[boutiquechoc]

Sorry guys to bring this one up YET again!

I have been looking at apartments on the Queens Tower development and have to say it's very nice. I don't have any issues at all with the area but I just wanted some advice really on how the apartments are to live in. As I understand from previous threads some of the forum members live on here.

I have been lucky enough to live in a detached house for the last 3 years and have come to enjoy the fact I never hear any neighbours at all and can turn up the stereo up just that little bit louder.....

I am wondering what is the noise like from other apartments - are the walls fairly thin?
Parking - any issues?
Communal grounds - what's what with these?

Would appeciate any advice or thoughts on this!

Many thanks.

[kim69]

I have issues with some residents of Queens Tower flats who think it is acceptable to sit by there open patio doors and throw their empty beer cans and bottles etc out over the fence and onto public land, but then I am chairperson of the local TARA and its me that gets complained at! The management committee of Queens Tower dont seem to give a s**t as they have done absolutely nothing to stop the problem!

[boutiquechoc]

Originally Posted by kim69

I have issues with some residents of Queens Tower flats who think it is acceptable to sit by there open patio doors and throw their empty beer cans and bottles etc out over the fence and onto public land, but then I am chairperson of the local TARA and its me that gets complained at! The management committee of Queens Tower dont seem to give a s**t as they have done absolutely nothing to stop the problem!

Ah this gives me a different perspecive on things now! I drove around it earlier and nievely presumed it looked like a better class of people who lived there compared to the new builds in town...

[zipzop]

well, that was the original idea, but we found it to be a complete nightmare.

First there is the property management, those lovely people from Blundell's, who
(1) give the masterkey to anyone and everyone to enter your apartment practically every week, without warning
(2) don't give a damn about any complaints
(3) make false promises,

and don't expect any bond back, even after leaving the apartment in a state better than new.

do expect to be abused, threatened, and harassed, when you question their opinion.

Then there are the lovely neighbours who like to welcome you by throwing stones at your windows, and don't expect Blundells to care about your safety, even when your windows are smashed.

A lot of people who actually live there turn out to be a bunch of loudmouths and students, who take no notice of the fact that the walls are made of paper, and some people like to sleep during the night.

The build quality is typical for a new apartment complex: i.e. walls are very very thin, and start to crumble at the slightest impact.

And for some mysterious reason your electric bill will be 5 times as high as elsewhere, with no possibility of switching to economy 7.

To sum up: we didn't enjoy it, and would recommend you look elsewhere for somewhere quieter, safer, and with nicer landlords.

But that's just one opinion.. some people may love it!

[SUPERTYKE]

Ooer - Better class??!!

I was commissioned to take a few pix of Q.T. years back (90s) before the disgusting developers got their grubby mits on it.
What a beautiful place it was, a tower or two needed sorting and there were plenty of vermin in the walls but I would have preferred to see it crumble into the earth than to see it subjected to its present fate.

It's just another example of this councils' lack of interest in developing and/or maintianing its historic features for the people.
If it's possible to generate quick cash they're into top gear sharpish - regardless of the historic value of the 'venture'.
They like to get the quick cash - without any consequent hassle - they don't have any long term committment to the city - haven't had any for years.

Wouldn't it have been nice to have had our very own stately home, right here in Sheff city centre?
Not a MASSIVE building but you wouldn't believe the fireplace in the main hall. The staircase and the ceilings were equally impressive - in fact many SERIOUS stately homes would be proud to own such features.

The house was built by a Mr Roberts in the 1850s out of enormous blocks of local stone. The towers were seperate from the main building and formed the corners of the stable block - really beautiful.
Roberts 'aquired' a mullioned window from the Manor Castle which was the window of Mary Queen of Scotts' cell; he had the window built into the house giving the house its name.

The gardens were designed by a highly respected landscaper of the period; a mate of Capabilities apparently - some beautiful stone features of the garden were scattered around the grounds, I remember a stone staircase that led down into an overgrown area that led down to the gatehouse on East Bank road. It was clear that once the beauty of the grounds must have been breathtaking.
Paths laid out so long ago could still be made out meandering into brambled history, and I felt privileged indeed to have had the opportunity of discovering these places; you know the feeling, when you can almost hear the laughter of children and smell the sweet lavender that once grew there, lavender perhaps used as a treasured bookmark pressed in the diary of a victorian girl, so long ago. - (Just proofed - SOZ!!)

What a beautifully understated and relatively unknown place it was - which is possibly why the council ripped us off this way.
Had they boughjt it though, and opened it to the public they would probably have made a complete dogs ass out of it - the same way they screwed us for our beautiful museum.
Poor Roberts would surely spin in his grave if he knew what they'd done to his once proud home. And for once I'm not on my high socialist horse - no need to be - he was a benefactor to many and a true philanthropist -
Rest in Peace mate.

[NickM]

I've lived there for a few years and have exactly the opposite opinion of zipzop!

It's a really cool place to live and definately gets the wow factor when people turn up! My neighbours are nice and I can't hear them through my walls.

I haven't had issues with the build quality but I live in the older bit so perhaps that's a bit different from the rest?

It's great in summer when you can go and chill out in the grounds or have a BBQ. Sunsets looking out over the city are great too!

Haven't had the same experience with Blundells re: people entering without notice or any attitude problems.

The electricity bills are high but I discovered that this was because the immersion heater was on 24/7. Once off, the bills reduced.

Overall, I think it's great - wouldn't have been there for 2 1/2 years otherwise!

[SUPERTYKE]

It seems that Nickm is happy to see the bespoiling of our heritage as long as he gets a slice of it.
At least he is happy to brag about his 'opulent' des' res'. without a single word for the disgraceful way in which it was stolen from the people of Sheffield.

When I first saw the Towers, the main house had been empty for eighty years, though a small cottage just inside the main gates was being used till the late 60s.
The atmosphere was incredible. The rooms and walls seemed steeped in the echos of lost years.

I saw the seasons come and go my brief was so extensive, and I quickly grew to love the house. The grounds had been reclaimed by nature, a safe playground for foxes, owls badgers etc, amazingly, very few people knew of the place, as if the shrubbery and trees had conspired over the years to safeguard their secret paradise. (Apart from the fact that a substantial fence surrounded the place.)

English Heritage, though impressed with my submission of a photographic portfolio of the place are not inclined to spend too much on properties, especially when in need of so much renovation.

The council obviously had no intentions of doing anything with it so it went to the vultures.
It really is a pity that the people of Sheffield were once again so badly skanked by the council.
At least it gets Nickm the 'WOW' factor, though if you were to compare the place with how it was you would understand my disgust - it's an absolute mess of modern 'slap it up' developing shoved next to the lasting beauty and grace of the original building.

Not to mention the tower and outbuildings that the developers demolished - they wouldn't repair them as they would impinge on the number of dwellings they could SQUEEZE in.

Don't get too smug though Nickm - you will never own the whole place - it can never be your home - it will remain forever the domain of Sheffield history, and a monument to a great man.