Norfolk Park 'area regeneration'

[cellarboy 10]

Originally posted by "aimee"

 

I happen to think that such buildings should be considered as much apart of the cities architechtural heritage as traditional buildings like the town hall etc, and once made happy homes.

 

Have you ever lived in one of these buildings? My grandparents lived in the flats overlooking Norfolk Park and it was a hell-hole. This was 10-12 years ago too, before it got REALLY bad. I used to deliver newspapers on Claywood and it was a scary place too.

 

Personally, Park Hill should have been torn down or had massive renovations by now too, but they went and got the buildings listed. What a crock. Most of the resident of Park Hill (myself included) just couldn't believe this nonesence, with the contrete crumbling and the ant invasions.

 

There was a good reason I refered to the place as 'Stalag Park Hill'....

 

And frankly, it absolutely cracks me up than a good portion of the people here advocating the saving of the tower blocks has never actually lived in one. It's one thing to visit, but try living in them for a few years. Once you've had your front door kicked in a couple of times while your out shopping or had to walk up 14 flights of stairs because the lift is broken, or when it is working, travel 14 flights holding your nose and trying to avoid standing in the puddle of urine on the floor. Meanwhile you're freezing during the winter because the heating is garbage. After you've done that, come back and tell us that they should be saved.

 

Bloody 'tourists'.

[Joanna 10]

I would just like to ask these poor victims who lived in tower blocks; what did the council etc try to do to help you when you were victims of crime? I am guessing that the burglars lived in the tower block too? Why the hell weren't they chucked out and put in prison?

 

What other problems were there? Did you experience problems with people putting bottles down the rubbish chute during the night? Were there any rats?

 

I also wonder why Park Hill has been listed? It is totally dangerous with concrete falling, surely, one day, someone will get seriously hurt.

[cellarboy 10]

Originally posted by "JOANNA"

 

I would just like to ask these poor victims who lived in tower blocks; what did the council etc try to do to help you when you were victims of crime? I am guessing that the burglars lived in the tower block too? Why the hell weren't they chucked out and put in prison.

 

A) Because you assume you actually know who the people are

B) Because if you did know who they were and went to the police, you'd better hope that they, their friends and their family went to prison too because, as the saying goes, "They know where you live".

 

Originally posted by "JOANNA"

 

What other problems were there? Did you experience problems with people putting bottles down the rubbish chute during the night? Were there any rats?.

 

How about the girl being killed on Hyde Park when some kid dropped a TV off the balcony, the constant car thefts and break-ins. The gangs hanging around the stairs and lifts at night.

 

Originally posted by "JOANNA"

 

I also wonder why Park Hill has been listed? It is totally dangerous with concrete falling, surely, one day, someone will get seriously hurt.

 

Why was it listed? "A shining example of sixties architecture," apparantly. In my opinion it was done to free the council from the need for major renovations to the entire complex. Just keep performing band-aid fixes and worry about something serious when it happens..

 

I don't want to be rude, but the fact that you have to ask these questions at all just illustrates my point that you really can't understand what it like to live in one of these buildings without actually having lived there. You can always find those people who just love it there, but for every one of those I'm sure you'll find 3 more who are unhappy and probably scared out of their minds most of the time. Having the buildings pulled down and being relocated to somewhere better (I'm not sure there's anywhere worse these days with Kelvin gone) is probably a godsend for them.

 

I was born and raised on Park Hill Flats. Lived there for 27 years and you know, until my early teens the place wasn't bad at all. Nice community spirit, street parties...nice. By the time I left, I was scared to walk around at night, didn't know if my car was going to be there in the morning when I went to work or if it was, how much damage had some gang done to it trying to pry the locks or smashing the window to go for a joy ride.

 

Sure, these things happen in other places but when you have such a concentration of people like that things just amplified just that bit more.

 

When I came back over a couple of years ago and brought my wife to see where I grew up, she was honestly shocked and couldn't wait to get away from the place.

 

But hey, guess it's character building, eh? At least I don't suffer the same utter shock and horror as my new fellow countrymen do on the rare occasion a child is abducted or a drive-by shooting is committed. Guess that's a good thing........right?

[Joanna 10]

Hi, thanks for taking the time to reply. You are quite right, I have never actually lived in a 'sink' estate, but have lived near them, and this is why I asked those questions. Because of my interest, I have always wanted to get an insider's view of what it was like to live in one of these flats. I found your account extremely interesting and yet immensely disturbing. Obviously, I can't fully understand the terror of living there, as I never have - but on numerous occasions (i.e my firiend's grandparents living in one and a friend's employee living at Park Hill) I have been in a tower block and walked along the deck flats at park Hill. Just walking in the lobby scared the life out of me, so I do admire anyone who had to live there.

