Browse content similar to 12/03/2018. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Hello, I'm Sean Fletcher. | 0:00:01 | 0:00:02 | |
You're watching Inside Out London. | 0:00:02 | 0:00:04 | |
Here's what's coming
up on tonight's show. | 0:00:04 | 0:00:07 | |
Why London's commuters are deserting
the Tube in their droves. | 0:00:07 | 0:00:11 | |
Tomorrow's my last day
working in London. | 0:00:11 | 0:00:13 | |
Goodbye to the commute from hell
and to high childcare costs. | 0:00:13 | 0:00:17 | |
With our elderly
population set to soar, is | 0:00:17 | 0:00:20 | |
it time to start building
bungalows again? | 0:00:20 | 0:00:23 | |
Older people enjoy them because it
means that they know they | 0:00:23 | 0:00:26 | |
can live in this property for quite
awhile, don't have to move, they're | 0:00:26 | 0:00:29 | |
not concerned about climbing
the stairs or the extra costs. | 0:00:29 | 0:00:35 | |
And the untold story
of the secret Canary | 0:00:35 | 0:00:37 | |
Girls of World War II. | 0:00:37 | 0:00:39 | |
You couldn't have had
the Army, the Air Force and | 0:00:39 | 0:00:42 | |
the Navy working without the bombs
that were being made here. | 0:00:42 | 0:00:46 | |
Without the munitions the war
could not have been won. | 0:00:46 | 0:00:50 | |
Now, here's a mystery for you. | 0:00:59 | 0:01:01 | |
Several million people seem to have
gone missing from the capital. | 0:01:01 | 0:01:04 | |
For the first time in 20 years,
the number of passengers | 0:01:04 | 0:01:07 | |
using the Tube has fallen. | 0:01:07 | 0:01:09 | |
The latest figures show 20 million
fewer journeys in the | 0:01:09 | 0:01:13 | |
last year, even though the economy
and the population have grown. | 0:01:13 | 0:01:19 | |
City Hall is baffled
and the fall in tube | 0:01:19 | 0:01:22 | |
revenue has resulted in an order
for 27 new Tube trains being axed. | 0:01:22 | 0:01:25 | |
But where have all
the commuters gone? | 0:01:25 | 0:01:27 | |
We sent Mark Jordan to find out. | 0:01:27 | 0:01:32 | |
Rush hour at Oxford Circus,
and the regular Tube lock-out due to | 0:01:32 | 0:01:36 | |
overcrowding. | 0:01:36 | 0:01:38 | |
For anyone going through
this hell the very last | 0:01:38 | 0:01:40 | |
thing you would think the
Underground would be worried about | 0:01:40 | 0:01:43 | |
is falling numbers. | 0:01:43 | 0:01:44 | |
But they are. | 0:01:44 | 0:01:46 | |
For the first time in 20 years,
Tube passenger numbers have fallen. | 0:01:46 | 0:01:51 | |
384,000 fewer journeys each week. | 0:01:51 | 0:01:55 | |
And all just months
before Crossrail opens. | 0:01:55 | 0:01:58 | |
Even bigger falls on commuter lines,
Southwestern down 9%. | 0:01:58 | 0:02:03 | |
It's very serious for
Transport For London, | 0:02:03 | 0:02:05 | |
because of course the Underground
is the one part of Transport | 0:02:05 | 0:02:08 | |
For London that does make a profit,
and it subsidises all | 0:02:08 | 0:02:11 | |
of the other operations. | 0:02:11 | 0:02:14 | |
The economy is growing. | 0:02:14 | 0:02:16 | |
But at City Hall they
feel winter is coming. | 0:02:16 | 0:02:20 | |
If there is a drop-off in
the economy the first place it shows | 0:02:20 | 0:02:23 | |
up in the whole UK is
on the transport network in London. | 0:02:23 | 0:02:27 | |
So it is a very fresh
piece of information. | 0:02:27 | 0:02:34 | |
And no sooner had the deputy mayor
told me this, winter | 0:02:34 | 0:02:37 | |
came in the biggest way. | 0:02:37 | 0:02:40 | |
Was it a sign? | 0:02:40 | 0:02:42 | |
So, tough times for TFL. | 0:02:42 | 0:02:44 | |
We have commandeered the Old Tube
Carriage restaurant here at | 0:02:44 | 0:02:47 | |
Walthamstow's Pumphouse Museum. | 0:02:47 | 0:02:50 | |
Three wise experts agreed to ride
out the storm and help explain - | 0:02:50 | 0:02:56 | |
whatever happened to
the missing commuters? | 0:02:56 | 0:02:59 | |
It's not entirely surprising
when you look at how | 0:02:59 | 0:03:01 | |
expensive it is to both
live and work in London, | 0:03:01 | 0:03:04 | |
that people will be actively
seeking alternatives. | 0:03:04 | 0:03:06 | |
New York is another
example where they | 0:03:06 | 0:03:07 | |
are seeing a drop in passenger
numbers on their system. | 0:03:07 | 0:03:12 | |
Technology is changing
an awful lot about our | 0:03:12 | 0:03:14 | |
relationship with the workplace,
and it is disrupting the way that we | 0:03:14 | 0:03:16 | |
used to work. | 0:03:17 | 0:03:21 | |
So let's meet the missing prime
suspects in this metro mystery. | 0:03:21 | 0:03:24 | |
Tomorrow is my last
day working in London. | 0:03:24 | 0:03:27 | |
Goodbye to the commute
from hell and to high | 0:03:27 | 0:03:29 | |
childcare costs. | 0:03:29 | 0:03:31 | |
No crowds, no costs and I arrive
at work much quicker. | 0:03:31 | 0:03:34 | |
The bike. | 0:03:34 | 0:03:35 | |
And I do my bit for the London
economy right here, at home. | 0:03:35 | 0:03:41 | |
With falling tube revenues and
