The Hunslet Grange Flats (colliqually known as the Leek Street Flats) was a complex of deck-accessed flats in
Hunslet
Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past.
It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...
,
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
.
Planning and construction
Slum clearances in the 1960s led to clearing of much of Hunslet with many terraced housing, mostly
back-to-backs. Deck accessed flats were becoming a common solution in cities around this time. Leeds had one development of medium rise large scale flats, which were built in
Quarry Hill in the 1930s, however they were more conventional in their enclosed design.
Construction of the complex of 350 flats and maisonettes began in 1968
The complex was commissioned by
Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of l ...
and built by
Shepherd Construction. The building was built of pre-fabricated concrete panels and constructed using temporary cranes built on site which ran on rails across the footprints of where the buildings were to be built.
Design
The complex was built in the style of so-called 'streets in the sky' with overhead walkways connecting blocks. The exterior of the buildings were pale grey pebbledashed concrete panels. Each floor had a rubbish disposal chute leading to huge bins at street level. Shops and a
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
, 'The Pioneer' made up part of the complex. Twelve of the blocks were six storeys in height and six were of seven, with the entrance on the second floor. The estate covered a large area of Hunslet and was arranged in three clusters around a small park. The individual flats had large windows running the length of the exterior walls providing the flats with ample natural light. A perimeter road was constructed which remains largely intact as 'The Oval', there was limited vehicular access within this road.
Reception and social problems
The complex was at first popular with its tenant, however this early popularity was short-lived. The warm-air heating systems were inadequate for the poorly insulated
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
prefabricated buildings
A prefabricated building, informally a prefab, is a building that is manufactured and constructed using prefabrication. It consists of factory-made components or units that are transported and assembled on-site to form the complete building.
Hist ...
, the interiors suffered from
condensation
Condensation is the change of the state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. The word most often refers to the water cycle. It can also be defined as the change in the state of water vapor to ...
and the exterior walls became streaked with black. The decks were poorly drained and could become flooded in heavy rain. Over time the concrete panels weathered and the
rebar
Rebar (short for reinforcing bar), known when massed as reinforcing steel or reinforcement steel, is a steel bar used as a Tension (physics), tension device in reinforced concrete and reinforced masonry structures to strengthen and aid the concr ...
became visible. In addition, the 'rabbit-warren' like layout of interconnecting blocks made the estate hard to navigate and police, reduced resident surveillance and provided a haven for surreptitious criminal activity. Burglary, delinquency and violent crime became commonplace while the complex's precincts were used for the abandonment of vehicles. The complex gained a reputation for crime and delinquency and the pub gained a reputation of its own.
Demolition
Demolition of the complex started in 1983, less than fifteen years after the first tenants moved in. Demolition was undertaken by mechanical means. All other complexes constructed by Yorkshire Development Group were also demolished in the 1980s.
Site today
Today the site consists of low-rise housing, the Hunslet Green Community Sports Club, a small business park and a small
Lidl
Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (; ) is a German international discount retailer chain that operates over 11,000 stores across Europe and the United States. Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, the company belongs to the Schwarz Group, whi ...
supermarket. The only remaining part is an electrical substation which remains on the Oval.
File:Gardeners Court - The Oval (geograph 3292547).jpg, Gardeners Court showing housing which has replaced Hunslet Grange
File:Playing Fields - The Oval (geograph 3325360).jpg, Playing fields occupying the former site
Similar examples
While there are many complexes of similar layout and concept, the Bransholme Maisonettes in
Bransholme
Bransholme is an area and a housing estate on the north side of Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The name Bransholme comes from an old Scandinavian word meaning Brand's water meadow (''brand'' or ''brandt'' meant 'wild boa ...
,
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...
were similar in design and aesthetics. They were demolished in the late 1980s having suffered similar problems to Hunslet Grange. Like Hunslet Grange these were also designed by Yorkshire Development Group.
The Broomhall flats in
Broomhill were also constructed by YDG but were somewhat different aesthetically.
See also
*
Hulme Crescents
*
Park Hill, Sheffield
Park Hill is a housing estate in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It was built between 1957 and 1961, and in 1998 was given Grade II* listed building status. Following a period of decline, the estate is being renovated by developers Urban ...
*
Robin Hood Gardens
Robin Hood Gardens is a residential estate in Poplar, London, designed in the late 1960s by architects Alison and Peter Smithson and completed in 1972. It was built as a council housing estate with homes spread across 'streets in the sky': s ...
References
External links
Video showing the construction of the complexVideo showing the complex in its early yearsVideo showing the site in 1983
{{City of Leeds
Buildings and structures demolished in 1983
Places in Leeds
1983 disestablishments in England