00:00 - Um, Aynsworth is pretty rough in certain parts of it.
00:05 Um, I mean I live in Aynsworth Wood,
00:08 and I have to say the further you get out,
00:10 it gets better.
00:11 Spark Hill and Spark Brook are a bit rough.
00:13 Don't want to offend anybody that lives there.
00:16 Yeah, Allen Rock, that's a bit rough on me.
00:19 Live to, any local I'd tell you anything new.
00:22 (laughs)
00:23 The notorious bad spots, they've always been the same.
00:27 It's up to the council,
00:28 this was about to get it really, yeah.
00:30 (laughs)
00:33 - I shouldn't really say this,
00:34 'cause I live here, but it's Norfield.
00:36 For me it's Norfield, I just think
00:38 it's quite unruly up there,
00:40 but I think due to the youth,
00:43 a lot of the youth not having anything to do,
00:46 like it just becomes a playground for them basically,
00:49 so everything just then becomes destroyed
00:52 or noisy or whatever,
00:55 but I do believe that there should be more like,
00:58 things for people and youth especially to do,
01:01 'cause there's nothing, they're bored, people are bored,
01:03 and that's why you end up with so much going on
01:07 and so much rubbish and so much everything,
01:09 'cause there's nothing to help basically.
01:12 - Just the city centre as a whole really.
01:18 So last summer was the last time that I came,
01:20 so it's been nearly a year,
01:22 and I can't believe how dirty places are.
01:25 It doesn't look great at all really.
01:28 Quite disappointed to see the state of the city as it is.
01:33 - Yeah.
01:36 I don't know, I feel like down by the market,
01:37 it's really scary actually.
01:40 Those are quite, they all shout at each other
01:42 and they're all fighting,
01:43 it's a bit like no black kids are gonna buy them.
01:45 - I mean it's difficult to say, it's quite nice everywhere.
01:49 I mean, I wouldn't say anywhere's grim,
01:51 there's places which have building works around
01:53 which can be grim, but I could tell that it's gonna go
01:56 somewhere so it's not that grim.
01:57 There's an area between New Street and Digbeth
02:00 that's just an empty lot, which it's not grim as such,
02:02 but it's just empty, I'd say.
02:04 - I think no doubt the council and Birmingham City
02:09 are trying to do as much as they can,
02:11 and you can see in some areas where are being redeveloped,
02:15 you can see some areas where you can see litter pickers
02:18 and people going round to try and clear up any rubbish.
02:22 Obviously, economically it's very difficult
02:26 because of the disputes with probably council workers
02:32 who aren't necessarily feeling that they're getting
02:34 the same advantages as private workers,
02:38 but we know that somehow we've gotta balance the books.
02:41 So I think it's the same probably in all cities
02:44 throughout the UK, and it's very easy for some people
02:47 just to pick on one street that's in a bad way
02:50 because of whatever dispute or whatever the problem is,
02:54 and actually use that to brand the whole city
02:58 as being like that, and I don't think it is.
03:00 Birmingham's a great city, and it has some wonderful areas.
03:03 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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