a fares freeze, its mind the Gap. | 0:03:41 | 0:03:45 | |
TFL just cancelled
an order for 27 new | 0:03:45 | 0:03:48 | |
Tube trains. | 0:03:48 | 0:03:52 | |
So let's meet our first missing
suspects - the exiles. | 0:03:52 | 0:03:55 | |
Redhill in Surrey. | 0:03:55 | 0:03:57 | |
I am visiting Amber Recruitment. | 0:03:57 | 0:03:59 | |
They specialise in luring
people out of the capital. | 0:03:59 | 0:04:03 | |
There is certainly
life after London. | 0:04:03 | 0:04:06 | |
I'm currently travelling an hour
and a half each way per day. | 0:04:06 | 0:04:10 | |
Jenna's three hour daily
round-trip is 15 hours a week. | 0:04:10 | 0:04:14 | |
It means she spends an entire
month of every year | 0:04:14 | 0:04:17 | |
on a train. | 0:04:17 | 0:04:20 | |
Then add the strikes,
the cost and the overcrowding. | 0:04:20 | 0:04:24 | |
I handed in my notice
in my current workplace. | 0:04:24 | 0:04:26 | |
She's not alone. | 0:04:26 | 0:04:27 | |
We've had lots of delays,
lots of cancellations. | 0:04:27 | 0:04:30 | |
So that will be by 10:30,
and I left at 7am. | 0:04:30 | 0:04:34 | |
This is the reason I am
giving up the commute. | 0:04:34 | 0:04:37 | |
London is where you get
the well-paid jobs. | 0:04:37 | 0:04:39 | |
London is where you get the status. | 0:04:39 | 0:04:41 | |
Where you get the better
career options. | 0:04:41 | 0:04:43 | |
But not so any more. | 0:04:43 | 0:04:45 | |
Companies down here are beginning
to cotton on to the fact | 0:04:45 | 0:04:49 | |
that we can nab these people. | 0:04:49 | 0:04:49 | |
I've had enough. | 0:04:49 | 0:04:51 | |
I think the time and the cost
is adding more burden, I think | 0:04:51 | 0:04:54 | |
children, family situations change. | 0:04:54 | 0:04:56 | |
I think they need to be educated
that there are good jobs locally. | 0:04:56 | 0:05:00 | |
Which we are doing. | 0:05:00 | 0:05:03 | |
We have seen, in London
and the South East, a | 0:05:03 | 0:05:04 | |
doubling of house prices
over the last decade, | 0:05:04 | 0:05:06 | |
but that inflation
is | 0:05:06 | 0:05:07 | |
now ebbing, indeed, in London
they fell back by 5% over the last | 0:05:07 | 0:05:10 | |
calendar year. | 0:05:10 | 0:05:11 | |
I suspect we're going to see
more of that as people | 0:05:11 | 0:05:14 | |
understand and appreciate
that they no longer | 0:05:14 | 0:05:16 | |
have to pay to be right
in | 0:05:16 | 0:05:18 | |
the heart of London unless that is
where they absolutely want to live. | 0:05:18 | 0:05:22 | |
But not all missing commuters
have left the capital. | 0:05:22 | 0:05:26 | |
Within a generation cycling
in London has tripled. | 0:05:26 | 0:05:31 | |
The future is massively
bright for cycling. | 0:05:31 | 0:05:33 | |
We are seeing a shift
in infrastructure, in | 0:05:33 | 0:05:35 | |
politics. | 0:05:35 | 0:05:37 | |
Apps have now made it possible
to unlock a bike anywhere | 0:05:37 | 0:05:42 | |
around you, take it
with you to exactly | 0:05:42 | 0:05:44 | |
where you need to go
and | 0:05:44 | 0:05:46 | |
station it there again,
and then unlock another one and take | 0:05:46 | 0:05:48 | |
it where you want to go again. | 0:05:48 | 0:05:50 | |
So by creating great
bike lanes, TFL is | 0:05:50 | 0:05:52 | |
losing money on the tubes. | 0:05:52 | 0:05:53 | |
They used to probably
use the bike lanes bus | 0:05:53 | 0:05:56 | |
or the tube and pay into the funds
for TFL but they are not so any | 0:05:56 | 0:06:00 | |
more. | 0:06:00 | 0:06:01 | |
So transport for London now has
a big challenge ahead of how we | 0:06:01 | 0:06:04 | |
are going to keep paying for that
cycling infrastructure. | 0:06:04 | 0:06:06 | |
And it is not just bikes. | 0:06:06 | 0:06:13 | |
Uber's low-cost cars
are stealing Tube passengers. | 0:06:13 | 0:06:16 | |
I want to move across London. | 0:06:16 | 0:06:17 | |
What do I do? | 0:06:17 | 0:06:24 | |
I get my phone out and then I either
call up and Uber and know | 0:06:24 | 0:06:28 | |
exactly when they are going to come,
they are going to come exactly to my | 0:06:28 | 0:06:32 | |
location, it is really convenient,
or I can look for a bike. | 0:06:32 | 0:06:35 | |
It has re-change the
relationship we have | 0:06:35 | 0:06:36 | |
with these modes of transport. | 0:06:36 | 0:06:37 | |
And of course that
is having a profound | 0:06:37 | 0:06:39 | |
impact on people's relationship
with public transport. | 0:06:39 | 0:06:41 | |
There is something of
a contradiction for TFL. | 0:06:41 | 0:06:43 | |
They are both the regulator
and the competitor. | 0:06:43 | 0:06:45 | |
For TFL this is the big problem. | 0:06:45 | 0:06:47 | |
We as consumers are saying
we want to use these new modes of | 0:06:47 | 0:06:50 | |
transport. | 0:06:50 | 0:06:51 | |
We don't want to have to rely
on these old modes of | 0:06:51 | 0:06:54 | |
transport. | 0:06:54 | 0:06:55 | |
Only time will tell if TFL
will relicense Uber. | 0:06:55 | 0:06:57 | |
most. | 0:06:57 | 0:06:58 | |
