Leamington House, Earlsdon Street, Portsmouth - geograph

Somerstown or Somers Town is a

residential A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family residen ...

area of the city of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

. The area was one of the most deprived wards in the city, but since 2012, it has been the subject of a major regeneration initiative. The area was developed during the 1820s, on land owned by Mr Somers, and was heavily bombed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war, the majority of what remained of the area was demolished to make way for social housing. It is a very run down area of the city, due for redevelopment. This inner city neighbourhood has relatively high levels of deprivation while much of its physical fabric is in need of renewal or refurbishment. It is one of the poorest areas in the South of England and has one of the highest rates of unemployment. The area is an integral part of the "Heart of Portsmouth" bid for SRB funding and a Joint Project Board has been established to oversee the preparation of a new physical regeneration plan through continued community involvement. On 23 June 2017, Portsmouth City Council confirmed that cladding had started to be removed from two Somers Town tower blocks, Horatia House and Leamington House, which had failed safety tests in the wake of the

Grenfell Tower fire On 14 June 2017, a high-rise fire broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of flats in North Kensington, West London, at 00:54 BST and burned for 60 hours. 72 people died, two later in hospital, with more than 70 injured and 223 escapin ...

. Both blocks were built in 1964-65 and are 18 storeys tall.

References

Areas of Portsmouth {{Hampshire-geo-stub