What is Middlewood like to live in?
The house prices look very good and I know it is close to Hillsborough which is a bonus but what is the actual area like?

don`t live there myself but i have a friend who moved to middlewood about 18 months ago and he absolutely loves it, say`s it`s very convenient with good public transport

The Middlewood area is quite large - it really depends which road you are looking on. Leppings lane and the roads below Middlewood Road were not particularly rated but now they are quite popular and some new flats being built on Leppings are £120K! The roads above Middlewood road tend to be dearer and going up the hill to Marlcliffe and above (technically Wadsley) the prices are quite high.

Am looking at places in the Winn Grove area, the estate agents make them look quite nice.

Yep, that's the dodgy area! Avoid at all costs!
Winn Gardens has had lots of trouble in the past - some of the residents were great but they have moved out now...
I have a friend who works for the housing dept. and he reckons the trouble makers have been evicted but I still keep hearing of problems connected with that development, particularly with the youngsters there.

I would suggest that some of the cheaper houses in Hillsborough or other, well established roads, off Middlewood Road would be a better option

i lived on winn grove all my life and never had a spot of bother at all. winn gardens is the bottom area where there is a little trouble but not much. the tower block used to have a lot of trouble makers live on there but there knocking it down now anyway. winn grove has a lot of older residents that have been on there for years i would move there tomorrow if i got the oppotunity. hope this helps love gem xx

Obviously the people who believe winn gardens is 'dodgy' have unfortunately not visited it recently.

The estate is friendly and neighbourly, we actually tried to get some ligitimate crime stats on the estate but nothing came up worth mentioning.

For more information on winn gardens 2004 please visit the following: www.geocities.com/middlewooduk

You may be surprised!:thumbsup:

Originally posted by fox20thc
Obviously the people who believe winn gardens is 'dodgy' have unfortunately not visited it recently.


I am speaking from the perspective of people who live nearby and no, I have not visited it recently and it may be very nice now.
BUT... if we are being asked to give our opinion then that is what I am doing. I live in an area near there that has had a lot of bother from some Winn Gardens residents over the past 20 years.
The point is that it still has a 'dodgy' rep. and I would not advise anyone to buy there. There is a reason why properties there are so cheap and an investment there will probably not go up as much as elsewhere.

Thanks very much for all your comments, they have been very helpful:)

Originally posted by fox20thc
, we actually tried to get some ligitimate crime stats on the estate but nothing came up worth mentioning.


Thats cos there's nowt worth nickin on Winn Gardens - they all nip across the road to the new estate where the decent tele's are!!! ;)

I have lived on Winn Gardens twice within my lifetime, once when a child and now as an adult with my own family, I agree that Winn Gardens has had it's fair share of difficulties, but things have definately changed, nowhere within Sheffield is 100% safe and secure, and there are worse area's (Manor/Park Hill for example) so before trying to slag off an area, try getting a more up to date concept of what a place is actually like.

Originally posted by Kry10
I have lived on Winn Gardens twice within my lifetime, once when a child and now as an adult with my own family, I agree that Winn Gardens has had it's fair share of difficulties, but things have definately changed, nowhere within Sheffield is 100% safe and secure, and there are worse area's (Manor/Park Hill for example) so before trying to slag off an area, try getting a more up to date concept of what a place is actually like.

If that was following on from my comments, does living for many years on Harris Road and being threatened whenever I walked up to the newsagents at Winn Gardens count? Or what about knowing people that live at Wadsley Park Village that have had neighbours robbed and actually been able to identify the culprits as people from Winn Gardens?

Does this count as an up to date concept?

I'm not saying anywhere is safe these days but you cant deny that Winn Gardens is one of the market leaders.

There are stages between somewhere being a war zone and being perfect in every way.

Why does every discussion about an area always come down to people who insist an area is one of those or the other?

Winn Gardens is not the nicest area in Sheffield, noone claims that it is. But to then say that means you would be mad to live in Middlewood is reaching a pretty dramatic conclusion.

Hiya
I've lived on the Winn Gardens for about 20 years & yes we've had our ups & downs but it is not that bad!If it was I would have moved off years ago but we have even bought our property.Where ever you go these days you will find trouble bits so I say better the devil you know!!

i live across from winn gardens on the new-ish housing estate. had no problems with anyone, from anyside of the road. everyone's pretty normal.

regarding living here, can be a nightmare to get across town/home at certain times due to millions of traffic lights! apart from that: tram, shop, take-aways, close to motorway....

I know somebody who lived on the new estate at middlewood and they said that any problems tey had came not from the people on the winn gardens but from the young kids /teenagers that live on the new estate.

The tower blocks at winn gardens are being pulled down and the area will slowly be on the up

There seems to be a lot said about the young people's behaviour from Winn Gardens regarding crime and youth nuisance! Does anyone actually know what they are experiencing as young people today? More so, does anyone actually know what a majority of these 'stereotyped' criminals have been involved in over the last few years? Ask them at their level you may be suprised!!

Many thanks to the open minded people who choose not to tar Winn Gardens with the 20yr old brush. Yes in the 70's and 80's the estate did at times resemble a ghetto.