City Hall says off-peak
Tube travel is down | 0:06:58 | 0:07:00 | |
most. | 0:07:00 | 0:07:01 | |
If you look at the rise in delivery
vehicles in London, which | 0:07:01 | 0:07:04 | |
has been huge, so many people use
the Internet now rather than | 0:07:04 | 0:07:07 | |
actually go out and
walk round the shops. | 0:07:07 | 0:07:08 | |
Maybe a 5% drop off in shopping
and we have seen something | 0:07:08 | 0:07:11 | |
like a 2% drop-off on the tube. | 0:07:11 | 0:07:14 | |
But home has also
become the workplace. | 0:07:14 | 0:07:17 | |
A decade ago, broadband speeds
were typically at two megabytes per | 0:07:17 | 0:07:20 | |
second. | 0:07:20 | 0:07:21 | |
I've just had the latest upgrade
from BT, it has taken the | 0:07:21 | 0:07:24 | |
over 50 megabytes per second. | 0:07:24 | 0:07:25 | |
I can do everything
I used to have to do | 0:07:25 | 0:07:28 | |
in town now from the
comfort of my own home. | 0:07:28 | 0:07:35 | |
Brick Lane, and I have been invited
to the monthly meeting | 0:07:35 | 0:07:42 | |
of the Hocksby collective. | 0:07:42 | 0:07:43 | |
These lawyers,
advertisers and business | 0:07:43 | 0:07:44 | |
advisers usually work
alone, from home. | 0:07:44 | 0:07:45 | |
Because they can. | 0:07:45 | 0:07:46 | |
I was commuting 450 miles per week. | 0:07:46 | 0:07:48 | |
I think it allows me to fit my life
around my work rather than the other | 0:07:48 | 0:07:52 | |
way around. | 0:07:52 | 0:07:53 | |
The reality of making it happen
is so small, it's so easy to do. | 0:07:53 | 0:07:56 | |
The technology and
the systems are there. | 0:07:56 | 0:07:58 | |
But the impact on people's
lives is monument. | 0:07:58 | 0:08:02 | |
I am both more productive and happy. | 0:08:02 | 0:08:12 | |
The Hocksby way is
to love what you do, | 0:08:12 | 0:08:14 | |
so that is to work
under your own terms, | 0:08:14 | 0:08:16 | |
with your own work style,
in | 0:08:16 | 0:08:18 | |
the way that suits you best. | 0:08:18 | 0:08:19 | |
Most of us love the
idea of working from | 0:08:19 | 0:08:21 | |
home. | 0:08:21 | 0:08:22 | |
And increasingly bosses,
like at this architectural firm, are | 0:08:22 | 0:08:24 | |
realising it is good for business. | 0:08:24 | 0:08:26 | |
If you want numbers,
and if you think about every square | 0:08:26 | 0:08:29 | |
foot of office space in central
London it is | 0:08:29 | 0:08:31 | |
probably worth £1000. | 0:08:31 | 0:08:32 | |
Somebody working at
a desk, traditionally, | 0:08:32 | 0:08:33 | |
would take up 100 square feet. | 0:08:33 | 0:08:35 | |
So that desk space
is worth £100,000. | 0:08:35 | 0:08:36 | |
So you can see that a few of those
you need the less the cost to your | 0:08:36 | 0:08:40 | |
business and in a dramatic way. | 0:08:40 | 0:08:42 | |
Add to that Ben was losing talented
young staff due to the cost of | 0:08:42 | 0:08:46 | |
London living. | 0:08:46 | 0:08:48 | |
Hi, Charlotte. | 0:08:48 | 0:08:51 | |
So he introduced part-time
working from home. | 0:08:51 | 0:08:53 | |
It allows us to keep staff
that we might otherwise lose. | 0:08:53 | 0:08:57 | |
We have one employee
who lives in Darlington | 0:08:57 | 0:08:58 | |
who works from home
a | 0:08:58 | 0:09:00 | |
couple of days a week. | 0:09:00 | 0:09:05 | |
So for the likes of TFL this makes
a significant difference. | 0:09:05 | 0:09:08 | |
They have to change their
plans, in many cases | 0:09:08 | 0:09:10 | |
they will have to rip
up their revenue | 0:09:10 | 0:09:12 | |
projections and change
the | 0:09:12 | 0:09:13 | |
way that they operate. | 0:09:13 | 0:09:14 | |
All London's plans,
like the proposed Crossrail 2, | 0:09:14 | 0:09:16 | |
are still built on ever-growing
demand. | 0:09:16 | 0:09:19 | |
Beyond the M25 they have spotted
London's fall in passenger | 0:09:19 | 0:09:22 | |
journeys. | 0:09:22 | 0:09:25 | |
London does have a system
that is fit for purpose. | 0:09:25 | 0:09:27 | |
So what we are saying
is the North of England | 0:09:27 | 0:09:30 | |
must now come to the front
of the queue when it comes to future | 0:09:30 | 0:09:33 | |
transport investment. | 0:09:33 | 0:09:36 | |
The drop-off in demand
has been about 2% over | 0:09:36 | 0:09:38 | |
last year. | 0:09:38 | 0:09:40 | |
The long-term trends are still
for economic and population | 0:09:40 | 0:09:42 | |
growth. | 0:09:42 | 0:09:44 | |
Are you worried? | 0:09:44 | 0:09:46 | |
This is something
new so anything new | 0:09:46 | 0:09:47 | |
worries us. | 0:09:47 | 0:09:49 | |
It is just that life is changing. | 0:09:49 | 0:09:54 | |
Mark Jordan reporting, there. | 0:09:56 | 0:09:58 | |
Still to come on tonight's show... | 0:09:58 | 0:10:01 | |
Almost 1 million women
were called up to | 0:10:01 | 0:10:05 | |
make munitions, but unlike
the veterans of the Land Army, the | 0:10:05 | 0:10:08 | |
Timber Corps and the Bevin Boys,
munitions workers have never | 0:10:08 | 0:10:10 | |
received individual honours. | 0:10:10 | 0:10:12 | |
