Somerstown or Somers Town is a

residential A residential area is a land used in which houses, housing predominates, as opposed to industrial district, industrial and Commercial Area, commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include ...

area of the city of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

county of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war, the majority of what remained of the area was demolished to make way for social housing to a plan by the then city architect F. Mellor. One pre-war survivor was the Castle Tavern originally a 19th century private house. 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 Portsmouth City Council is the local authority of the city of Portsmouth, in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Portsmouth has had a council since medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1997 the council ha ...

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 List of fires in high-rise buildings, high-rise fire broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of Public housing in the United Kingdom, flats in North Kensington, West London, England, at 00:54 British Summer Time, BST ...

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

References

Areas of Portsmouth {{Hampshire-geo-stub