working there or getting the bus to Birmingham for education or Work. That is why between Walsall and Darlaston the buses combine to run every 6 minutes and the West Brom to Wolverhampton Bus who I knew many regulars off when I caught it to and from college is every 10 and is busy of a morning and evening. So people have no where to go. The Council don't care about the Place it took them ages to demolish a fire damaged building by me and they don't clean up the parks or fix stuff. The police have been cut so they are now based the otherside of Walsall near to Blakenall in Bloxwhich when you have them two plus Beechdale and Pleck to deal with Darlo gets left behind. The biggest issue is when we settled after moving around the Black Country here 10 years ago the area wasn't as bad as it is now. When you were filming the shops by the Libary how many J9 accommodation places did you count probably 3 there used to be 5 in a row why because J9 buy up a lot of derelict houses or Pubs or Dentists or buildings and convert them to HMO's and fill them full of Crackheads and Alocholics, it also been filled full of immigrants who are causing the rubbish and flytipping although the Bins we do have aren't emptied often enough. Most people of Darlo have moaned about J9 before but fuck all has happened. The Police Station they were gonna take off but someone outbid and is going to build Luxury flats or put them in the building. But yeah a lot of the Pubs are HMO's or flats not for The average Darlo person no for People out of prison. Opposite my house although listed on google as Hotel petite I assume it was years ago is a Halfway house right by a Primary school. Darlo is set to get a new train station and has been given 20 Mil funding but that does fuck all to scratch the service. Also the Town was probably queit as everyone was in Asda or at one of the local football grounds either West Brom or Wolves or Villa or Walsall or maybe even Darlaston Town who play in Bentley or had gon to the Pub to watch it on sky or Walsall for shopping. Darlo used to busy on the last Saturday of the school holidays as a shop called Clemmys sold School uniforms and obviously everyone would queue outside to get it that's closed as the owners retired and is now a fast food place. Clemmys was next to the Vape Shop opposite the Libary and Boots was further down I think where Boyle Sports is now. I ay gonna tell you what is above them shops but it certainly isn't for the people of Darlo and there is a similar place that Green topped Building you filmed to again not for the people of Darlo. But Darlaston is misunderstood Pleck is worse the only reason Crime seems lower is because most of the people who live there are linked to it. The Brown Lion you showed closed years ago in the 90's it is now Flats.
I moved to Saudi from caldmore to teach, and looking back at Walsall it seems so dystopian, derelict and downtrodden. In the Middle East the the adults think of England as a prosperous place. When I showed them this video, they said if this was In saudi they would be ashamed. Every country has her issues. But some are in a rapid decline.
Wow, now that’s quite the cultural change you made, glad to hear it’s working out for you. Yeah, imagine if people were proud of where they lived, the UK would be a very different place.
It's a beautiful building, the Brown Lion. What it needs is picking up and taking elsewhere. It's clear that it's never going to be any more than a collection of rundown bedsits where it is now.
london isn't really that poor anymore yeah there's more crime because of the population which means more kids who think there gangsta ive been to london alot ive never see boreded up houses or trash everywhere and yeah people say so go south london i have it's not bad i remember going to peckham and brixton and they had some nice houses you wouldn't get that outside london
Darlaston has more chance it was given 20 mil funding and actually used to be bigger. Pleck has higher crime it is well known the only reason the Stats show it lower is Population is less but most the fuckers there are all linked to it. Pleck is literally a Shit hole even the Pidgeons look ill there
also u are much funnier than others that do similar youtube videos. an can i ask if u wer inspired by that american chap, only ask koz of tha way give all the relevant statistics for that area which he does 🙏🙏🙏🙏
I watch similar content, and some in America, although the UK doesn’t get anywhere as near as scary as the US! I don’t know who you’re talking about though, I haven’t seen another channel giving stats in the way I do.
In Scotland? I haven’t, no. I’ve been to Scotland a few times for holidays, but I’m yet to delve into the estates. Hopefully I’ll find time to go check out some of the more nutritious areas in the not so distant future.
Why does it feel that houses are the new gold bars since we left the gold standard? I mean houses are effectively locked away from poor people with high prices to prevent them from being used like gold bars would be.