So more than 70 years
after they played a | 0:10:12 | 0:10:14 | |
significant role in the country's
victory, is it time that the | 0:10:14 | 0:10:17 | |
Government officially recognised
the contribution made | 0:10:17 | 0:10:18 | |
by the munitionettes? | 0:10:18 | 0:10:24 | |
With most London property developers
adopting a pile them high policy, | 0:10:27 | 0:10:31 | |
the bungalow has rather
fallen out of fashion. | 0:10:31 | 0:10:33 | |
With the UK's elderly population set
to double in the next | 0:10:33 | 0:10:37 | |
three decades, a recent House
of Commons report says that | 0:10:37 | 0:10:39 | |
bungalows could be
just what is needed. | 0:10:39 | 0:10:43 | |
So could single-storey living
be set for a comeback? | 0:10:43 | 0:10:47 | |
I went to find out. | 0:10:47 | 0:10:51 | |
This peaceful street tucked away
from the hustle and bustle of Acton | 0:10:56 | 0:10:59 | |
comes as a great surprise to anyone
who stumbles across it, because it | 0:10:59 | 0:11:04 | |
consists only of bungalows. | 0:11:04 | 0:11:07 | |
It's very unusual to
find a whole street | 0:11:07 | 0:11:09 | |
of them this close
to the city centre. | 0:11:09 | 0:11:12 | |
But since the early 1950s they have
been the dream home for | 0:11:12 | 0:11:15 | |
many people in retirement. | 0:11:15 | 0:11:17 | |
No stairs to climb
and easy access for | 0:11:17 | 0:11:19 | |
wheelchair users and those
who are unsteady on their feet. | 0:11:19 | 0:11:23 | |
The bungalow actually gave
people, because it was | 0:11:23 | 0:11:28 | |
quite cheap and they could often
build it themselves, | 0:11:28 | 0:11:32 | |
it gave people this sort
of sense of independence. | 0:11:32 | 0:11:34 | |
Older people enjoy
them because it means | 0:11:34 | 0:11:36 | |
they know they can live in this
property for quite awhile, they | 0:11:36 | 0:11:39 | |
don't have to move, they are not
concerned about climbing the stairs | 0:11:39 | 0:11:42 | |
of the extra costs,
they are cheaper to heat. | 0:11:42 | 0:11:44 | |
Because of my condition,
sort of thing, I've got no steps. | 0:11:44 | 0:11:47 | |
You don't feel cramped,
you have plenty | 0:11:47 | 0:11:48 | |
of room to move around. | 0:11:48 | 0:11:52 | |
The first bungalows
were built in Britain back | 0:11:53 | 0:11:57 | |
in the late 19th century, but
the idea sprang from a very exotic | 0:11:57 | 0:12:00 | |
location. | 0:12:00 | 0:12:02 | |
They are an Indian concept that
has been Anglicised. | 0:12:02 | 0:12:05 | |
The word bungalow
actually means of Bengal. | 0:12:05 | 0:12:08 | |
It is an Indian building type. | 0:12:08 | 0:12:11 | |
And when English, British colonial
traders went over to India they | 0:12:11 | 0:12:16 | |
started using that as their
model for their homes. | 0:12:16 | 0:12:20 | |
As more and more people went
over to India they were | 0:12:20 | 0:12:23 | |
bringing ideas back,
things like curries, like bungalows. | 0:12:23 | 0:12:28 | |
So from the 1850s, that's
when you start seeing | 0:12:28 | 0:12:30 | |
the first bungalows in this country. | 0:12:30 | 0:12:32 | |
These were holiday homes,
they were second homes, | 0:12:32 | 0:12:35 | |
so you had to be quite wealthy to be
able to afford that. | 0:12:35 | 0:12:39 | |
In the 1920s people are still having
them as weekend retreats up to | 0:12:39 | 0:12:42 | |
a point. | 0:12:42 | 0:12:44 | |
Then those people, after the Second
World War, getting on a bit, | 0:12:44 | 0:12:46 | |
they have got this vision
of the bungalow has | 0:12:46 | 0:12:49 | |
a really happy place
in | 0:12:49 | 0:12:50 | |
the countryside. | 0:12:50 | 0:12:54 | |
That is the kind of place
they might like to retire to. | 0:12:54 | 0:12:57 | |
And this is when you start to get
big suburban estates of bungalows. | 0:12:57 | 0:13:02 | |
Building bungalows en masse
in suburbia became very popular for | 0:13:02 | 0:13:04 | |
many years. | 0:13:04 | 0:13:06 | |
In 1987 alone there
were over 28,000 built. | 0:13:06 | 0:13:10 | |
Last year, though, there
would just over 2000. | 0:13:10 | 0:13:13 | |
So there has been a steep decline. | 0:13:13 | 0:13:17 | |
Developers aren't really
building new ones | 0:13:28 | 0:13:29 | |
because they are quite land hungry. | 0:13:29 | 0:13:31 | |
The price of land is so high that
what you can get a single bungalow | 0:13:31 | 0:13:36 | |
with garden on one plot,
you could probably build a couple | 0:13:36 | 0:13:39 | |
of houses, you could build upwards. | 0:13:39 | 0:13:42 | |
Bungalows are not very
good in the kind of | 0:13:42 | 0:13:44 | |
economic climate today. | 0:13:44 | 0:13:46 | |
Even if they would be very
desirable because they | 0:13:46 | 0:13:49 | |
are nice places to live. | 0:13:49 | 0:13:50 | |
Local authorities
aren't particularly | 0:13:50 | 0:13:52 | |
interested in bungalows. | 0:13:52 | 0:13:54 | |
Whether you are an individual
wanting to build a | 0:13:54 | 0:13:56 | |
bungalow, whether you are
