a suggestion perhaps

[emmie]

that some people on AB, stop referring to council estates, property, as dirty sink estates, as i read yet another person refer to the gypsies of Dale Farm possibly going into a council estate. All the properties i know, local and where friends, family live are not like that, but well kept pleasant places to live. I would agree there are some estates in London are like that, but not all.

[notasyoungasiwas]

I grew up on a council estate. Mum and Dad are still there, it was nice then and it's still nice now, although a lot of the houses have been bought, including Mum & Dad's.

[emmie]

Notasyoung, see nice things do happen, and people have bought their properties as you said.

[notasyoungasiwas]

I was very happy as a kid there em and it's lovely to go back to see Mum & Dad

[fliptheswitch]

I was brought up on a council estate and, in all honesty, I loved it. They are the best memories of my childhood.
Where I lived, it certainly wasn't a "dirty sink estate", but of course there are some that are just that.
Problem is, I went back there recently and it was nothing like I remembered. As someone else said, this one had gone massively downhill too. It made me feel quite sad, really.

Anyway, my point is, there are decent estates and not so decent estates.
I don't think it's fair to generalise and think that every estate is going to be full of "chavs". Some people have lived there all their lives and are respectable, decent folk.

To be honest, some of the estates near to where I live are nicer than half of the residential streets in the town!