I appreciate what you doing. Instead of spending 4 billion per year of tax payers money housing illegal migrants, that money could be used to reform the education systems, and subsidise business ventures in deprived areas like the ones shown in you videos. What do modern Brits have to be proud of? Our country is sliding into a shot hole, and our elite politicians only care about themselves. It's depressing...
Yeah, about right. The main problem is the council tbh. No inclination to support areas with any meaningful help. Asb is actually the worst aspect and is generally the behaviour of car drivers who terrorise the neighbourhoods and cause a lot of destruction to public property from wrecking grass verges to smashing down railings to speeding in residential areas. The canals are used as bins despite volunteer clean ups. However wildlife is doing ok in the canals, certainly improving over the last 25 years or so. I live in Palfrey next to Pleck, not quite as shite here but bad in places.
Attended my grandads funeral monday we had the wake at the railway pub, so after a free bar and a few hours later decided to walk home back to beechdale i ended up in one of them indian resturants in the main street only had a quick bite (tandori lamb chop) 3 days later im just startin to feel better. Never again am i steppin foot in any of the shops in that shit hole
Damn, that’s not the reminder you want for that day. I take it you saw the news clipping in the video about the food hygiene standards in Walsall, that terrified me more than the possibility of getting mugged.
@@ukexplored lol it certainly wasnt , i shouldve known better as i know the area and its reputation, but when youve had a free bar and half a dozen double whiskeys " common sense goes out the window" and funnily enough when i was recovering in bed from what was deffinatly food poisoning lol. I saw this vid couldnt have timed it better. Keep up the good work m8 and stay safe
Any areas which are predominantly Pakistani are full of fly tipping. I work in the sector so see it everyday. Have even witnessed them doing it in front of me.
The councils need to buck their ideas up and have the clean all the litter up and make it tidier. The abandoned buildings and nursing homes etc need to be dropped instead of making the place look like an eyesore
Darlaston used to be industry based lost in thr 80s, now the it is the outcome of that poverty and pleck is a dump area third worldim afraid ..........wont be changed anytime soon
Hope you enjoyed this look inside a couple of the most deprived areas in Walsall; Pleck and Darlaston. As always, all comments, questions, and feedback are welcome!
I take your not from the area because how you pernicious the names of the places you visit
6k suhs let's go let's hope u get2 10k
Come to greater manchester pls
Coventry
Pls do research on Coventry
England has really gone down hill big time . Poverty poor mental health and substance abuse issues.
Only difference from 30 years ago is that there are now more different substances to abuse
I've just been watching videos of derby in the 50,s and 60,s. Dam it was pretty and clean.
@@monkeyman4556 shocking isn't it
@@mooselord2838 agreed
Yup can’t walk down a high street these days without bumping into the nuttaz
0:27 I used to manage Pleck youth centre back in 2007/8 - it was tough / challenging work. But we did everything we could to make it recognised as one of the best youth clubs in Walsall at the time. Shout out to all the young people who passed through and all the staff that supported.
Brilliant job mate
Walsall Youth Service all the ex staff you did amazing job, Thank you its a shame the council and tory party ruined it
@@hassan_2478 I used to do detached in darlo. There was a reputation about the place but we had amazing young people and the support of the community.
I think one of the things that truly highlight the future of these regions is the fact that, despite all the derelict houses, empty stores, poverty, crime and lack of services...
The cost of living, rent, property, store leases, bills and taxes are equal or even higher than when things weren't in this state.
Purely for morbid curiosity, It'd be interesting to see what happens when the cost of living exceeds the average income
or when nobody can afford rent or mortgages
or when every type of company becomes too financially high risk for a bank to provide a loan for..
Don’t say that it would be anarchy.
UBI for everyone, you will own nothing and be happy
That time is coming. When nobody can afford mortgages. The entire economy is reliant on an unrealistically inflated housing Market & when that collapses, it will be economic meltdown. For too long the UK has been reliant on the housing market and dodgy service industries, which are just rob Peter to pay Paul, taking the Country nowhere, but on a downward spiral.
