hey up.. came here from a long path...

the name image comes from our url which is image.lowtech.org lots of images of sheffield from the city centre to green side and of course all the urban dereliction.. we are working on a current project about Claywood flats... aint sure if this is the right place (to post this) but i need to ask: are there any persons out there with info on claywood? (that esate behind the rail station..) the three tower blocks that are soon due for demolition. here is the intro text from the front page of image so you get an idea what we are aiming for etc..

The flats in question (claywood drive - where the dodgy but quite artist platter of decadence is on display.. see: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/sheffield/2004/03/286734.html ) are a disgraceful waste of natural resources. Abandoned by Sheffield City Council, the tower blocks have been emptied but left open for anyone to view the 350+ flats, half of which still contain furniture, fridges and other belongings.

Some of the flats were "Furnish Let" and the beds (adorned with the "Housing Depeartment" logo) and other furniture provided by the council have just been left in amongst all the other crap. Like everything else in this anti-thinking world, bureaucrats use the short term economical perspective: the cost of re-using stuff within capitalism (labour time, etc.) costs more than the actual new stuff itself!

We bet if the individual tenants took the Council Property along with them, then they'd get charged. Sheffield City Council reserve the right to landfill their own property.

here (link) are the first set taken there from an agfa cl18 when we were squatting the whole of floor 3 and parts of floor 5 / 12 along with keys for another floor on the yellow block. it was due to our actions we stopped the drug abuse and other anti social behaviour while there were still a few tenants remaining. it seems they have been left open again (number of conspiracy theories - you decide..) have a peek at the images

http://image.lowtech.org


image..

Surely the council are in a no win situation as regards marked up furnishings supplied to disadvantaged tenants.

Once the decision was made to vacate the flats they could not be seen to be giving second hand items away (it is not their responsibilty by law)'

To remove the items from these locked flats would have been
more costly and when these flats are demolished the items will be removed by the contractor at no extra cost to the council

If any of the flats are open they should be reported to the housing department as it is certain that they have been broken into.

I do not believe that anyone squatting in these flats obtained any keys legitimately and once the squatters were identified they were removed by the police which is their public duty on condemned flats, for all sorts of reasons including safety.

Why should anyone live rent free regardless of their viewpoint when everybody else has to earn a living to pay rent?

I don't see what your beef is apart from a minority anarchical standpoint.Your website seems to be a little to the left of Arthur Scargill.

Why were you squatting in such a hell hole? Why were you squatting at all?

"Once the decision was made to vacate the flats they could not be seen to be giving second hand items away (it is not their responsibilty by law)'"

This is a load of balls! The council may not be able to second these items on to future tennants but im sure they could have given them to these second hand furniture shops that provide for the service users of social services ie: single teenage mums, people less fortunate than ourselves. Its discusting that they have been left like this and course the council knew. When they were going to demolish brushes school they had 3 all night security guards on checking for things like this why didnt they at claywood (a more run down squatters area) i cant believe how much stuff has gone to waste. These scruffy druggies take the **** and should **** off.

Hi,

We visited about two thirds of the flats over the last week or so and this is what we found... plus some background notes:

BLUE "CLAYWOOD" BLOCK

15th Floor
Flat 16: Burnt out.

14th Floor
Flat 20: Large amount of pigeon ****.

13th Floor
Flat 26 & 28: Used by junkies (dozens of syringes and scraps of tinfoil - for taking heroin).

Flat 30: Another flat taken over by pigeons!

11th Floor
Flat 76 & 78: Two flats filled with junky
paraphenalia.

10th Floor
Flat 92: Plenty more pigeons (the whole landing of 4 flats being infested).


A number of flats were Furnish Let by the council:
Flats 86, 82, 138 & 180 were some of the properties on this block, providing fridges, beds, living room furniture, curtains, etc. all of which had been left (in accordance with the contract) by the tenant and never collected by the the council, these items remain in the flats (soft furnishings for junkies and pigeons alike).

Starting from the top (15th) floor of each block, it
becomes apparent that the council vandals have
systematically smashed the ceramic sinks in the
bathrooms in every flat. This can't be to prevent
squatters from occupying them as there's no running water to use either these or the toilets. Window frames have also been removed in some of the flats on the high floors (which helps the pigeons considerably and further condemns the flats).


YELLOW "FITZWALTER" BLOCK

15th Floor
Flat 258: Heaps of pigeon **** throughout the flat.

14th Floor
Flat 274: Furnished Let + pigeon ****

13th Floor
Flat 300: "Disco inferno" mad flat with jazzed out
colours.

12th Floor
Flat 306 & 304: Pigeon **** - the whole landing is a mess as a consequence of this.

Flat 312: Pigeon flat of death!

11th Floor
More Dead Pigeons!

Flat 324: Furnish Let. Tenant slept in a coffin after
a nite out @ Headcharge (flyers proudly displayed on wall). Pigeon **** everywhere.

10th Floor
WENDY WOOLWORTH'S FLOOR (pigeons have totally taken over the asylum)!


GREEN "NORFOLK" BLOCK ...more of the same!

Generally the flats got used for drug taking after
tenants left/ once the estate became totally empty.There was some level of security on Claywood right up until last handful of tenants moved out, the empty tower blocks weren't re-secured and then started to be
used by Sheffield's heroin community.

No clear signs whether or not there were many actual tenants with heroin or other drug habits, this was never a great problem until the estate became three quarters empty towards the end of 2001. Many of the tenants around this time were pensioners. Older people made up a significant proportion of the 350+ tenants on Claywood and were reluctant to leave when they first heard about clearance plans in 1999/2000. Prior
to this, people were told that the 3 blocks at
Claywood would be saved and not demolished (20+ similar tower blocks on Norfolk Park were demolished from 1994-2004).

