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Bradburn Road, WOLVERHAMPTON, WV11 1JL

These houses on the early 1950s Long Knowle Estate have recently been renovated. Most are obviously still in Council ownership.

Early 1950s council housing in Guest Avenue. Original flat roof replaced by pitched roof in 1990s.

These houses on the early 1950s Long Knowle Estate have recently been renovated. A privately owned house shows the original brickwork finish. A feature of the low rise housing is the dwarf brick perimeter walls with brick on edge coping.

The steepest slope available on the estate is well used. The mound Image is a new addition to the play area.

A crescent shape of engineered fill with grass was constructed earlier this year on the open space beside the school. The grass has not survived the weather or use by children during the school holidays and has been overtaken by weeds. The only green is the astro-turf next to the slide. When I saw the architect's proposals for this I expected something much larger. It turned out to be less a mound and more of a molehill.

In the immediate post-war period Wolverhampton County Borough required additional housing for a growing population and slum clearance around the town centre. As most building land had been used within the Borough the Council negotiated for several greenfield sites in neighbouring Wednesfield Urban District Council including Long Knowle and Ashmore Park in 1949. By 1953 plans had been finalised and the site work on the traditionally constructed homes started in October 1953. The first home was finished in May 1954 and by August over 100 were complete. The playing field at the centre of the estate is bounded on one side by the school and on the other three by blocks of three storey flats. The first of these was opened in July 1955. The flats are similar to Princess Court and Queen's Court in Falling's Park built in 1950. Image] The flats were as much as traditional techniques could achieve for medium density housing and were superseded by the high rise tower blocks of the early 1960s estates.

Long Knowle Primary School plays host to the polling station for the 2010 General Election. The school is in the centre of an early 1950s Council Estate consisting of three storey blocks of flats and low rise housing some now purchased under 'Right to Buy' schemes. The demographic is working class with some owner occupiers.

This early 1950s housing in Wednesfield was built as overspill for neighbouring Wolverhampton. Lack of available building land within the town led to agreement with the adjoining Urban Districts to develop new estates. The first of these three-storey blocks opened in June 1955. Some of these Districts were absorbed into the town with local government boundary changes in 1967.

The rear yards of the properties have been improved on these 1950s flats on the Long Knowle Estate. The first of these three-storey blocks opened in June 1955.

The church hall of St Gregory the Great serves as a Polling Station for the 2010 General Election. The polling station caters for a mix of post war private developments and a few older properties. The demographic is older owner occupiers.