Video: Update 18th August

This is the latest collection of photographs taken around the Estate. It appears that a new construction phase has now begun with Bollywood Apartments on the Peveril Pub site, new foundations for a house on the Dennet Close upper level area near Flewitt Gardens. New house foundations on the front of the Long Hedge site in Magson Close, and flats alongside St Matthias Apartments on Magson Close proper.

The presentation begins in Jersey Gardens, Long Hedge, Magson Close, Fairholm Court, Rocket Park, Pym Walk flats site, Dennet Close, Eastham Close, and concluding at the Peveril Pub site fronting Beacon hill Rise Road.

The Song is a new version of the Coronation Street Theme by Neil Sean --- http://www.youtube.com/user/neilsean1

VIDEO: up-date 3rd August

Stonebridge Park Estate

This is the latest slide show of the estate, it is made from 125 images taken around the area on a balmy summer evening. Rocket Park is now completed, the banks seeded with grass and the barriers removed. Its looks really nice now, and will be even better once the new play equipment is installed and the grass has grown. However, lighting is needed on the Park itself to make it useful all year round.

Construction work has now started on Magson Close behind the Coop, the foundations for two new large houses have been laid on the Dennet Close Site, and the foundations for Bollywood Apartments on the Peveril pub site have been laid.

On Eastham Close the roofs have now been put on the large & small blocks of houses, and stairs have been installed in the large house block, however, they had to remove concrete from the ceiling of the ground floor units, and saw away wooden joists to achieve this!

The DVD: Stonebridge Park Estate, a portrait in photographs 2003-2011 has been produced and made available to all the service providers involved in the regeneration scheme, please E-mail Richard Pearson for details: richard.pearson53@yahoo.co.uk

All of the photographs and videos on this site maybe downloaded and reproduced free of charge, however, please acknowledge their source as: Stonebridge-Regeneration-BlogSpot.com.

The Song is a new version of the Coronation Street Theme by Neil Sean --- http://www.youtube.com/user/neilsean1

Video: Latest Update 21 July

Rocket Park looks really nice now that the landscaping is in place. The footpaths are now being surfaced and the banks have been rounded and smoothed ready for new grass to be laid. The Long Hedge Site looks nice too with its two rows of houses with completed exteriors. Of course there is still work to be done here. Nearby on Magson close there is a great deal of activity with workers putting the foundations in place for the new St Matthias apartments, this area of the Regeneration Scheme is a hive of activity at the moment. The timber roof has now been put onto the large block of houses on the Eastham Close site, and the roofs are also being put on the row of houses along the Dennet Close_bottom row site. This video is a compilation of photographs taken around the Stonebridge park Estate on 21 July, with a suitable musical complement!

Don’t forget, the next Public Meeting of Stonebridge Park Tenants & Residents Association is on 3rd August at 7pm, which is being held at Stonebridge City Farm. SPTRA may be contacted by E-mail at: stonebridgetra@gmail.com

Stonebridge park Regeneration Scheme

VIDEO: Regarding LHA Charity Work

 

Mr Richard Pearson received this kind message from LHA_ASRA in the last few days, and it inspired me to include this video from 2007 of the St Ann’s Flower Girls taken at our last major event held at the neighbourhood Centre on the Robin Hood Chase. The then Mayor of Nottingham (and local Labour Councillor) Des Wilson attended. The Flower Girls, all volunteers, helped teach locals and disabled people the art of flower arranging. Our group was very successful, and this demonstrates just what can be achieved doing local charity work of this kind. We wish LHA every success with their charitable work in our local community.

By Mrs June Gaskell (St Ann’s Flower Girl).

 

Dear Mr. Pearson,

 

We do want to find a suitable resolution to the [Eastham Close] footpath issue and I will read your report to consider the best way forward…

 

The scheme has provided employment for 10 unemployed young people from both the St Ann’s and city… You may have seen last week the news coverage of the young trainees volunteering at the farm.

 

My team here are also exploring the opportunity to work with a local charity to provide our staff time for a volunteering reading support scheme in St Ann’s.

 

We really want the project to be a success and need your help to achieve this.

 

I note from Nottingham City Council that a consultation meeting is planned for August 3rd and I am very happy to participate in this. I will use your reports to see what changes to the scheme can be realistically made to improve the environment for existing residents.

 

Kind Regards

Lisa Culhane

Group Head of  Development & Regeneration

VIDEO: Stonebridge 1 July 2011

By Sharon Easom: sharoneasom@rocketmail.com

This is the latest film of the Stonebridge Park Estate. It begins at Rocket Park, and then we see the Fairholm Court area, the Long Hedge site at the top of Magson Close, Magson Close behind the Coop, and we then see the view from Dennet Close Road. Here the film changes and we then see the flats facing Beacon Hill Rise Road, Eastham Close Road, Dennet Close bottom-row, and finally Eastham Close. This is our first film, it was a team effort, and we were all careful to stay outside the perimeter fence throughout we hope you like it!