@@earlbee3196 Anarchy would be a welcome change.
My late mother grew up around Pleck during WW2. I grew up around the Walsall area but moved to the north of Scotland 20 years ago when the kids were little. Best thing I ever did to be honest
I appreciate the honesty
Darlaston town center used to be a lot better before they knocked a large chunk of it down to replace the old Asda store with new current one. Also not meaning to be pedantic but Darlaston is pronounced Dar-Las-Ton. Oh, and Caldmore is called Karma by the locals.
Yeah I remember the toy store Zodiac in Darlo town center, it used to be much better, and not even that long ago in the grand scheme of things. What a shame.
nice coverage and commentary makes me thankful I live elsewhere tbh. What kills me the most is all the litter. New sub by the way, like your style 😎
Yeah, like I said, how does this become the norm that people live in and just accept it because it's never changing. That's a tough one for me to come to terms with.
@@ukexploredabsolutely it’s always been a pet hate of mine. I went to school in Rugeley in Staffordshire old mining town in the 80s, it’s ok and at my school you were picked on if you dropped litter it seems like standard now just to fly tip or drop litter anytime anywhere and no it’s not Martini. Breaks my heart to be honest, sounds a bit OTT but it’s true like the River pollution issue. Anyway Bill Bryson writes about the fly tipping issue in this country real decent chap like Paul Whitehouse and Fergal Sharkey just trying to retain some of the beauty of our wonderful isle which is consistently treated with no respect …. Sign of the times sadly. I live in Surrey now and I’m a mountain biker and last year reported 5 major fly tips in the Surrey Hills as they know they can get away with it because the posh and not so posh folk of Surrey report it as we live in such a beautiful county albeit ridiculously expensive to buy a house in. The thing is we could be getting all these Albanian men who come across the channel who are now just dossing about in hotels up and down the country sorting this problem out by having a mass litter picking session helping different poorer UK town communities to try and have some pride in where they live and it would be a win win on both sides. Maybe that’s just too obvious. I walk near the River Mole and have a plastic bag in my rucksack and go picking up litter and also so do some of the companies that are based here.
@@ukexploredI know…horrible
You should visit Huddersfield. All the shops have turned into abandoned derelict blocks. Dewsbury is a 20 minutes drive too which is an awful town.
This is honestly shocking, I grew up in north England, and the news always makes it seem like north England is the poorest and most destitute part of the UK. But I've started to realise over the past few years that that's not the case at all. It's mind blowing how house prices can be so high in the midlands when there's so much poverty.
I’ve become totally addicted to your vids. I’d no idea such squalor existed. It’s so sad.
On a virtual poverty safari are you.
I live here you should see the local hill billys like Jimmy unitt, Micheal Morris aka mozza, Mark Harrison aka hazlitt, these type of people make Iraq look like a expensive luxurious holiday resort.
I grew up in Pleck in the 70´s. It was OK and most people took pride in their home/area. Pleck park was lovely in those dreamy summer days. There has always been poverty in the UK but something has changed with peoples mindset. What drives people to trash the environment or dump litter? It must be a sign that people have no hope for the future economically or socially.
I agree, but nevertheless, that does not mean you should destroy your own environment. Who do you hurt if you do that? You only hurt yourself.
Would be interesting to see you cover parts of Coventry like Foleshill, Hillfields, Longford etc. I've spent the last decade living around Walsall and Coventry so seeing this outside perspective on what our communities are like is fascinating.
Great content. Keep it coming.
Thanks! ☺️
"Pleck" literally sounds like someone coughing up flegm.
😁 I can't unhear it in that way now you've said that.
@@ukexplored haha! 😁
i was born in darlaston and grew up between there and pleck it was always "rough" in places but nothing like this! I think it was the thatcher years and the massive loss of industry that really started the rot now compounded by the rise of online shopping and the huge hikes in rents and commercial tax's that have killed the shopping areas. amongst some (other) changes now live in rural berkshire and it pains me to see how far darlo has fallen!!
Poverty clearly affects a person’s capability of using a bin
It doesn't, but it does affect how many times the council empties bins and clean streets
The thing is you can be poor and clean
@sbaby-kg8hn where would you put your trash if the council doesn't empty the bins often enough?