The community now is stable and a great number of the residents are either young families or older residents.. I say residents because they BOUGHT their properties!

Interesting fact, young people from wadsley park village have been coming across to the esate to a)mix with the estates young people, and b)because they want to participate in the many facilities the estate provides. E.G. 3 days a week youth club, Junior clubs, Jobnet, Mother and Toddler groups, Yoga classes. To name just a few. Plus the brand new nursery.

Do you think that we would have invested 1.8 million pounds in an estate that wouldnt respect it? Or be responsible for consulting in the 5 parks project and helping to design another £1 million pound scheme for the park and play areas? Which incidentally is for the wider community to enjoy not soley for the estate. (completion date for the park is March 05)

So to all the winners out their well done, don't let anyone tell you that your community is rife with thieves and violence, no community is totally free from bad elements, that is the world we live in, the difference is Winn Gardens is a 'community' who know eachother and don't go home to their own little box and lock their door, never speaking to a soul and not knowing a thing about their neighbour.

If other people choose to stay away because of age old stereotypes.. they're the ones who would be missing out.

find out for yourself.. (http://www.geocities.com/middlewooduk)

thought id use this thread instead of new one:
does anyone know whats happening to the church in WPV, ive heard its turning into flats and a gym and that they are building garages into the hill? not happy if they knock trees down and will it have a car park? or will they be parking on the streets?
does anyone know where i can find out?

re church in WPV. Bloor homes have let it fall into disrepair and applied to the council to have it demolished declaring it unsafe for restoration.

The council threw out the request and Bloor homes reps stormed from the chambers. They want to floor the church completely but planning permission has been blocked.

The original plans were for this to be the hub of the village with shops/ nursery ect. but as bloor ran out of money they never pursued this, as far as I am aware they have no immediate plans and don't know what to do with it. For more definate info I would contact the developer directly and ask them.

fyi:
The tower block on winn gardens has now been demolished and will be replaced with an open green space. The middlewood park redevelopment is also underway and phase 1 will be completed by March 05.

Originally posted by fox20thc
re church in WPV. Bloor homes have let it fall into disrepair and applied to the council to have it demolished declaring it unsafe for restoration.

The council threw out the request and Bloor homes reps stormed from the chambers. They want to floor the church completely but planning permission has been blocked.

The original plans were for this to be the hub of the village with shops/ nursery ect. but as bloor ran out of money they never pursued this, as far as I am aware they have no immediate plans and don't know what to do with it. For more definate info I would contact the developer directly and ask them.

fyi:
The tower block on winn gardens has now been demolished and will be replaced with an open green space. The middlewood park redevelopment is also underway and phase 1 will be completed by March 05.



Really concerned about what Bloor are doing they seem to be cutting down trees here there and everywhere yet I thought some of them had preservation orders on them. As for the church talk about bulldoze the past and character, its shocking

Apparently the trees that have the preservation order on them have had casts made of them which have been sent to Weston park museum. The tree stumps themselves, which I believe are 300 million years old, have been covered over and the land is supposed to remain green. The admin block of the hospital appears to be beyond repair and as the Council review is not until March next year I expect the developers will get their way and build the 38 apartments they have been asking for.

Well if you dont like whats happening in WPV you only have to log your objections with the planning department. Im sure cllr Paul Massey (bradfield parish council) who is a resident there will be only happy to help anyone who is unhappy lodge their complaints.

The people on WPV need to get organised, if not bloor and the developers will just rung rings around you all.

The winn grove area of winn gardens isn't as bad as everyone makes out, i have grown up on that estate and my nannan still lives on there now, it was alot worse a couple of years back but the people that hung around there then have grown up, it is no where near as bad as it used to be.

The point is that it still has a 'dodgy' rep. and I would not advise anyone to buy there.

I don't agree as i said i have been brought up on the winn gardens area, maybe when the area is mentioned then people think of it as a bad area, this just shows that you do not know it and need to realise that things change, fair enough no area is perfect, and every where has good and bad points.

Originally posted by CaptainSleep
I know somebody who lived on the new estate at middlewood and they said that any problems tey had came not from the people on the winn gardens but from the young kids /teenagers that live on the new estate.

The tower blocks at winn gardens are being pulled down and the area will slowly be on the up
agree with this, there is a young family on new estate that had awful trouble with neighbours snotty kids. she told them to be quiet and stop swearing as her child was napping and got told to f off and called a s*****r. with a comment of you house is only a ****ty 3bed - look at ours. luckily the father of naughty kids heard and sent them in - no apology though.
we have a few annoyances with kids, dont know which estate. usually coming round for some charity or event which i dont mind, or carol singing and halloween which i do mind.
my lil sis knows a few people from winn g and like anywhere its got good bit and bad bits. she recently saw huge domestic violence on the bus from a young couple who lived there and noone did a thing, the girl was punched in the face and thrown down the stairs as she got off.

ive heard its going to be 7 apartment s and garages - for qhich they will knock down some trees and build them into the hill? There is also going to be a gym, not sure who it will be for. god knows where the parking is gonna be, if its outside my house theres gonna be trouble!"