Woodnook slums!
 

Just looked at the new homes being converted in Woodnook. When I was a kid we tried never to walk through the area. How things change tho, wouldn't mind living in one of these myself! We always knew this was the way, refurbish not pull down. They knew how to build houses in those days. See how many of the "new" houses are standing in a hundred years!!

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

I lived in this area when I was growing up and never ever did I consider those houses to be slums. They were homes. Some of them were humble homes. They afforded warmth and shelter and were the places we went to when all the world seemed against us.

The standards when I was growing up were far different from the standards of today.
The outside lav. The tin bath. No central heating, no wall to wall carpets.
The community were solid, they helped one another.

I am glad this area has been refurbished. I hope those who make those houses their homes have lives that are as happy as mine was.
I hope they appreciate the work that has gone to make the place comfortable, and they respect the properties.

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

I agree with you 100% Margaret. I too grew up in Woodnook in the 50's and 60's and remember how happy those days were. It broke my heart to see how the area had deteriorated. I'm glad to see the refurbishment has been a success.

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

Still say they should have knocked them down and built new homes with gardens, off road parking and somewhere for kids to play safely and I used to spend a lot of time in that area and I have lived in terraced houses like those

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

Well, Neil everyone is entitled to their opinion....you are no different.
These houses are well built, more so than new builds.
There is a huge chunk of land where the two mills used to be. This was ear marked for 72 shoeboxes....er, I mean houses.
The site is an eyesore...It hasn't been built on because the company who had plans to do this building went bust....the land is for sale.
It has been derelict for quite a few years now....I will look at my pictures later and tell you exactly how long.
This refurb of the area is designed to provide affordable rented housing for working people....to breathe new life into an area that is deprived....that can't be all bad.

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

I worked on so called "New Builds" late 60s and was shocked at the low quality crap they put in em,compared to the old terraced,:eek: Yer opinion may well have been different Neil, if yeh were a bit older?;)

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

1966 I bought an house in Royds St. Two up and Two down with an outside Lav that was a long drop. No heating or hot water just a gas geezer over the sink. I bought the house with £25 deposit and £400 loan. Yep the house was mine for £425. When Huncoat shut i moved to Nuneaton to work at Coventry Colliery. As a transferred miner I was entitled to a Coal Board house. Within 6 weeks I was living in a Three bedroom semi with a fully equipped bathroom all heated with solid fuel central heating and a driveway with a garage and massive front and back gardens. I sold my house in Royds St for less than £300 as I wasn't coming back. Living in the Woodnook area was ok though and as others have said it was a cracking community with some real good pubs as well. Nevertheless I made the best choice.

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

I live in a terrace now and have lived in several others as will as detached and town houses. The worst of all was mid terraced front door opening onto the street ones like those they have tarted up.

They are rubbish modern family homes, like I said no off road parking and nowhere for kids to play safely. Maybe if you were a bit younger you would have a different opinion. You have to either carry your recycling through your house or round the block. Terraced houses were ok when they were built in the 19th century but not now.

I'll give it 10 years and it will back in the state it was before.

If you don't like my idea for knocking them down you really wouldn't like my idea for how to improve the roads around here because a lot of demolishing needs to be done to build decent roads :)

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

Neil, I live in a terraced house too. Have done for over forty years.the difference is we have a little garden at the front.....ok so it is paved(I am no earthly use with green things).
We have a large backyard too and this is fine for us.
Not everyone can live in their ideal home....which is what you describe. Sometimes you have to compromise to get a roof over your head.
The houses they have refurbished are well built and they have turned some of them into larger family homes.
There will be people out there who would snap your hand off for one of these properties. It just happens that you are not one of them.

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We were posh ... we had wall-to-wall floors:D

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We lived in a 2 up 2 down private rented in Accy then moved to the end of an L shaped block of 5 town houses with a housing association. It was less money and had off road parking, a garden front and rear for the kids and a safe place to play. In other words a family home which is what they are pretending this done up terraces are. They are not, they are a relic of the past.

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

Neil, with the greatest respect, because they do not suit your family needs does not mean that they are unsuitable for families.
Some families will not require off road parking as they may not possess a vehicle.
Gardens are a luxury, some families need the basics rather than the luxuries. This does not mean that they will not aspire to such things, but these homes may provide something in the short term.
I would certainly rather have one of these than some of the houses which are up for rental.
I am pretty sure they will be snapped up by people who are willing to compromise so that they get a roof over their head.
There are plenty of green spaces locally where children can play, supervised by parents of course.

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

All that money for "short term" houses when they could have done the job properly.