Asian Muslim say no more
@@kelly41ism well you double up the black bags and order another bin
Yes I agree these areas are horrendous. I have been to all the places in this video, as I used to live not far away. It is an absolute dump, and getting progressively worse.
You showed Scarborough Road and that's actually in an area called Alumwell. That's pretty rundown too.
Love the channel and videos. I am waiting for Oldbury and Handsworth. Dont mind going with you for handsworth. Lived there for 17 years
Thanks, I appreciate that. I enjoy visiting Birmingham and the Black Country, so those areas are on the list of places to visit for sure. I’ll hit you up if I have any questions then!
@@ukexplored anytime bud.
Please come to Tipton 🙏
We have... take a look. Missed a couple areas. We may need to come back
I keep hearing Walsall as Warsaw
It's probably me, enunciation of words isn't my strong point but I can't find anyone else willing to do the voiceovers 😂
Willenhall town centre is much worse than pleck or darlaston why do's it keep being overlooked or just ignored
You should make a video on Walsall town centre.
I went around it while I was there. It was quiet and didn’t look that bad to be honest. Nowhere near as bad as the Swindon town centre video I did, for example.
@@ukexplored I live in Walsall. It is bad for gangs, littering, knife crime, there's been shootings, some homelessness, and most of our shops have been closed down. There's nothing in the town anymore, apart from anxiety and danger.
I used to live in Darlaston once upon a time. I was an immigrant who arrived there in the sixties. It breaks my heart to see how it's gone down hill😢😢. What will be the future for mankind? Is there any hope for life? Tell me if you know the answer!!!!!!
Should definitely check out the Foleshill area in Coventry, fly tipping is rly bad been going on for years, high deprivation. Really industrial area, lots of drugs n crack dens
5:12 lmao, good point as well
yeah, also - how'd you watch this video when it was unlisted? lol
@@ukexplored Ah I came to your playlist from the vid you did on Walsall and reached the most recent video, idk if you put it in the playlist or if its something TH-cam did.
I did notice it was unlisted so I thought i'd leave a comment to hopefully puzzle you a little bit; it seems to have worked lol
Mission achieved, and that would have bugged the heck out of me if you hadn’t explained. We learn something every day, thanks!
You are depressing me, moved from Caldmore area to a new council house in Pleck 1952, just before the coronation, nice, safe. lot of industry, good jobs and at this point in time we had no migrants. In 1961 started my apprenticeship at Rubery Owen Darlaston, they employed around 6,000 people, well paid, on site doctor, dentist, optician, convalescent home, welfare department, full range of sports plus sports ground, and social side. It all started falling apart after we joined the EU, then Maggie stepped in, Darlaston employment fell from around 27,000 to around 3,000 in not much over 3-5 year period.. The problems we have today are due to actions taken by Governments, management and unions going back to the 60's, we look at yesterday, no 50 years back.
My one memory of Darlaston is the terrific chippy. Orange chips were the best, no idea if the shop is still there.
The house prices in these areas are absurd!
Middletons nah closed down isn't just a Darlaston thing was a Black Country Thing invented in either Bilston at Majors still open or Darlaston
Middletons Chippy, yeah still there but different owners and not the same quality
@@deanjarvis8441 Looks Closed down now still got stuff inside but the Shop is never open I've walked past on a Saturday at 1 or 2 and it was closed it used to be rammed but then started to die
I’ve watched a few of your films today and one thing that struck me is the number of Maseratis in these areas.
I drive through Pleck regularly and seeing it here even I’m thinking “fuck me it’s a shithole” ...
your first videos were not great but these are brilliant, drone use and walking around is great, just get a team and dont go alone!
Thanks, appreciate the honest feedback. I’m always committed to improving in whatever I do, still have a long way to go to reach the ‘mini documentary’ style videos I see in minds eye, but getting there.
I’m watching my back the best I can 😀
I agree. I definitely get a team for backup (and also help with covering the videoing etc). Do you ever interview the locals? That would be great to see / hear & give a more real insight into what they say about their areas.