a community land trust wanting to | 0:13:56 | 0:13:58 | |
build a few homes
to create a community | 0:13:58 | 0:14:00 | |
setting, whether you are
a | 0:14:00 | 0:14:01 | |
cooperative building bungalows,
or even just a developer building | 0:14:01 | 0:14:03 | |
for your local market,
it is a lot harder | 0:14:03 | 0:14:06 | |
for you to get planning
permission to build a bungalow then | 0:14:06 | 0:14:10 | |
it is to build a terraced house. | 0:14:10 | 0:14:13 | |
London itself hasn't tried to get
more people to build bungalows and | 0:14:13 | 0:14:16 | |
it hasn't tried to
stimulate the market. | 0:14:16 | 0:14:19 | |
But with the recent House of Commons
communities select committee | 0:14:19 | 0:14:21 | |
report acknowledging that with more
and more over 65 is living longer | 0:14:21 | 0:14:27 | |
their housing needs will need to be
met, the answer - yes, you guessed | 0:14:27 | 0:14:30 | |
it - start building bungalows again. | 0:14:30 | 0:14:37 | |
This award-winning estate is one
of several being built | 0:14:49 | 0:14:52 | |
or planned in Barking. | 0:14:52 | 0:14:54 | |
These bungalows provide social
housing for elderly and | 0:14:54 | 0:14:58 | |
disabled residents and were built
on land that was just lying dormant. | 0:14:58 | 0:15:02 | |
Barking has historically been
developed in the 50s and 60s where | 0:15:02 | 0:15:06 | |
it is car borne, and there are a lot
of underused garage sites. | 0:15:06 | 0:15:10 | |
And that is what we have
actually been using | 0:15:10 | 0:15:12 | |
here and a lot of these
smaller developments. | 0:15:12 | 0:15:14 | |
It was based on an alms house,
and I think what is | 0:15:14 | 0:15:16 | |
interesting, there is a sort of
contradiction between almshouses and | 0:15:16 | 0:15:19 | |
bungalows. | 0:15:19 | 0:15:20 | |
Bungalows were always built
on individual plots, and | 0:15:20 | 0:15:22 | |
actually what we have done
here is group them together - | 0:15:22 | 0:15:25 | |
bungalows or a courtyard house,
in a grouping, | 0:15:25 | 0:15:28 | |
because it has a sort of social
centre and focal point. | 0:15:28 | 0:15:33 | |
People, both the individual
and collective, was | 0:15:33 | 0:15:34 | |
People, both the individual
and collective, was | 0:15:34 | 0:15:34 | |
very much at the heart
of this proposal here. | 0:15:34 | 0:15:38 | |
One of the residents
here lost his leg in an industrial | 0:15:38 | 0:15:40 | |
accident, so climbing
stairs became impossible. | 0:15:40 | 0:15:44 | |
Moving here was ideal. | 0:15:44 | 0:15:46 | |
Sometimes you can't get your leg on,
your leg swells up. | 0:15:46 | 0:15:48 | |
And you can't wear your leg. | 0:15:48 | 0:15:50 | |
So you have to sort of go around
on your bum, sort of | 0:15:50 | 0:15:53 | |
thing, or on your hands and knees. | 0:15:53 | 0:15:57 | |
Or in a wheelchair or on crutches. | 0:15:57 | 0:15:58 | |
And going upstairs, if you haven't
got a stairlift, you have to... | 0:15:58 | 0:16:01 | |
It's horrible. | 0:16:01 | 0:16:04 | |
So a bungalow is ideal. | 0:16:04 | 0:16:05 | |
Ideal, yeah. | 0:16:05 | 0:16:07 | |
If I do need to use the wheelchair,
it's easy, everything is | 0:16:07 | 0:16:09 | |
just wide and the wheelchair
can spin round. | 0:16:09 | 0:16:11 | |
They've thought about it. | 0:16:11 | 0:16:12 | |
It is full of disabled
and elderly people. | 0:16:12 | 0:16:15 | |
And the design is all
right, it's fine. | 0:16:15 | 0:16:17 | |
It's misleading. | 0:16:17 | 0:16:18 | |
It looks more from outside
but when you come in its | 0:16:18 | 0:16:21 | |
quite spacious. | 0:16:21 | 0:16:25 | |
Tom, like most of the residents
here, moved from a much | 0:16:25 | 0:16:27 | |
bigger house, freeing up other
properties that could house larger | 0:16:27 | 0:16:30 | |
families. | 0:16:30 | 0:16:31 | |
So building these new bungalows
actually made economic sense. | 0:16:31 | 0:16:34 | |
This actual site, one of eight now,
we have managed to get 76 | 0:16:34 | 0:16:38 | |
of these type properties which has
freed up 66 homes for families. | 0:16:38 | 0:16:44 | |
And that is really important. | 0:16:44 | 0:16:45 | |
So actually they all
interlink when it | 0:16:45 | 0:16:47 | |
comes to what we're trying
to do as a community. | 0:16:47 | 0:16:52 | |
Why build bungalows? | 0:16:52 | 0:16:53 | |
The reason we are building bungalows
is because people need bungalows. | 0:16:53 | 0:16:56 | |
People want bungalows. | 0:16:56 | 0:16:57 | |
Remember, we are asking
people to give up three | 0:16:57 | 0:16:59 | |
or four, five bedroom houses that
have been their life. | 0:16:59 | 0:17:01 | |
They will still have
family heirlooms that | 0:17:01 | 0:17:03 | |
they want to keep and they want
a space that is still their own. | 0:17:03 | 0:17:06 | |
And that is what this allows. | 0:17:06 | 0:17:08 | |
It is a very small,
compact, but very agile | 0:17:08 | 0:17:10 | |
way of allowing people to carry