 

I also asked the questions to get an honest account as when you read stories in the newspaper, you never know how biased or exaggerated the facts are. If you have any other pieces of information, please tell me.

[spook 10]

I was in Sheffield last week and paid a visit to the Claywood flats where I used to live with my parents. I was shocked to see the three blocks boarded up and apparantly ready for demolition, as I had every intention of going to the top to take some photos. My grandparents used to live in the Fitzwilliam block at the same time and visiting brought back so many happy memories. We moved out before they became bad - but I would agree with some other posters that these flats are part of the city's cultural landscape. The cholera monument and grounds next door were the scene of many happy hours for me as a nipper.

It will be a real shame to see them go.

[aimee 10]

Hi joanna,

Its Aimee (the one who started this topic) i hav nt been able to check the forum for quite some time cos i ve been doing exams etc. But there are some really interesting replies popping up. I am hoping to do some research over the summer into tower block living, and would appreciate any pointers on how to actually visit tower blocks in and sround sheffield as i have always thought it was not possible to enter if not permitted. I would love to see some of your photos ans hear some of your insights, i have some of my own, perhaps you could e mail me at-

[email protected]

 

Glad to find a fellow enthusiast!

Aimee

[aimee 10]

dear cellarboy,

I understand that you are in a way insulted by the ignorance of an outsider commenting on life inside a tower block when we have no first ahnd experience, however if we don t ask we will never know and appreciate the hardships involved.

As a social scientist i don t just want to take a distanced text book view, i want to hear the real story and hopefully prevent such grave mistakes being made in the future, tower blocks can be a success, i feel for your horrible experience though. Did you find any benefits at all?

Aimee

[aimee 10]

Its nice to hear that someone enjoyed their time at claywood, however it does appear to me that most people didnt have such a pleasant experience. But history is history, good and bad, we can t just white wash over architectural and social mistakes, we just have to learn from them and improve on them.

Maybe as achild you were sheltered from the realities of life at Claywood, perhaps your parents had to deal with it day to day but kept you protected? Surely a tower block is a mothers nightmare, supervision and safety wise, is nt it?

Opinions welcomed!

Aimee

[cosywolf 10]

Aimee,

Perhaps it would be possible for your studies to get a short-term placement in one of the tower blocks? I'm not sure how you would go about it, but contacting one of the Housing Area Offices (HAO12 for Norfolk Park) would be a start.

That way you would get a first-hand experience (if short) of life in a tower block).

I have not lived in one, but used to visit offices in one of the NP ones regularly. From my experience of the lifts and corridors, I found them intimidating and not exactly user-friendly.

Someone on this topic recently mentioned that Grange had not been burgled. This has changed. Believe it or not there is a new style of burglary for tower blocks, which involves abseiling down the building and breaking in through the balcony doors. The locks on those doors are generally plastic and not exactly strong, as it was reckoned that they weren't exactly a big entry risk.

 

Just a note: My partner was called to help out one of his elderly clients who lives at Grange, after this had happened to her. When he demanded a new door or new locking system, the council said it wasn't necessary as A) no-one could get in that way (this was the council guy who was there to investigate the fact that someone clearly had :shock: ) and B) the locks were quite strong enough. So my partner got them to lock him out on the balcony, and then PUSHED his way in - no kicking or shoulder-barging needed. Do I need to say that the council are still 'looking into it'? I guess the thinking is that Grange will come down in the next two years and then it won't be an issue anymore.

 

Laura

[aimee 10]

Thanks laura i will definately look into it, it would be a great experience and give me a much more credible viewpoint.

I totally agree with what you say about grange, obviously the council is simply not willing to invest any longer as they plan to demolish, disregarding the safety and security of the REAL people that live there, i beleive some of the council and public members naively regard such residents as a less deserving underclass.

Interestingly my partner has recently bought one of the new houses recently developed at Norfolk Park and when we looked around the show home he asked what the plan was for the remaining tower blocks, the lady in the office replied that they would soon be got rid of, so there was no need to worry, and you can see your car from the house anyway!!!! :shock:

Can u beleive it, my heart goes out to anyone that is classified as a criminal because they do not live in a conventional home!

Aimee

[cosywolf 10]

(this is replacing the message that was here previously, which I have deleted)

 

Tee hee! Bet that confused you! Got my wires crossed...moaning that something hadn't appeared on one topic, only to find it's because I'd stuck it on another by mistake. If you want to know what there were 16 of, you'll have to peek at the other topic

I must just say: Oops :oops:

 

Laura

[starchild 10]

You're right it is because they plan to demolish Grange...

link

 

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