You should do great yarmouth mate and other seaside towns and how they have been affected by the situation...the seaside towns were the first to start dying!
why don’t you visit Edmonton! Was born in Enfield, really miss living there ngl.
Very surprised you haven’t been to Teesside. It’s been the countries most dangerous and poverty stricken area in the country for years. From Southbank, Grangetown, Stockton, Hartlepool and beyond, the North East is one rough place.
Would be cool if you made a video on Leominster if you're up for suggestions.
I'm a bit confused, are you saying that the woman physically told you about the syringes in the area?
I grew up on a housing estate , watching some of your clips has shocked me and made me ask myself why ?
Go Newtown Birmingham or some of the other brummy areas m8 it’s grim
The shops in darlaston town on a Saturday afternoon are definitely open and there will definitely be people out. There is a giant asda you didnt show that everyone goes to on a Saturday afternoon. Looks like youre showing us sunday morning
I think he worked hard trying to find the bad in the town. Yeah if your gonna allow J9 do what they do with housing crack heads and people just out of prison live in their ramshackle bed sits then yes the crime rate will rise drastically I know they have to live somewhere but it seems Darlo is a dumping ground for them sadly.
looks just like an everyday town in the middle east.
3:00 tbf i wouldnt want to be in the video either so fair to him
Yeah, I don't film people to avoid confrontation. There were 4 high end expensive cars outside one of the worst blocks of flats in Pleck, not sure what business they were running but they want it kept on the down low.
@@ukexplored Now that does sound dodgy
@@ukexploredyeah I noticed that Maserati briefly
Not surprised the pubs close when none of the people who live there can't drink
The UK is the test bed for Net Zero and Smart cities. Think ULEZ, 20mph zones, etc. They want to redefine what is a city, so these areas are being run down, because they don't tax Amazon (PULL FACTORS), make it difficult for physical shops to survive, high taxes for them and no deterrent for shoplifting (PUSH FACTORS). If your city is being run down but the next one is OK then you know what has been decided.
You should go to leigh (Wigan)
I'll check it out on street view later and look up some news and see what it's like there
@@ukexplored railway road Leigh 👍🏻
AH, yeah 😀
if houses cost 178,000, how does anyone pay it? most are poor. and also why would anyone want to pay all that to live there?
Walsall is a toilet. I worked there for 10 years and walking around the town Centre was very, very grim. I got out of the place as quick as I could every evening. To be honest, most of the UK looks like this.
This place is really grim 😢
You should visit my home town of Scunthorpe
I’ve heard about Scunthorpe. Me and there have a date in the future, I’m sure. 😀
@@ukexplored It's in a weird state at the moment, Scunthorpe was The Industrial Garden Town of the UK, the Scunthorpe and Port Talbot Steelworks are the last to have Blast Furnaces but a Chinese company has bought out the whole of the steelworks and is closing the blast furnaces and replacing them with electric arc furnaces same as whats happening to Port Talbot and it has been job cuts after job cuts mixed with inflation and the rising cost of living it doesn't mix well when the majority of the town works at the steelworks with over 2000 jobs threatened the whole town is so run down and barren it will only make things worse when the blast furnaces go too. Data released by End Child Poverty in 2019 shows 46.4 per cent of children are growing up in poverty in Scunthorpe I can only imagine how much worse it is now with the past couple years of inflation and cost of living crisis.
Why are the houses still expensive!?
Its about the low lifes who live there not the Areas...
Exactly. The people who live there don't care about the country because it's not their country. They just use Britain for free handouts.
Its walsall not Warsaw thats in poland
Exactly what I thought mate!!!
1:49 whats that say?
I think it actually says something like 'If you are cought flytipping...' it's spelled wrong, and I can't see the bottom of it - but it's saying not to flytip, and someone has dumped some stuff next to it!