on what they see as their life path. | 0:17:10 | 0:17:15 | |
There is a waiting list. | 0:17:15 | 0:17:16 | |
And we have people of
a older nature or a more | 0:17:16 | 0:17:19 | |
vulnerable nature saying we can't
manage the bigger home, can we have | 0:17:19 | 0:17:22 | |
one of these? | 0:17:22 | 0:17:23 | |
And that is why we
are still building. | 0:17:23 | 0:17:25 | |
So we will have over 100 units
by the end of the summer, | 0:17:25 | 0:17:28 | |
which is fantastic. | 0:17:28 | 0:17:29 | |
And we want to continue
that to happen. | 0:17:29 | 0:17:31 | |
So one council is seeing how popular
bungalows still are with the | 0:17:31 | 0:17:34 | |
elderly. | 0:17:34 | 0:17:37 | |
All over the capital
and the suburbs, though, and lack of | 0:17:41 | 0:17:45 | |
All over the capital
and the suburbs, though, a lack of | 0:17:45 | 0:17:48 | |
empty land to build on is surely
the biggest problem | 0:17:48 | 0:17:51 | |
that those wanting bungalows
in the future face. | 0:17:51 | 0:17:52 | |
It is definitely
a concern in London, the | 0:17:52 | 0:17:54 | |
amount of space. | 0:17:54 | 0:17:55 | |
However, a Government
policy was office to | 0:17:55 | 0:17:57 | |
residential, so you could easily
convert, without a long planning | 0:17:57 | 0:17:59 | |
process, an office block
into residential homes. | 0:17:59 | 0:18:02 | |
Now, since that policy
was introduced, it has really | 0:18:02 | 0:18:04 | |
taken off. | 0:18:04 | 0:18:08 | |
That is because there
is a policy in place and local | 0:18:08 | 0:18:11 | |
authorities then have to deliver it. | 0:18:11 | 0:18:13 | |
There are very many small sites
and we are sitting on a fantastic | 0:18:13 | 0:18:16 | |
development here which really shows
off what you can do with a good | 0:18:16 | 0:18:20 | |
piece of land. | 0:18:20 | 0:18:21 | |
And we can have a mix of bungalows,
you can have a mix of | 0:18:21 | 0:18:25 | |
housing, maybe you need a mix
of them all, and maybe when we talk | 0:18:25 | 0:18:28 | |
about affordable housing is
what we really need to start talking | 0:18:28 | 0:18:31 | |
about is what the area needs. | 0:18:31 | 0:18:33 | |
And perhaps we don't need
30 affordable houses - | 0:18:33 | 0:18:35 | |
maybe we need 25 bungalows. | 0:18:35 | 0:18:37 | |
And perhaps the local
authority can work | 0:18:37 | 0:18:39 | |
with the developer to deliver that
sort of flexibility. | 0:18:39 | 0:18:44 | |
Bungalows have faced economic
cutbacks and lack of | 0:18:44 | 0:18:47 | |
space, but they are still places
that many elderly see as a dream | 0:18:47 | 0:18:49 | |
home. | 0:18:49 | 0:18:52 | |
So with support from the Commons,
bungalows could be a thing | 0:18:52 | 0:18:54 | |
of the future as well as the past. | 0:18:54 | 0:18:59 | |
Most of those who worked on the home
front to help Britain win the Second | 0:19:03 | 0:19:07 | |
World War have been given a medal
or an official badge. | 0:19:07 | 0:19:09 | |
That includes miners
and farm workers who helped | 0:19:09 | 0:19:12 | |
keep the country going. | 0:19:12 | 0:19:14 | |
But one group of women
who did some of the | 0:19:14 | 0:19:16 | |
most dangerous work have
always been overlooked. | 0:19:16 | 0:19:19 | |
Former BBC correspondent Kate Adie
asks if it is now time the | 0:19:19 | 0:19:24 | |
Canary Girls were given their due. | 0:19:24 | 0:19:28 | |
We shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing | 0:19:28 | 0:19:30 | |
grounds... | 0:19:30 | 0:19:33 | |
It was Britain's darkest hour. | 0:19:33 | 0:19:36 | |
Its cities pounded by German
bombers, the threat of invasion | 0:19:36 | 0:19:38 | |
real. | 0:19:38 | 0:19:40 | |
Churchill, though, was defiant. | 0:19:40 | 0:19:43 | |
We shall fight in the hills. | 0:19:43 | 0:19:46 | |
We shall never surrender. | 0:19:46 | 0:19:48 | |
The country needed
bombs and bullets on | 0:19:48 | 0:19:50 | |
an industrial scale,
but there weren't enough civilian | 0:19:50 | 0:19:52 | |
men to go into the factories. | 0:19:52 | 0:19:54 | |
So Britain turned to its women. | 0:19:54 | 0:19:58 | |
Over the next four years,
almost 1 million women | 0:19:58 | 0:20:01 | |
were called up to make munitions. | 0:20:01 | 0:20:03 | |
But unlike the veterans of the Land
Army, the Timber Corps and the Bevin | 0:20:03 | 0:20:06 | |
Boys, who worked down the mines,
munitions workers have never | 0:20:06 | 0:20:09 | |
received individual honours. | 0:20:09 | 0:20:15 | |
The Royal Ordinance factory
near Hereford was one of Britain's | 0:20:15 | 0:20:20 | |
largest munitions plants. | 0:20:20 | 0:20:21 | |
Is employed around 2000 workers,
most of them women. | 0:20:21 | 0:20:26 | |
Today the site is overgrown
and neglected but local | 0:20:26 | 0:20:29 | |
historian Bill believes
what happened here should | 0:20:29 | 0:20:31 | |
not be forgotten. | 0:20:31 | 0:20:34 | |
You couldn't have had the army,
the air force and navy | 0:20:34 | 0:20:37 | |
