The Street That Cut Everything
Encyclopedia
The Street That Cut Everything is a British television documentary presented by BBC
political editor Nick Robinson
. Billed as a social experiment, 50 residents of a street in Preston, Lancashire
were persuaded to go without all council services for six weeks, and work together to run their own community with the aid of the Council Tax
rebates they received for not having local authority services. One of the film's objectives was to highlight the issue of cuts in public spending, but the programme attracted criticism for the nature in which the experiment was conducted. One major point of concern involved dogs being allowed to excessively foul the street, which the residents were then required to clean up, something which raised public health concerns. The programme was aired in two episodes on Monday 16 May 2011.
The film's objective was to highlight issues regarding the cuts to public spending being implemented by the Conservative-led coalition government
and the effects these might have on the provision of local services. Speaking about the documentary at the time, a spokesman for the BBC said: "This programme will explore how a community faces up to the choices involved in living in an era of cuts, and examine the way in which people act as a group when confronted with limited resources and difficult decisions."
The street featured in the programme is Beacon Avenue, Fulwood
, Preston.
, said the BBC had been "extremely irresponsible", adding: "Dog excrement fouling a road is unhygienic and can cause illness in young children." On the same issue, Ken Hudson, the Conservative
leader of Preston City Council, said: "I think we have sufficient problems trying to regulate people to collect dog droppings without artificially manufacturing a programme which causes effluent on the streets." But defending the scene, a BBC spokesman said: "The filming of the dog-walking scene demonstrates in exaggerated form one of the challenges residents would face if street-cleaning services were cut. The residents rose to the challenge and cleaned up the small amount of dog dirt extremely quickly."
Conservative MP Stephen Hammond
said: "This is an outrageous piece of scaremongering by the BBC and compromises their editorial integrity...We need a full and frank explanation from the organisation about how and why this is a good use of taxpayers’ cash...I shall be reporting them to Ofcom [the broadcasting watchdog] for what quite frankly is a unforgivable breach of editorial standards."
reported that the first part of the programme, which was aired from 9-10pm had attracted 3.02million viewers (a 12.7% audience share), but that it had been beaten by ITV1
's documentary on Strangeways Prison which achieved viewing figures of 5.25m (22.1%). The second episode of The Street That Cut Everything, shown after the BBC Ten O'Clock News
attracted 3.02 million (by then a 21.1% share of the audience).
Reviews of the programme were generally unfavourable with critics citing its lack of credibility. John Crace of The Guardian
wrote: "Government cuts as entertainment is both morally and factually iffy...In the end we didn't actually learn that much about what councils can and cannot afford or whether they offer good value for money; only that they manage it better than a bunch of 50 amateurs trying to do it on their own. But we did learn why the big society is probably a doomed project." Writing on their website, Chris Daniel, of the TaxPayers' Alliance
said: "Whilst the theatrical show made for sensationalist television the concept was completely flawed. It bore little relation to the actual challenge people would face."
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Catherine Gee called the programme "one of the most pointless political and social experiments of recent times", observing: "In order to find out what happens when there’s no public services we need look no further than the local library or a history documentary. It’s squalor and chaos and that’s why public services were introduced in the first place. The issue of cuts to public services is indeed a serious one, but this sensationalist documentary was not an effective way to highlight it."
A more positive review was given by Archie Bland, of The Independent
who wrote: "It's the first piece of popular television I've seen that grapples effectively with how such deep cuts will really play out."
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
political editor Nick Robinson
Nick Robinson
Nicholas Anthony "Nick" Robinson is a British journalist and political editor for the BBC. Robinson was interested in politics from a young age, and went on to study a Philosophy, Politics, and Economics degree at Oxford University, where he was also President of the Oxford University Conservative...
. Billed as a social experiment, 50 residents of a street in Preston, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
were persuaded to go without all council services for six weeks, and work together to run their own community with the aid of the Council Tax
Council tax
Council Tax is the system of local taxation used in England, Scotland and Wales to part fund the services provided by local government in each country. It was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as a successor to the unpopular Community Charge...
rebates they received for not having local authority services. One of the film's objectives was to highlight the issue of cuts in public spending, but the programme attracted criticism for the nature in which the experiment was conducted. One major point of concern involved dogs being allowed to excessively foul the street, which the residents were then required to clean up, something which raised public health concerns. The programme was aired in two episodes on Monday 16 May 2011.