@@ukexplored oh i thinik ur right. today i saw a part of a bed and large armchair dumped near the shops near me. thanks for reply
As someone who lives in Darlaston have done for 10 years and had commuted through it as a kid with my dad for a few years or used it when I lived in Moxley, It is a town that is misunderstood. Yes it's poor so to is Walsall, and yes there is fly tipping but I will get to that. 20 years ago Darlaston pronounced Darl as tun or Darl us ton Black Country Accent Everyone just calls it Darlo used to be a busy town, Asda was smaller and that is what caused the town to be like it is now as Asda wanted a bigger shop, years before that Darlaston used to be a massive employer you had Rubery Owen in Darlaston Green you filmed part of it actually it is just a frontage near to the bridge over the Canal, Garringtons, GKN, James Bridge Copper Works, FH Lloyds a big Steel place and Patent Shaft more Wednesbury those two, you also had Servis the Washing Machine Maker and Jebron Door Factory both opposite each other in the Kings Hill area near to Wednesbury. They closed around the late 80's to late 90's Servis was much later and Jebron to, you also had Wardys in Moxley/Darlaston. The town was decimated and people fell on hard times. But the one thing about Darlaston is actually the people are all working class salt of the earth people all know each other once you make a friend in Darlo you know like 5 other people as that person knows like 3 other people who ask who you are and then they know others and eventually you know a lot that you recognise people but don't know them all directly. Basically if someone who was well known was being chased or attacked by someone you would get help as that person who sees you would get involved then the people they know and so on, meanwhile you have cleaned yourself up and am playing PlayStation in say your Mates house whilst his mum makes you a cuppa and his Dad sorts it downstairs. But another less voilent example is actually a pretty horrible one but at the end of September it was about half past three and the school run was taking place when two Girls aged 6 or 7 were hit by a Dangerous Driver and then ran over as the guy tried to run, the Parents of other kids stopped the guy. He wasn't charged but the outpouring you had Current Parents and Ex Parents as there isn't a crossing doing Crossing Patrols, getting Petetions, Getting Better Speed Limit signs as the Sinage is awful and printing Banners you may have seem them on your way to the Park in Darlaston, but not just the parents of that school, other parents and People came out to get the council to do sometime. The local councillors said they were aware but the problem lay with the higher ups. Darlo is that sort of place everyone knows everyone struggles because Darlo ay what it was when my dad remembers it 20 years ago so they do community events and sort stuff out we have the wombles to counteract rubbish. Darlo managed to find a lost Dog from Wednesbury all the people looked for it and it was found in Bilston but people were helping the owner who didn't know the area out and trying to call him and left food out for it. The problem amongst with Darlo is there anywhere for people to work or to properly go we have Pubs sure, George Rose Park but in the middle of Winter, employment opportunity in Darlo are slowly rising in small manufacturing but at 7AM the bus to Walsall gets rammed with people either working there or getting the bus to Birmingham for education or Work. That is why between Walsall and Darlaston the buses combine to run every 6 minutes and the West Brom to Wolverhampton Bus who I knew many regulars off when I caught it to and from college is every 10 and is busy of a morning and evening. So people have no where to go. The Council don't care about the Place it took them ages to demolish a fire damaged building by me and they don't clean up the parks or fix stuff. The police have been cut so they are now based the otherside of Walsall near to Blakenall in Bloxwhich when you have them two plus Beechdale and Pleck to deal with Darlo gets left behind. The biggest issue is when we settled after moving around the Black Country here 10 years ago the area wasn't as bad as it is now. When you were filming the shops by the Libary how many J9 accommodation places did you count probably 3 there used to be 5 in a row why because J9 buy up a lot of derelict houses or Pubs or Dentists or buildings and convert them to HMO's and fill them full of Crackheads and Alocholics, it also been filled full of immigrants who are causing the rubbish and flytipping although the Bins we do have aren't emptied often enough. Most people of Darlo have moaned about J9 before but fuck all has happened. The Police Station they were gonna take off but someone outbid and is going to build Luxury flats or put them in the building. But yeah a lot of the Pubs are HMO's or flats not for The average Darlo person no for People out of prison. Opposite my house although listed on google as Hotel petite I assume it was years ago is a Halfway house right by a Primary school. Darlo is set to get a new train station and has been given 20 Mil funding but that does fuck all to scratch the service. Also the Town was probably queit as everyone was in Asda or at one of the local football grounds either West Brom or Wolves or Villa or Walsall or maybe even Darlaston Town who play in Bentley or had gon to the Pub to watch it on sky or Walsall for shopping. Darlo used to busy on the last Saturday of the school holidays as a shop called Clemmys sold School uniforms and obviously everyone would queue outside to get it that's closed as the owners retired and is now a fast food place. Clemmys was next to the Vape Shop opposite the Libary and Boots was further down I think where Boyle Sports is now. I ay gonna tell you what is above them shops but it certainly isn't for the people of Darlo and there is a similar place that Green topped Building you filmed to again not for the people of Darlo. But Darlaston is misunderstood Pleck is worse the only reason Crime seems lower is because most of the people who live there are linked to it. The Brown Lion you showed closed years ago in the 90's it is now Flats.