working without the bombs that
were being made here. | 0:20:37 | 0:20:40 | |
Without the munitions that
were produced across | 0:20:40 | 0:20:44 | |
the country, the war
could not have been won. | 0:20:44 | 0:20:49 | |
The National Munitions Association
estimates there are | 0:20:49 | 0:20:52 | |
around 300 surviving veterans. | 0:20:52 | 0:20:57 | |
I have arranged to have tea
with a few who worked here. | 0:20:57 | 0:21:00 | |
Hello! | 0:21:00 | 0:21:01 | |
How nice to see you. | 0:21:01 | 0:21:03 | |
The women had to register for work
when they turned 18. | 0:21:03 | 0:21:07 | |
Fresh out of school,
Elizabeth Cross was made an | 0:21:07 | 0:21:09 | |
inspector, overseeing the assembly
of artillery shells. | 0:21:09 | 0:21:13 | |
Had you had any experience? | 0:21:13 | 0:21:15 | |
I had no idea. | 0:21:15 | 0:21:16 | |
I don't think we had any experience. | 0:21:16 | 0:21:19 | |
I think we were just showed what do. | 0:21:19 | 0:21:21 | |
And that was that. | 0:21:21 | 0:21:22 | |
Nancy worked on the 25-pounders
which were fired by | 0:21:22 | 0:21:25 | |
the army's main field gun. | 0:21:25 | 0:21:28 | |
When you were working
with shells, did you | 0:21:28 | 0:21:30 | |
ponder what they were going to do? | 0:21:30 | 0:21:36 | |
Yes, we did really. | 0:21:36 | 0:21:38 | |
Conscious of it. | 0:21:38 | 0:21:43 | |
But we knew that
...it had to be done. | 0:21:43 | 0:21:47 | |
The women may have been working
on the home front, but the | 0:21:47 | 0:21:50 | |
work was at times dangerous. | 0:21:50 | 0:21:52 | |
For one, they were
handling huge amounts | 0:21:52 | 0:21:55 | |
of explosives. | 0:21:55 | 0:21:57 | |
Maureen from Orpington
in Kent was sent to work | 0:21:57 | 0:21:59 | |
at a munitions factory near Stoke. | 0:21:59 | 0:22:05 | |
But during her training
she was involved | 0:22:05 | 0:22:07 | |
in an accident when her
instructor made a mistake. | 0:22:07 | 0:22:09 | |
She said, you take this
bottle and you put | 0:22:09 | 0:22:13 | |
this in... | 0:22:13 | 0:22:15 | |
Telling me all about it, you see. | 0:22:15 | 0:22:17 | |
And then the next thing I knew
I was lying on the ground | 0:22:17 | 0:22:20 | |
outside having been blown out
through the door, I suppose! | 0:22:20 | 0:22:26 | |
Maureen's hearing was permanently
damaged and her face is required | 0:22:26 | 0:22:28 | |
plastic surgery. | 0:22:28 | 0:22:31 | |
Her instructor, who was just 18,
was exposed to the full | 0:22:31 | 0:22:33 | |
force of the blast. | 0:22:33 | 0:22:36 | |
She must have been
blown up in the place. | 0:22:36 | 0:22:39 | |
And she died. | 0:22:39 | 0:22:42 | |
But working with explosives
posed other risks too. | 0:22:42 | 0:22:45 | |
With just basic protective
equipment, some | 0:22:45 | 0:22:49 | |
workers fell ill
from poisonous fumes. | 0:22:49 | 0:22:52 | |
Nancy Evans handled chemicals
including cordite, arsenic and TNT, | 0:22:52 | 0:22:57 | |
which can cause toxic jaundice
and turn the skin yellow. | 0:22:57 | 0:23:02 | |
It is why some munitions
workers became known as | 0:23:02 | 0:23:05 | |
Canary Girls. | 0:23:05 | 0:23:06 | |
Your hair would turn blonde,
your hands were all yellow. | 0:23:06 | 0:23:12 | |
Your face was yellow. | 0:23:12 | 0:23:15 | |
Nancy soon developed severe
stomach problems. | 0:23:15 | 0:23:19 | |
They took me to the hospital,
and they operated that | 0:23:19 | 0:23:23 | |
night, and it took me five
days before I came to, | 0:23:23 | 0:23:27 | |
because of the TNT poisoning. | 0:23:27 | 0:23:32 | |
Pregnant workers were
particularly at risk. | 0:23:32 | 0:23:34 | |
Lillian Summers remembers
when a friend lost her baby. | 0:23:34 | 0:23:39 | |
It was born with yellow skin. | 0:23:39 | 0:23:41 | |
I can remember. | 0:23:41 | 0:23:42 | |
It was six days old. | 0:23:42 | 0:23:44 | |
And she lost it. | 0:23:44 | 0:23:45 | |
The tiny, pale, little yellow baby. | 0:23:45 | 0:23:48 | |
Because she worked
in the fill, you see? | 0:23:48 | 0:23:50 | |
We called it the fill. | 0:23:50 | 0:23:51 | |
Filling the shells? | 0:23:51 | 0:23:52 | |
Yes, the fill. | 0:23:52 | 0:23:57 | |
Air raid shelters like
this were built in the | 0:23:57 | 0:23:59 | |
grounds of the factories
because not only were | 0:23:59 | 0:24:02 | |
explosives and chemical
is | 0:24:02 | 0:24:03 | |
a danger, the workers
were a target of the Luftwaffe. | 0:24:03 | 0:24:08 | |
At 6am on the 27th of July 1942,
a German bomber was | 0:24:08 | 0:24:13 | |
spotted over Hereford. | 0:24:13 | 0:24:16 | |
The siren went. | 0:24:16 | 0:24:17 | |
We saw the plane up there. | 0:24:17 | 0:24:19 | |
Thinking, oh, we are all right,
it is one of ours, we are OK. | 0:24:19 | 0:24:22 | |
And then there was a big whoosh... | 0:24:22 | 0:24:24 | |
And we realised it wasn't. | 0:24:24 | 0:24:31 | |
A man ran through when he said get
out, it's for real. My friend called | 0:24:31 | 0:24:37 | |
me and we raced down the corridors.