Thats the problem with the narrow minded people at HBC/LCC. To worried about upsetting a few residents to do whats needed. It's like this stupid road junction at Church Commercial. What it really needs is a much bigger junction with two lane each way from there down to the lights at the bottom of Dill Hall Lane. Yes that would mean knocking a few houses down but they are the few that would moan, the thousands that would find the new road system better would be happy with it. The usual listen to a few moaners mentality applies. I'll stop ranting now sorry :)

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

I didn't mean that they were 'short term' houses, just that the tenants may want them as short term lets until they can get something better.
I was under the impression that this refurbishment work was a partnership between HBC, business and some money from other sources(I can't think now whether it was lottery money or the ESF).
Not everyones need for housing is similar to yours. If you have small children then ideally you would want something with a garden or a safe area to play(these houses have back yards - we played in back yards and my friends father had a lovely bit of garden in his back yard)...but there are places where children can play (with adult supervision).
People who have older children may not be so fussed about having somewhere for children to play, teens rarely want to 'play out'....these are good houses, brought up to a more modern standard...ready to move into......they already enhance what was a very run down area....they look clean, are well maintained and in my opinion(i know that it counts for little) are a vast improvement to what they were.

Now if someone would just get to grips with the deictic site where the two mills were, then that would be another huge improvement to the area.

Yes Neil, I hope you feel better after your rant.

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

I agree Margaret,I walked through on the way to Woodnook C.S.school they were nice family houses.

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We lived on Victoria Street on the block next to the Old Band Club.We bought our house when we got married in 1969 for £625 and lived in there,and brought two children up until the council in their mind decided that one or two on the block were unfit for human habitation.We had spent a lot of money on our house , but no the council wanted to pull it down and we were forced to move.

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

Only just seen this forum point today and I see it has been going on for some time.
I grew up in the forties & fifties at number 5 Belfield road (2 up and 2 down), but left the UK in 1967 to go to Switzerland, where I’ve been ever since. I vividly remember the many happy times that we had sledging down Wilfred Street during the cold winters of the late Forties and early fifties. The pantomime shows for us Kids being put on in the social club of Highams, playing on Riley’s Hill and up Priestly Clough etc. etc.

I was back on a visit in May of this year after some 30 years or so. Wow have things changed!
I agree mainly with what has been said already regarding:
- Knocking down and rebuilding
- Keeping the houses as they are and refurbishing them
- The old Higham’s factory buildings
- Etc., etc
Whether to knock down, or refurbish depends mainly on what is possible at what price. What I saw in May on Wilfred Street and Augusta Street was very impressive, and where possible there should be more of this type of refurbishing continuing.
On the other hand when I got around to Belfield Road I was disgusted at what I saw, with windows being boarded up and some properties really looking dilapidated, not to mention (as somebody already said) the waste land that was Highams employing a few hundred people. It really is time that here something should be ASAP.

Cheers
Philip Kenyon

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

The derelict land where Highams and Warburtons Mills were, was earmarked for the building of 74 houses, but the guy who bought the land went bust and that is why nothing has been don on that land. In the last two weeks I heard that it has been bought. During that time there have been 4 men installing very robust fencing. So whether there is some movement and possibly a start on the project is anyone's guess.

I lived on Riley's Hill until 1966(My mum still lives there) and Priestly Clough was my playground...our sledging escapades were down Rose St and the St by the side of the Old Band Club...and the pantomimes and the childrens Christmas parties were at the Cotton Club....rip roaring event they were to be sure.
The houses in this area were never slums. People were proud of their homes.

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

Hi all you good people from Woodnook,
I have a quiz question[/B] for all of you, but in particular the "older generation".
Below is a photo of what used to be the "PSA", it is on the corner of Belfield Road and Nutall Street.
Question: does anyone know what "PSA" stands for?
I will let you know in a week or so if nobody gives the correct answer.

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

Is it a technical term?

PSA=Photograph Should Appear
:)

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

Pretty Silly Answer

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

Pretty shot area?

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

Poorly screwed area

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

I grew up in the bottom end, working class decent folk who grafted but all got out. The big Manchester letting agencies bought the housing stock on the cheap because our stupid council allowed the scum that were banned from their home town to come and live here.

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

I loved that area but scum breeds.

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I went the other week, to see how much it's changed. It broke my heart,that's one thing I don't ever want to see in Accy again. In less than 20 years it's just imploded.

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Re: Woodnook slums!
 

"Pleasant Sunday Afternoons" If I remember correctly there were 2 snooker tables, one full size and a 1/2 or 3/4 size one. You had to convince the chap who looked after things that you knew what you were doing before you could play on the full size table. Used to go there quite often in the early/mid '50s with Vincent Ryder, Bernard Cronshaw, Jack Hartley and a few others who are lost in the mists of time gone by. Pretty certain it was open more than just Sundays.

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

Good idea, but no it is not a technical question.

Cheers

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

Hi,
All of you that have said PSA stands for "Pleasant Sunday Afternoon" are correct.
I lived at number 5 Belfield road and went there regularly.

Cheers

Philip Kenyon

ex 5, Belfield Road

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

Message for Neil,
Thanks for putting the picture in place. What went wrong resp. what did I do wrong?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Philip

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

You had http twice in the link but even if it had worked I would have to have changed it because the picture was massive and filled the whole screen making a mess of the forum format. The best way to add a picture is to use the Manage Attachments button when you write a post. The forum then resizes the picture when you upload it

Re: Woodnook slums!
 

Thanks for the info. Neil. Will try your suggestion the next time.

Cheers

Philip