I've lived in darlaston now for 45 years and seen go down hill
I moved to Saudi from caldmore to teach, and looking back at Walsall it seems so dystopian, derelict and downtrodden. In the Middle East the the adults think of England as a prosperous place.
When I showed them this video, they said if this was In saudi they would be ashamed. Every country has her issues. But some are in a rapid decline.
Wow, now that’s quite the cultural change you made, glad to hear it’s working out for you.
Yeah, imagine if people were proud of where they lived, the UK would be a very different place.
Do acocks green hall green stechford
It's a beautiful building, the Brown Lion. What it needs is picking up and taking elsewhere. It's clear that it's never going to be any more than a collection of rundown bedsits where it is now.
any chance of doing the worst and most dangerous place(s) in London?
london isn't really that poor anymore yeah there's more crime because of the population which means more kids who think there gangsta ive been to london alot ive never see boreded up houses or trash everywhere and yeah people say so go south london i have it's not bad i remember going to peckham and brixton and they had some nice houses you wouldn't get that outside london
looking forward to seeing pleck develop over the coming months and years.
It won't improve unless you send the third world back home.
Transform into what, mecca ?
@@MrRight-hn5pq To see all the properties in development or rebuilds, and to see the towns up and coming again looking forward to it.
@@paulcampbell85 let's hope so. I'm not holding my breath though.
Darlaston has more chance it was given 20 mil funding and actually used to be bigger. Pleck has higher crime it is well known the only reason the Stats show it lower is Population is less but most the fuckers there are all linked to it. Pleck is literally a Shit hole even the Pidgeons look ill there
it is a dump and a disgrace lately never used to be😕
also u are much funnier than others that do similar youtube videos. an can i ask if u wer inspired by that american chap, only ask koz of tha way give all the relevant statistics for that area which he does 🙏🙏🙏🙏
I watch similar content, and some in America, although the UK doesn’t get anywhere as near as scary as the US! I don’t know who you’re talking about though, I haven’t seen another channel giving stats in the way I do.
Im from darlaston and I saw the thumbnail of the town and I had to click
I live in walsall for the last 5 years now would of been great to of met you 🙏💯
I’ll let you know if I’m ever back in the area 😀 I’m going to assume you’re not being sarcastic and wanting to slap me 😂
Keep up the good work chief.
Thanks, Boba!
I thought kingstanding was bad. Even Streetly is beginning to wane. Have you been to Paisley?
In Scotland? I haven’t, no. I’ve been to Scotland a few times for holidays, but I’m yet to delve into the estates. Hopefully I’ll find time to go check out some of the more nutritious areas in the not so distant future.
Lmao I love listening to your videos at 0.5 speed as you sound drunk XD
OMG ahaha myself and a friend are dying with laughter, we just listened to this one at 0.5. Ppplleeccckkk… blehhhh😂
Come to aylesbury buckinghamshire it was rated uks worst town
Oh, is it? I’ll take a look, thanks.
@@ukexplored no problem mate
Go to Stafford highfields / Attlee crescent
Why does it feel that houses are the new gold bars since we left the gold standard? I mean houses are effectively locked away from poor people with high prices to prevent them from being used like gold bars would be.
