The Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley is under fire today after 230,000 residents received eviction notices.
Local councils sent the letters en-masse on the same day. The eviction notices state that new leadership in the Borough of Barnsley has instructed all local councils to issue the notices immediately.
Not going to make the same mistakes
Other than the evictions themselves the accompanying letter has caused further outrage. It stated reasons for the notices as “multiple” including the “modernisation and/or rebuilding of almost all homes, buildings and roadways.” But it goes on to say “Unfortunately any modernisation would be fruitless and a waste of taxpayer money if the same class of people remain in the area. We are not going to make the same mistakes as other councils around the country who spend 100’s of millions of pounds updating homes only to have the residents wreck them in a few months. Quite frankly we need a much better class of people living in Barnsley.”
Fear in neighbouring Lancashire
The notices which give residents 28 days notice to leave the properties have also sparked fear in neighbouring Lancashire who say that a sudden influx of council refugees from the west will reduce their property values and way of life. Most Barnsley residents have accepted the decision with one saying “To be fair love i’m surprised I was allowed to live here this long, most people round here are a fucking nightmare”
