The Heygate Estate
Not really something hidden to be found- but it is something i can see from my living room window!
The Heygate Estate is something that has always stirred up a bit of a debate, more so than i ever knew.
Though most of the walkways are blocked off, a lot of them are still open to the public as well the entire central communal area, which has now been converted into allotments. Wanting to express the whole pro/con debate for the initial evacuation of the estate the community has grouped together to piece together clippings from newspapers, enquiries etc to properly explain the truth behind the Heygate Estate to the public.
One clipping reads "It was a muggers paradise", and from the architecture i can't see there wasn't any way it couldn't have been. The narrow walkways are the sole means of entering or exiting the huge apartment blocks. The blocks themselves are so tall and ominous looking the sun is quite often blocked out from the inside of the 'compound'. Even stranger is just the size of the place- 3,000 apartments make up the Heygate Estate. That number, per the square foot means it must have been extremely claustrophobic.
Interestingly it was originally meant to be a modern, space-age development, aimed at wealthy business focused Londoners which would make Elephant and Castle the new business hub of London. Lack of interest after the war forced the council to fill it will anyone that needed a home. Poor council maintenance and the sheer number of the under-privileged living there meant it steadily became known as one of the most dangerous estates in England.
Equally it has been said that the estate was actually purposefully run-down by the council as a means to 'prepare' for re-development and urge the inhabitants of the Heygate to sell and move out.
Definitely something to check out for yourself before it gets demolished.
The Heygate Estate is something that has always stirred up a bit of a debate, more so than i ever knew.
Though most of the walkways are blocked off, a lot of them are still open to the public as well the entire central communal area, which has now been converted into allotments. Wanting to express the whole pro/con debate for the initial evacuation of the estate the community has grouped together to piece together clippings from newspapers, enquiries etc to properly explain the truth behind the Heygate Estate to the public.
One clipping reads "It was a muggers paradise", and from the architecture i can't see there wasn't any way it couldn't have been. The narrow walkways are the sole means of entering or exiting the huge apartment blocks. The blocks themselves are so tall and ominous looking the sun is quite often blocked out from the inside of the 'compound'. Even stranger is just the size of the place- 3,000 apartments make up the Heygate Estate. That number, per the square foot means it must have been extremely claustrophobic.
Interestingly it was originally meant to be a modern, space-age development, aimed at wealthy business focused Londoners which would make Elephant and Castle the new business hub of London. Lack of interest after the war forced the council to fill it will anyone that needed a home. Poor council maintenance and the sheer number of the under-privileged living there meant it steadily became known as one of the most dangerous estates in England.
Equally it has been said that the estate was actually purposefully run-down by the council as a means to 'prepare' for re-development and urge the inhabitants of the Heygate to sell and move out.
Definitely something to check out for yourself before it gets demolished.
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