I appreciate what you doing. Instead of spending 4 billion per year of tax payers money housing illegal migrants, that money could be used to reform the education systems, and subsidise business ventures in deprived areas like the ones shown in you videos. What do modern Brits have to be proud of? Our country is sliding into a shot hole, and our elite politicians only care about themselves. It's depressing...
I know, right, that’s a hot topic right now - but people don’t want to talk about it where it matters.
1:09 Did you go to Dixy Chicken? :D
I went to Tennessee Chicken.
@@AmigaA-or2hjWhat about chicken corner? 😂
Yeah, about right. The main problem is the council tbh. No inclination to support areas with any meaningful help. Asb is actually the worst aspect and is generally the behaviour of car drivers who terrorise the neighbourhoods and cause a lot of destruction to public property from wrecking grass verges to smashing down railings to speeding in residential areas.
The canals are used as bins despite volunteer clean ups.
However wildlife is doing ok in the canals, certainly improving over the last 25 years or so.
I live in Palfrey next to Pleck, not quite as shite here but bad in places.
Is this what the government meant by levelling up.....
5:43 ive been in that building lol
Attended my grandads funeral monday we had the wake at the railway pub, so after a free bar and a few hours later decided to walk home back to beechdale i ended up in one of them indian resturants in the main street only had a quick bite (tandori lamb chop) 3 days later im just startin to feel better. Never again am i steppin foot in any of the shops in that shit hole
Damn, that’s not the reminder you want for that day.
I take it you saw the news clipping in the video about the food hygiene standards in Walsall, that terrified me more than the possibility of getting mugged.
@@ukexplored lol it certainly wasnt , i shouldve known better as i know the area and its reputation, but when youve had a free bar and half a dozen double whiskeys " common sense goes out the window" and funnily enough when i was recovering in bed from what was deffinatly food poisoning lol. I saw this vid couldnt have timed it better. Keep up the good work m8 and stay safe
That sad thing is the UK has so many deprived areas
How is the average house worth 176k? UK is truly broken
Do small heath....good luck😂
When you grow up there that’s when it’s acceptable poverty is relative not compared to India Africa etc
I believe darlaston is pronounced darlaston, not darlaston.
I believe potato is pronounced potato, not potato.
@@andrewfulton6053 depends where you come from, americans pronounce it "Potato"
Any areas which are predominantly Pakistani are full of fly tipping. I work in the sector so see it everyday. Have even witnessed them doing it in front of me.
The councils need to buck their ideas up and have the clean all the litter up and make it tidier. The abandoned buildings and nursing homes etc need to be dropped instead of making the place look like an eyesore
Its not thst bad i live in darlo....therrs plenty of money going
Born and bred in walsall...breaks my fuckin heart...labour in now 2024 can only imagining it getting wuss.!!
Plenty more grim areas around Walsall. A complex socioeconomic situation that will not be turned around without a major world event occurring.
does look scary if kids come up to me and told me to hand money over i think i wud just do it
Yeah, probably best to, they always have a big brother or more friends not far away😱
@@ukexplored yep and maybe something on them to hurt people
The whole of the country will look like that soon.
Visit wynal lane
all the emply houses and Flats for the homeless people
'Walsall Rodney not Warsaw'
Walsall is a dump Leamore is bad they would even steal your shoes 😂.
🤣😂🩰
@@moniquetheobald889 Watch Your Shoes!
FFS 😂😂
Jesus... I will stop complain about London..
Darlaston used to be industry based lost in thr 80s, now the it is the outcome of that poverty and pleck is a dump area third worldim afraid ..........wont be changed anytime soon
Darlaston = Dar LAST on, whilst Caldmore is KARMA.
I live and learn!
ur videos need to be longer 12-16 is ideal. I have u on ticktock an its pretty much exactly the same content some different footage would be nice 🙏🙏🙏🙏
Thanks, I like the longer video format but I think most people get bored or have a short attention span, the internet generation and all.
The Trump organisation's bid won the contract for building the containment wall, beating North Korea's bid easily.
Work is to begin in August.
If you’re actively looking for shit you will find it almost anywhere.
Keep looking
Humanity has definitely progressed 😂😂😂😂
It is what the people make it.
Your lucky you don't get lifted
I’m on borrowed time 😂