Background
Details of the programme were reported in January 2011, with the documentary's intentions being to discover what would happen to an "ordinary residential road". It would see residents having to live without refuse collection, street lighting and street cleaning, and the Daily Telegraph reported that to emphasize their point, the show’s producers had brought about 20 dogs to the street then encouraged their owners to let them foul the road.The film's objective was to highlight issues regarding the cuts to public spending being implemented by the Conservative-led coalition government
United Kingdom coalition government (2010–present)
The ConservativeLiberal Democrat coalition is the present Government of the United Kingdom, formed after the 2010 general election. The Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats entered into discussions which culminated in the 2010 coalition agreement, setting out a programme for government...
and the effects these might have on the provision of local services. Speaking about the documentary at the time, a spokesman for the BBC said: "This programme will explore how a community faces up to the choices involved in living in an era of cuts, and examine the way in which people act as a group when confronted with limited resources and difficult decisions."
The street featured in the programme is Beacon Avenue, Fulwood
Fulwood, Lancashire
Fulwood is an unparished area of the City of Preston, Lancashire, England, about north of the city centre. It had a population of 33,171 in 2001.- Economy and society :Fulwood remains a distinctive division of Preston...
, Preston.
Overview
BBC Political editor Nick Robinson persuaded the 50 residents of the street to forgo all council services for six weeks, excluding education and healthcare, and the neighbours were required to arrange alternative solutions. The residents received a "rebate" for the equivalent amount of Council Tax which they would be paying over the six weeks, and had to work together as a community. During the period of the experiment, refuse was no longer collected, street lighting was switched off and other services provided by the local authority were withdrawn. To make life more difficult the programme arranged for the street to be daubed with graffiti, for items to be fly tipped, for dogs to foul pavements and for actors to pose as anti-social teenagers who the neighbours were required to deal with. In addition some residents had to depend on the community as a whole for their benefits.Criticism
The programme attracted controversy several months before it was finally broadcast, with the dog fouling incident coming in for particular criticism. Dorothy Kelk, speaking on behalf of the Preston branch of Friends of the EarthFriends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth International is an international network of environmental organizations in 76 countries.FOEI is assisted by a small secretariat which provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns...
, said the BBC had been "extremely irresponsible", adding: "Dog excrement fouling a road is unhygienic and can cause illness in young children." On the same issue, Ken Hudson, the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
leader of Preston City Council, said: "I think we have sufficient problems trying to regulate people to collect dog droppings without artificially manufacturing a programme which causes effluent on the streets." But defending the scene, a BBC spokesman said: "The filming of the dog-walking scene demonstrates in exaggerated form one of the challenges residents would face if street-cleaning services were cut. The residents rose to the challenge and cleaned up the small amount of dog dirt extremely quickly."
Conservative MP Stephen Hammond
Stephen Hammond
Stephen William Hammond is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He has been the Member of Parliament for Wimbledon since winning the seat in the 2005 election on 5 May 2005 with a 7.2% swing....
said: "This is an outrageous piece of scaremongering by the BBC and compromises their editorial integrity...We need a full and frank explanation from the organisation about how and why this is a good use of taxpayers’ cash...I shall be reporting them to Ofcom [the broadcasting watchdog] for what quite frankly is a unforgivable breach of editorial standards."
Reception
The website Digital SpyDigital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
reported that the first part of the programme, which was aired from 9-10pm had attracted 3.02million viewers (a 12.7% audience share), but that it had been beaten by ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
's documentary on Strangeways Prison which achieved viewing figures of 5.25m (22.1%). The second episode of The Street That Cut Everything, shown after the BBC Ten O'Clock News
BBC Ten O'Clock News
The BBC News at Ten is the flagship evening news programme for British television channel BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented by Huw Edwards, and deputised by Fiona Bruce. It is the final comprehensive news programme of the day on BBC One...
attracted 3.02 million (by then a 21.1% share of the audience).
Reviews of the programme were generally unfavourable with critics citing its lack of credibility. John Crace of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
wrote: "Government cuts as entertainment is both morally and factually iffy...In the end we didn't actually learn that much about what councils can and cannot afford or whether they offer good value for money; only that they manage it better than a bunch of 50 amateurs trying to do it on their own. But we did learn why the big society is probably a doomed project." Writing on their website, Chris Daniel, of the TaxPayers' Alliance
TaxPayers' Alliance
The TaxPayers' Alliance is a British pressure group and taxpayers union formed in 2004 to campaign for a low tax society. The group had about 18,000 registered supporters as of 2008, and claimed to have 55,000 by September 2010....
said: "Whilst the theatrical show made for sensationalist television the concept was completely flawed. It bore little relation to the actual challenge people would face."
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Catherine Gee called the programme "one of the most pointless political and social experiments of recent times", observing: "In order to find out what happens when there’s no public services we need look no further than the local library or a history documentary. It’s squalor and chaos and that’s why public services were introduced in the first place. The issue of cuts to public services is indeed a serious one, but this sensationalist documentary was not an effective way to highlight it."
A more positive review was given by Archie Bland, of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
who wrote: "It's the first piece of popular television I've seen that grapples effectively with how such deep cuts will really play out."
External links
- The Street That Cut Everything at BBC Online