In a plane came down and it came | 0:24:37 | 0:24:42 | |
down so low you could see the
swastika on it. There were two bombs | 0:24:42 | 0:24:48 | |
dropped and then you can just
imagine what it was like. I was | 0:24:48 | 0:24:51 | |
helping the people to get in the
ambulances. And then was going | 0:24:51 | 0:25:02 | |
around picking the dead ones up. It
was terrible. I never saw anything | 0:25:02 | 0:25:09 | |
like it. | 0:25:09 | 0:25:10 | |
At least 24 people were killed in
the bombing. And every year | 0:25:19 | 0:25:25 | |
99-year-old Nancy Evans joins
Hereford's old soldiers to remember | 0:25:25 | 0:25:27 | |
the friends she lost that day. I
thought how nice it would have been | 0:25:27 | 0:25:34 | |
if they were here, the ones that got
killed. I lost many of them. I sent | 0:25:34 | 0:25:45 | |
my prayers out to them. So having
done important and dangerous work, | 0:25:45 | 0:25:53 | |
why haven't these women received
official recognition? In the | 0:25:53 | 0:25:57 | |
Commons, Theresa May cited what she
called practical reasons. I'm sure | 0:25:57 | 0:26:01 | |
everyone in the house would want to
join me in plain tribute to the | 0:26:01 | 0:26:06 | |
thousands who worked in munitions
factories. For practical reasons it | 0:26:06 | 0:26:11 | |
isn't possible to pursue individual
awards. Missing records could make | 0:26:11 | 0:26:15 | |
it difficult to verify whether
veterans are genuine but still some | 0:26:15 | 0:26:19 | |
have documents proving they were
canary girls. And even those who | 0:26:19 | 0:26:23 | |
don't should be recognised,
according to the former MP who | 0:26:23 | 0:26:27 | |
successfully fought the recognition
of the Bevin Boys. Records | 0:26:27 | 0:26:33 | |
successfully fought the recognition
of the Bevin Boys. Records | 0:26:33 | 0:26:33 | |
successfully fought the recognition
of the Bevin Boys. Records will be | 0:26:33 | 0:26:34 | |
difficult, often statements can be
collaborated by people and that | 0:26:34 | 0:26:38 | |
should be | 0:26:38 | 0:26:38 | |
collaborated by people and that
should be strong enough. If it is | 0:26:38 | 0:26:39 | |
good enough | 0:26:39 | 0:26:39 | |
should be strong enough. If it is
good enough for the Bevin Boys and | 0:26:39 | 0:26:41 | |
Gordon Brown and did something for
the land girls, there is no reason | 0:26:41 | 0:26:45 | |
at all whether the treatment of the
day shouldn't quickly recognise the | 0:26:45 | 0:26:49 | |
role that the armaments factory were
workers played in our victory in | 0:26:49 | 0:26:56 | |
1945. Following a campaign backed by
BBC radio Hereford and Worcester | 0:26:56 | 0:27:02 | |
radio, to May invited a group of
musicians workers to number ten, but | 0:27:02 | 0:27:06 | |
official recognition was not
discussed. It was an interesting | 0:27:06 | 0:27:10 | |
time the ladies, they met Theresa
May and how gravity and piece of | 0:27:10 | 0:27:13 | |
cake. But that is not formal
recognition. I think they deserve | 0:27:13 | 0:27:18 | |
some sort of medal or a formally
recognised badge they can wear with | 0:27:18 | 0:27:24 | |
pride and that their family members
can cling on to as well. They were | 0:27:24 | 0:27:28 | |
quite happy to honour the man who
fired the bullets and drop the bombs | 0:27:28 | 0:27:33 | |
but here we are with these women who
made them and without whom we could | 0:27:33 | 0:27:36 | |
not have won the wars. In a
statement, the Government or this | 0:27:36 | 0:27:41 | |
programme... | 0:27:41 | 0:27:46 | |
Do you think you should be in some
way officially recognise? Yes, | 0:27:57 | 0:28:01 | |
please. Eddie. I would very much. I
think it is important because I | 0:28:01 | 0:28:12 | |
think we should be treated the same
as everybody else. I would like | 0:28:12 | 0:28:15 | |
that. I think all these ladies would
like it. It is a difficult fact that | 0:28:15 | 0:28:22 | |
each year fewer and fewer of these
remarkable women survived to tell | 0:28:22 | 0:28:25 | |
their stories. So if the Government
is to act it must do so quickly. | 0:28:25 | 0:28:32 | |
Kate Adie reporting. I really hope
the canary girls get the proper Rick | 0:28:36 | 0:28:40 | |
recognition they deserve. That is it
for the current series of inside | 0:28:40 | 0:28:44 | |
out. Tonight's programme will be
available on the eye | 0:28:44 | 0:28:48 | |
out. Tonight's programme will be
available on the eye player. Head to | 0:28:48 | 0:28:48 | |
our website, and click on London. We
will be back again in the autumn. | 0:28:48 | 0:28:56 | |
See you later. | 0:28:56 | 0:29:00 |