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Assetsure News 10th October 2007
Modern
Housing Estates Obtain listed status
To most people, mention the term listed building and they will
automatically think of a stately home in large grounds, however this
assumption is actually quite removed from the truth, only 5% of all
buildings in the United Kingdom achieve the top
grade listing (Grade 1), within this
category are mainly the buildings that could be best described as
being of national and international importance. For example both
Buckingham Palace and The Tower of
London fall in to this bracket.
The bulk of properties that fall in to the lower listing groups are
listed because of their architectural importance or their value to a
local community, often listed buildings are small and seem of little
consequence when considered outside the fabric of
conservation and heritage. It is an
interest fact that many owners of listed buildings, particularly new
purchasers are unaware the reasons why their property is listed, often
a good deal of research work has be be undertaken to establish the
reason for the property being protected by statute.
The concept of listed buildings is to preserve for future generations
our history and heritage, to offer a snapshot on the way we lived and
to this end, recently a number of modern buildings, including
tower blocks situated on council
estates have acquired listed building status, more and more modern
structures are beginning to appear on the radar of English Heritage,
the organisation responsible for compiling the lists. This has raised
a few eyebrows tower blocks in particular have come in for much
criticism over the years and most people would not believe them worthy
of protection.
However, English Heritage take a different view on the matter in
relation to
listed building status. Since the
second world war they believe that many properties of outstanding
quality have been produced and are now worth of protecting. Included
in this are many Council Estates, one such estate is Park Hill in
Sheffield.
Park Hill was designed in 1961 and is thought to be one of the most
spectacular examples of new the approach to communal living in
post-war Great Britain. The estate consists of of 995 dwellings, and
provides living accommodation for in excess of 2000 thousand people.
it occupies an entire hill overlooking Sheffield city centre and has
some wonderful views, built on a slope, it increases in height as the
hill slopes away. The estate consists of large snake-like blocks which
contain the duplex apartments and the estate's famous 'streets in the
sky', (based on the Smith sons' Golden Lane Housing plan of 1952),
this was a bold attempt to preserve the communal benefits of
street-life. These factors have lead English Heritage to protect the
estate by giving it listed status a fact that has bemused many of the
residents. Locally, Park Hill is affectionately known as San Quentin
after the notorious American Prison.
This estate is a classic example of polarised opinion relating to
architecture, if anything the buildings are worth preserving as an
example of how it was though post war Britain should live, the estate
and its layout were much copied throughout Europe, living on the
estate though came with many problems, decent families have been
driven out over the years as the intricate street layout made the
perfect environment for street crime to flourish, alas crime and the
effects of crime were something that post-war developers failed to
take in to consideration.
What ever your viewpoint on this complex, English Heritage have
probably got it right in wanting to preserve the buildings, in 100
years time, this street in the sky development will provide an
interesting window back to a time when Britain was emerging from one
of her darkest periods, these buildings were constructed with a
certain degree of hope that they would help to improve the nations
council living
accommodation and usher in a new era
of modern living .Who is to say that eventually , they will not be
viewed with the same kind of fondness that we feel, for some of our
elegant Georgian squares who themselves have also witnessed periods of
great dilapidation in their history
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Copyright Assetsure Limited 2007
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