Originally published @ 5:03 pm, Fri 29th Oct 2010
It was one of the ironies of seeking election in one of the most well-to-do wards in Nottingham back in 1987, that the two worst estates (Kildare Road and Caunton Avenue) were actually in one of the plusher wards.
Extremes of wealth and poverty within a stone’s throw with each other.
I was taken to see the Kildare Road estate with the branch secretary in 1986. It was salutary. Built on the site of the St.Ann's railway station, the deck-access meant people couldn't feel secure cos they neither knew who all their neighbours were or who might just be deciding to hang around in the shadows. Multi-storey maisonettes meant a good deal of living space was given over to stair cases. It was no-one's responsibility to look after the open spaces and then came to be notorious for being strewn with glass and unplayable and unusable. People had given up on garages and indeed did not park their cars on the estate.
The brick structure was however sound.
So when the chance came for change with money in 1993, it was for the demolition of the Caunton Avenue deck-access design built out of concrete, whilst the Kildare Road estate could be refurbished and re-design using principles embraced by a Professor Alice Coleman, who held principles of defensible space and the ear of Margaret Thatcher and therefore some money to spend.
Today, 17 years on, the flats are now being demolished. In the end, becoming the focus of tenancies for tenants who could not win a place elsewhere, was too much for the estate to remain viable, and the opportunity with investment from the Labour government has meant that finally replacement work can begin.
Less hope for big works like this in the future with the ConDems.
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