The main feature of the film is landscape changes to Rocket Park with new footpaths being laid, and the circular area in the middle, which I presume will be the new children’s play area. Work began here about a month ago and is not expected to be completed until the autumn.

Rocket Park: 1 July 2011

Reporter: Mr Patrick Henshaw. patrickhenshaw@ymail.com

The central area of Rocket Park is being laid out in a large circle, outlined in light coloured bricks. I like the four new footpaths now being laid which lead into the centre of the Park, its all going to look really nice when its finished, I have lived here for a number of years and this is a big improvement from before. Work began at the end of May, so a lot has been done to Rocket Park over the last 4 weeks.

Dennet Close Bottom-row: 1 July 2011

Reporter: Mr Richard Pearson. richard.pearson53@yahoo.co.uk

Work is well advanced on this row of houses, the wooden roof beans are now in place and it just gives the appearance of Coronation Street, up north. I can imagine nipping into The Rovers Return for a quick pint, and chatting to Ena Sharples in the street. I really like these houses, and they are proper houses made of bricks, and are far superior to the Wimpey's built houses nearby.

Eastham Close Site: 1 July 2011

Reporter: Mr John Bailey. johnbailey78@ymail.com

I live on the Estate and today there is only two topics of conversation: how fast the new houses and flats are being built, and to such a high standard of workmanship. The second is the small size of the two houses which are being built on Eastham Close. They are quite prominent and look quite nice from the outside.

The House plans published on this blog two weeks ago tell a different story. I just cannot understand why there is no closet downstairs, a small room to hang up your coats, and put cleaning stuff in like brushes, mops and a vacuum cleaner. The kitchen seems small as well, I don’t think there would be much room to use the ironing board. There is also nowhere to put your washing to dry if its raining out, or if you have to go to work during the day. The person living here would have to use a clothes horse, and ironing board in the living room.

The block of houses being built nearby is now up to the third level, and seems so high. I agree with Richard Pearson about the bottom row. I asked workmen on the site and they said that these were all kitchens. The living rooms are on the middle level they said, so the bedrooms must be along the top. My wife and I cook a Sunday roast each week, and with three large saucepans boiling away there is a lot of steam. Even with a window open it still condenses on the cold window glass and walls. In the ground floor kitchens of this new block of houses there are no ventilation grills. Nowhere for the steam to go except onto the walls and in the air. The people who do move in are going to have a big problem with mould and damp, I wouldn’t like that at all.

The photographs below show the Eastham Close Site as it is today.

The bottom photograph shows the same block of houses as seen from Eastham Close Road.

Pevril Pub Site: 1 July

Reporter: Sharon Easom. sharoneasom@rocketmail.com

It was quite a delight to see the new block of flats from Beacon Hill Rise, and the new houses along Eastham Close Road nearing completion. I have lived on the Stonebridge Park Estate for over 12 years now and remember the Pevril pub very well. It was once a very popular venue for locals, and I went in quite often. Laying the foundations for the new block of apartments along Dennet Close must have been quite difficult. Workmen dug a deep trench and poured concrete into moulds to form the walls. Now that the foundation is in place it would seem that work will now begin on the new apartment block.

The new block of flats at the front of the site has maroon coloured doors, and white double glazing and finished in sand coloured bricks. Everyday work men are inside this block finishing the interior.

The photographs below show the Pevril Pub Site as it is now. It seems unbelievable, but only 22 weeks have gone by since Lovell first began building on the Stonebridge Estate and work has advanced to fast.

 

Lovell: Dust, Power-cuts & Cameras

Reporter: Mrs Janis Dodson. janisdodson@ymail.com

Around the Stonebridge Park Estate Building Contractor Lovell are continuing to cause a lot of nuisance for tenants & residents with all of the dirt and dust being blown off the building sites onto nearby parked cars, dirtying windows, and locals are walking it into their homes. This subject was raised at the Stonebridge Park Tenants & Residents public meeting in April, and despite reassurance from City Council officers that they would talk to Lovell about this nuisance to stop it from happening, the problem continues today. Lovell has made no apology to locals about this continuing problem, or made an effort to stop it from happening.

There have been three power cuts on the Stonebridge Estate over the last month, the most recent on 28^th June was caused by Lovell workmen accidentally cutting through electric cables. The power cut lasted 4 hours. Another inconvenience for tenants & residents.

Mr Robert Whyman ventured onto the Eastham Close building site in May to protest about the building of two controversial houses 9 feet away from his Lytton Close home. The incident could have been handled sympathetically, however, Lovell decided to be heavy handed and have this resident arrested.

Despite having permission from LHA to take a few photographs on the Eastham Close site on 14th June, Lovell informed Mr Richard Pearson that he should not take any further photographs on their land!

So this construction firm does not have a good reputation when it comes to building good relations with local tenants & residents.

Have you been affected by these problems, what do you think Lovell should do to put things right? Please contact us and let us know.

Fairholm Court Site: 1 July 2011

Reporter: Mr John Bailey. johnbailey78@ymail.com

The work is complete on this area of land at the bottom of Flewitt Gardens. The ground has been levelled, and a layer of top soil has been spread all over.There is not much else to say because the photographs speak for themselves.

