Footballer's Estate

We worked in partnership with the client, contractor and community to refurbish and regenerate an inner city housing estate.

The footballer's estate is situated less than a mile from Manchester city centre. The site was cleared during the slum clearances of the 1960s. The 240 units were constructed in the early 1970s as a radburn style estate.

The properties on the estate had not received any improvements since they were constructed. The clients' offer of a transfer from the Local Authority was on the condition that they refurbished all the properties. This included electrics, heating, kitchen and bathroom replacement and asbestos removal. All doors and windows were also replaced.

We undertook to survey each property and meet every resident to assess their particular needs. As a high proportion of the estate was occupied by non-English speaking residents, we insisted that the contractor employed a tenant liaison officer who could translate between the team and residents.

The external environment required remodelling to eradicate anti-social behaviour, crime hot spots and parking issues. Following detailed consultation with the residents, gardens were extended, alley ways closed and secure parking provided.

Where parts of the estate suffered from lack of surveillance and poor access, we redesigned the houses to face the street front. This involved turning the internal space from back to front which proved an outstanding success.

To complement the external remodelling, new housing bungalows and flats were designed on infill sites. The master-planning of this had to reflect the future aspirations of the Greenheys site which was to be developed seven years later.