'Pay £800 per month for a room without a window or move to Australia' - Project Peter Pan

Young people stuck in inadequate rental properties are leaving the country | Project Peter Pan

One young woman spoke out , as part our new campaign Project Peter Pan: Championing the lost generation, about the realities of rooms without windows for £800 not including bills and many people choosing to leave the country. Lilly Croucher, writing for London World, said: "I have friends who have paid £800 per month each, not including bills, for a room in London without the “luxury” of a window." And in a first person piece, Samson Folarin told our reporters he searched for accommodation in the capital and found it full of ‘high rents, racists and fraudsters’.

The Shields Gazette spoke to 30 year old Daniel Batey who says "I'm just surviving"., Daniel, who is disabled, said after his 2019 graduation he struggled to find a job throughout the Covid pandemic and now feels as though his life has been put on hold by the house prices in the North East.

In Liverpool, a sofa surfing chef and dad told Liverpool World he was desperate to provide a suitable house for his children but getting on property ladder is 'out of the question' In Manchester World, mum of two 20-year-old daughters Lisa Valentine, said her daughters live at the family home but are no ‘snowflakes’. And Isaac, 27, told Bristol World’s Mark Taylor his daily budget for food is £2 and there is no money left at the end of the month. We launched the campaign to give a voice to those in their 20s and 30s who may not have inherited wealth but work hard - but face almost impossible odds to save a deposit, get a mortgage or get out of the rental cycle.

In a General Election year, we want to bring these voices from the Generation Z and Millennial crossover generations to the fore. They need help and soon as a mental health epidemic spirals in the face of the cost of living crisis.

In Portsmouth, Joe Williams crunched the numbers for the The News, revealing wages in Portsmouth are in the lowest band in the country with a median monthly pay of £2,223 per calendar month, which works out at £26,676 per annum while average property price in Portsmouth (PO2) as £237,923 (figures from October 2023) with flats coming in at just over £160,000 and terraced houses just over £250,000. The maths look bleak.

Project Peter Pan has been supported across the industry, with articles on the project appearing on Hold the front page, InPublishing, and Medium. The following National World titles are taking part Glasgow World, Manchester World, Yorkshire Evening Post, The Star, Sheffield, Lancashire Post, Blackpool Gazette, Derby World, Nottingham World, London World, Shields Gazette, The News, Portsmouth, Edinburgh Evening News. Liverpool World, Bristol World, Newcastle World, Birmingham World, Sunderland Echo.

If you would like to get involved to tell your story or help make a difference email me [email protected]