Magson Close: 1 July 2011

Reporter: Sharon Easom. sharoneasom@rocketmail.com

A lot of work has been going on on this land behind the Coop, digging trenches, sorting bricks, and levelling the ground for months, but it just looks like Lovell’s have only just moved onto this piece of ground; its deceptive. I can see that the concrete base for new apartments is now in position so building work cannot be that far away.

I was talking to some of the people who live in the houses opposite, they are so annoyed about all of the dust kicked up by the work. It covers there cars, sticks to there windows and gets treaded into their homes. Lovell’s just don’t seem to care about any of this. On the day I visited Magson Close there was a power cut on the Stonebridge Estate caused by workmen cutting through an electric cable on Eastham Close. It lasted 4 hours, and this was the third power cut in a month. Again Lovell’s have never apologised to locals for the inconvenience; its not clever customer service.

Long Hedge Site: 1 July 2011

Reporter: Mrs June Gaskell. junegaskell@yahoo.co.uk

This is the first time I been to the top of Magson Close for a very long time. None of these new houses were built back then, now it has some nice big houses, and they look quite lovely; I wouldn’t mind living in one of these. The doors seem a bit odd along side the windows. From the back the big house on the front of this site seems to be ‘looking’ at you. The top windows are the eyes and the door is the mouth. I do hope that they open a show house here soon, I would like to have a look around inside them.

Eastham Close Site: Houses

These two controversial ‘small’ 1B type houses are located next to 9 Lytton Close. The size of the living room is approximately 20’ x 11’. Kitchen 10’ x 11’. Down stairs hall & toilet area 10’ x 10’. The Bedrooms are each 10’ x 11’. On the ground floor there is no coat room or obvious place to hang up your hat, coat or umbrella. There is also no Closet to store brushes, mops bucket/bowl, ironing board, vacuumed cleaner, tools or garden tools. Oddly, these two small houses are supposed to be connected to the EnviroEnergy District Heating Scheme yet the detailed house plans show no radiators in any of the rooms!

By comparison I live in a one-bed flat, the size of the living room is approximately 16’ x 13’. Kitchen 10’ x 15’. Bedroom 14’ x 14’ and bathroom 10’ x 8’. My 3 seat settee is 3’ x 7’. My double bed is 8’ x 6’. I also have a coat room 8’ x 4’. A closet 8’ x  6’ and a drying cabinet 3’ x 3’ because my flat IS connected to the District Heating Scheme. I also have radiators in all of the main rooms including the hallway.

The top photograph is a view of the front of the two houses looking towards the living room. The middle photo is a look inside the living room space, while the bottom photo is a view inside the back of the house from the proposed kitchen. The only door into the property is on the left.

Video: 15 June 2011

It was raining on this occasion! This is the latest film of the Stonebridge Park Estate; the video begins on Eastham Close Road, then Eastham Close, Dennet Close bottom-row, Dennet Close top-row. We then look at the Fairholm Court site, views around Rocket Park, then onto the top of Magson Close and the Long Hedge area, and finally the bottom of Magson Close behind the Coop.
   

For more information about what appear to be planning defects see the latest Eastham Close 15 June Blog Page.

Noticeable changes can be seen on Rocket Park where work has begun to level the grassed area and make the site more accessible, all of the trees remain in place.

The proposed road which appears on the new Master Plan (2010) running along the rear of the Fairholm Court railings and round into Farers Walk will not now happen as there is no money to pay for this feature.

Long Hedge Site: 15 June 2011

Many of the new houses on this site have roofs on and appear to be nearing completion as far as their external appearance is concerned. I did notice new walls and steps have been put in place at the rear of the properties on the upper row. These houses stand tall and look quite grand in there appearance.

There are no views this month from inside this site as the properties are very difficult to see through the wire mesh security fencing, I’ll try to obtain some images in the next 14 days. 

Magson Close behind Coop: 15 June

The site continues to be worked on every day to put in place the new foundations for what will be St Matthias Apartments, the Alcester pub stands proud at the top of this site, and I could not help notice The Albany Centre over the road. This is named after The Albany Works, formerly Wrights & Dobson’s, demolished in 2003.

Rocket Park: 15 June 2011

Railings were put up surrounding Rocket Park in late May and work began this month. A JCB and an excavator moved in and bulldozed the grass banks to landscape the site to form a more level playing field. All of the trees remain standing except one which was cut down, The site looks strange with its new hard core base laid down, yet when the area is grassed over again it will be much improved. New children’s & adult play equipment will be added later.

These are the latest Photographs of Rocket Park taken on 14 June.

Video: St Ann’s 1969 Pt 4

The is the final film of the series.

Video: St Ann’s 1969 Pt 3

Part three begins at the local Porn shop, and then Ken Coates & Richard Silburn talk about the meaning of poverty for St Ann’s locals. The film then moves on to show Blue Bell Hill Schools. Ken Coates & Richard Silburn conclude this section with a short discussion on the need for cheap family houses so that people can afford the pay the rents.