IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Blackwell Court, SHEFFIELD, S2 5PW

The colourful flats undergoing refurbishment in the background are the Grade 2* listed Park Hill flats. These were built 1957-61 as part of long-term slum clearance. Le Corbusier's ideas were embraced whole heartedly by Sheffield City Council but I suspect given the choice 98% of the tenants would have opted for Blackwell Close style housing any day! For more info see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Hill,_Sheffield

Parkhill flats early on a Sunday morning.

Park Hill is the only building to put Sheffield on the world map of architecture. Its slabs overlook the city like a C20th fortified wall. It embodies the idea of 'streets in the sky', an attempt to recapture the community spirit of the slums it replaced, its deck access famously wide enough to accommodate a milk float. As well as 994 flats, the estate included a shopping centre, laundry, police station, four pubs, and, later, a primary school with playground. Park Hill was built in 1957-61 and designed by Jack Lynn and Ivor Smith. Grade II* listed. See also: Image] and Image The architecture has taken the rap for the usual neglect and social problems which have since beset the estate. Trendy developers Urban Splash were commissioned to renovate it, including partial privatisation. The obligatory brightly-coloured panels delineate those areas that have been 'splashed'. The bare concrete sections can only watch and await their fate.

Spring is Sprung in Park Hill

These flats from the 1960s are listed. They are being renovated and you can see the old to the left and the new to the right

This large development of block of flats, seen as a monstrous eyesore or 60s heritage depending on your standpoint, was given Grade II Listed status in 1998 but only now has the foreseen modernisation begun to see fruition. Here we see the north face of the building, which has been given a tidy-up and a splash of colour.