WE ALL LOVE WENDY WOOLWORTH
(nobody here but us pigeons)!

Image are:

Freak Peace:
Research, photography, html, words & design
Nobody Here But us PIGEONS:
Research & words
World WAR free:
Research, words, photography & design
d4: research, photography, html scripts

Just to Add: there had, we feel, been systematic smashing of all sinks in bathrooms / kitchens alike.

This also fits the bill of Sheffield Metropolitan Vandalism. We once squatted Crooksmoore jnr. School (Oxford St. / Crooksmoore Rd.) Once inside, we discovered all water pipes had been cut under the floorboards, and then floorboards replaced! This was discovered once the thick squatters had turned on the water and the place flooded. We now always look for such Metropolitan Vandalism in each public place we choose to Squat.

For Now,
Freak Peace
Image.

Originally posted by image
(20+ similar tower blocks on Norfolk Park were demolished from 1994-2004)

Image.

Counts on fingers.....

counts on fingers, again.....

counts a third time....

still can't make the figures add up.

How did the council find another six extra blocks on the Norfolk Park estate to blow up?

there were 15 blocks, of which, only one, "Grange" is still standing, (does addition :- that's 14 blocks gone,)

P (former resident, "Mickley" block, Beldon Road) T

Image

You seem to have plenty of time on your hands inspecting the council properties, squatting etc.

Have you ever thought about channelling your energies in a positive way and applying for a job with the council.

With your knowledge and ideas of dealing with empty properties I'm sure you would be an asset to any housing department.

I think your talents are wasted on the readers of this forum.

Yes we got the No. of flats on Norfolk Park Wrong..

Image

You seem to have plenty of time on your hands inspecting the council properties, squatting etc.

Have you ever thought about channelling your energies in a positive way and applying for a job with the council.

With your knowledge and ideas of dealing with empty properties I'm sure you would be an asset to any housing department.

I think your talents are wasted on the readers of this forum.

Sarcasm lowest from of wit etc..

Image..

I thought that it was fair comment actually. It seems more productive than just being a trespasser.

At the end of the day some one has to make time to squat in these hell holes to reveal what kind or w@nk system we have in this city. I hope pictures like these of claywood embarrassed the cheif execs of the council to the highist. I think its great what image is doing. ROCK ON IMAGE!

What are you on about? "make time to squat"?? :loopy:

These flats are empty awaiting demolition, so what's your beef?#

Are you suggesting that the council gives second hand bug infested, damp ridden, pidgeon poo covered furniture that doesn't beleong to them to other people? Wow, I bet they would feel honoured!

I mean as i work 37 hrs pw i wouldnt have time where as image has duhhhhh!

AND AS FOR THE

Are you suggesting that the council gives second hand bug infested, damp ridden, pidgeon poo covered furniture that doesn't beleong to them to other people? Wow, I bet they would feel honoured!

so r you telling me the council buy them in this state? if so "i bet the claywood tennants were honoured" if not then who the bloody hell let them get in this state??? council by any chance! If claywood was emptied as soon as the tennants were out the furnature wouldnt have being in this state. And i for 1 (being a firt time leaver homer) would have being gratefull for this. However spose sheffield can afford to throw decent money down the pan cant it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well for starters, I would imagine that the furniture doesn't belong to the council, so it's not theirs to give away. Secondly, how can you guarantee the safety of the furniture if you give it to other people?

The Council has responsibilities for little technical details like Health & Safety, unlike those who break into private property.

WELL... all the beds are printed in red SHEFFIELD HOUSING material and all the other furnature the council give out is stamped on the underside with property of sheffield city council do not remove as my friends flat is furnished by them, shes moving in to her own private flat soon and has being sent a letter stating she will be fined if any of the furniture is taken
she will be fined. Im assuming that the claywood tennants will have recieved the same letters which is why the furnature was still there. Why didnt the council sent letters saying they could take the furniture if they sighd a indemnity form ( council wasnt held responsible for the furnature once it was taken) it would hell of a lot more resourcefull than letting them rot!!

Maybe if people didn't break into the flats the furniture would be ok?

I still don't accept your argument anyway. Why is it the Councils responsibility to give your friend new furniture? Can I have some too?

That about my friend wasnt the original point as i think other people on the forum will recognise.My point was to say me and my boyfiend pay council tax, wage tax and then 17.5 tax on everything we buy id like to think my money was going on more important things that ****ty furniture full stop.However it just diggs the knife in more when you see pics like this of what our long earned cash is being wasted on. At least if the furnature was passed on to someone who really needed it id feel that it wasnt such a big waste.
so if all your going to do is stub my points because you cant think of any usefull points to state yourself then dont bother replying...............................

Which points weren't useful? The ones about health and safety, or the ones about ownership, or the ones about breaking and entering?

I do agree with you that things shouldn't go to waste. I was just pointing out that it's not that simple.

health and safety yea but they get granted health and safety for the bodge jobs and dodgey electrics in houses like my aunty who had a new circuit board fitted WITHOUT a front pannell on so bare wires were all over shes got 2 kids and complained to the council they said that its all passsed on health and safety, my blokes an sparky and he went mad they had put a shower which depending on power should be run on at least a 12 mil cable on a cable big enough to power a TV. She's baught the house now my bloke re-wired it and said it was a death trap! So they cant care much for health and safety. Ownership like i said they own the lot. And breaking and entering they put security guards on an old falling down empty grammer school but not 5 sets of high rise furnished flats nahhh

So we do agree that they have a responsibility for health and safety too! You see - we're not too far apart really :)

It sounds like the council should keep better tabs on their cowboy standard employees and electrical sub-contractors though.