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Review on Park Hill Flats in Sheffield


The Park Hill Flats located on 32 Acres of land behind the Sheffield Train Station and overlooking Sheffield City Centre were built in 1957-1961. The flats were the result of the first complete post war slum clearance and relocation scheme in Britian, relocating thousands of poeple. The Park Hill Flats were designed by "Best and Ernie", and attempted to use the architectural design of the estate to maintan a sense of community. With the buildings alone taking up 17 acreas of land a strong drive existed for the residence to feel not only individuals but also part of a community. Where possible, neighbours were rehoused alongside each other in the new complex and each doorstep displayed different colours of linoleum, proof of that residents' individuality. 995 units were housed within a series of interconnecting blocks of flats each with its own walkway balcony.

Over the years the estate has been home to 31 shops, 4 pubs, 74 garages, a primary and a nursery school, doctor's surgery and pharmacy. The slope of the site inspired the idea of a continuous roof line which results in the height of the blocks varying dramatically from 4 storeys at the top of the estate, rising to 13 storeys towards the city centre.

The design was based on French Architect Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, widely known as Le Corbusier, whose "Streets in the Sky" theory revolution Modernist housing and was designed to signify a shift in Sheffield's city decline. At the time the building recieved worldwide acclaim for its design and in 1998 recieved a Grade 2 lisitng on the building, as it was reconised as an "important milestone in the development of Modernist housing theory in postwar Britian." Park Hill is one of the most spectacular examples of new approaches to communal living in post-war Britain. The size of the Park Hill Estate has made it the largest listed building in Europe.

The Park Hill Estate is located on the outskirts of the City Centre and provides a striking backdrop to the regeneration projects underway in Sheffield. Plans have been underway since 2003 to regenerate this area. As a listed building, demolition is not an option unless all other options have been proven not to be viable. The future of Park Hill has been cited as: To achieve a mixed tenure, mixed use, transformation of Park Hill as a fashionable city centre address.

The Developers Urban Splash have been selected to redevelop The Park Hill flates with a mixed use developement comprising of around 880 residents. 580 of these units will be sold by Urban Splash. A minimum of 200 rented units and the remainder for low cost sale, will be dispersed throughout the estate, to be provided by Manchester Methodist Housing Group. Approximately the same amount of retail square footage will remain as present however this will be reconfigured around the estate with new commercial usage for food and drink outlets. New offices and scheme managements units will be included as well as new community and health facilities, potentially including a brand new doctor’s surgery and nursery facilities.

A new multi storey car park will be built and plans are to improve accessibility to the city centre and railway station with high quality connections and linkages and safe public routes.

While the interiors of the Park Hill flats undergoes a major re-furn so to will the exterior, with plans to further Sheffield's reputation as a Green city with the creation of high quality public spaces and the improvement to the existing adjacent open spaces.

Rehousing of residents has already commenced and work will begin in 2007.
Copyright © Artful Lodger - Sheffield Property 2012 Student Property by Artful Lodger.co.uk