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Park Hill was a council housing estate and area regeneration scheme planned and constructed by Sheffield City Council from 1957 until its completion and official opening in 1961. It was Grade II* listed by Department for Culture, Media and Sport in 1998, and since 2003 has been the focus of a renovation and redevelopment scheme being undertaken by developers Urban Splash with Sheffield City Council, Transform South Yorkshire, the Homes and Communities Agency, Parkway Housing and English Heritage.

995 individual flats were constructed by the Sheffield City Corporation Public Works Department, commencing on 1st March 1957, at an estimated cost of £2,158,587. Four blocks were constructed, ranging from four storeys to thirteen storeys, maintaining a consistent roofline following the contour of Sheffield's hilly terrain. By 1st March 1961, all 995 dwellings had been completed.

Park Hill experienced a decline during the 1980s and 1990s, partly attributed to a shortage of funding from Sheffield City Council to maintain the estate. By the end of 2003, tenants were being moved out of the thirteen-storey North Block. Construction work as part of the renovation and redevelopment by Urban Splash begun in 2007.

Park Hill was Britain’s first completed scheme of post-war slum clearance and the most ambitious inner-city development of its time. The Park Hill complex aimed to improve council housing standards for the working classes and recreate a sense of community in the Park area. It was well received by Government and press once completed, and was viewed as a successful example of post-war slum clearance and area regeneration.

History
Background / History

Area before slum clearance
Throughout the latter 19th century, and during the early 20th century, Sheffield experienced an influx of workers because of its involvement in the steel industry. This created a need for rapid housing expansion. During this time, back to back housing was common. Houses were arranged such that a row of houses would face the road, and the other row would face an internal court, often residing next to a factory or small workshops. In the early 1920s, Sheffield had over 16,000 houses of this type.

Inadequate sanitary provisions and poor consideration for health, in addition to substandard construction techniques, ultimately led to structural deterioration of back to back houses in Sheffield and outbreaks of cholera and typhoid. A report by Patrick Abercrombie called “Sheffield Civic Survey and Development Plan” was carried out in 1924, and identified poor death rates of both adults and infants, 20-26 per 1000 for adults and 153-179 per 1000 for births. The population density in the lower Park district was 100-400 people per acre. As a result of his findings, Abercrombie recommended that a substantial number of the buildings in the lower Park district be demolished.

Slum Clearance (1920s — 1950s)
Alderman Harold Jackson spoke at a Sheffield City Council meeting in 1930, focusing on the shortage of proper housing, overcrowding on a large scale and little help for families on low incomes. At the time, only a small percentage of houses provided by the Corporation were let at rents suitable for those earning low wages. Jackson called for the Estates Committee to investigate and report upon the issue further, and to make further enquiries of other local authorities as to how to deal with the housing problems.

Subsequent to Jackson’s request, the Estates Committee presented a report in September 1930, promising to increase building of new homes in Sheffield to 1,250 dwellings per year and to introduce a Clearance and Improvement scheme to demolish 500 houses deemed unfit for habitation under the 1930 Housing Act. A promise was also made to re-house people displaced as a result of Closing or Demolition Orders, making the 1930 Act a departure from the 1925 Housing Act. It was also decided that local authorities would be required to consider housing conditions in their area every 5 years submit a report to the Ministry of Health of proposed work.

A clearance scheme was developed which involved the purchase and demolition of properties to create areas suitable for new buildings. A scheme was planned to create flats and maisonettes on land bounded by Duke Street, Broad Street and Bernard Street. The scheme was planned to house approximately 290 families and was presented to the Estates Committee by a group consisting of the Lord Mayor and City Architect, whom visited London in July 1934 and Liverpool in August 1934 to witness existing flats built under the Housing Acts of 1923, 1924 and 1930.

The city’s Medical Officer of Health, John Rennie, recommended in November 1933 that the removal of buildings we carried out to enable the Duke/Bard/Bernard Street scheme to proceed. Rennie cited bad arrangement, narrow streets, and danger to the health of habitations as reasons for the existing houses to be demolished. Rennie later made recommendations that properties on streets to the south of Duke Street, including South Street, Low Street, Hague Lane, Lord Street, Stafford Street, Long Henry Street, Colliers Row, Norwich Street, Gilbert Street and Anson Street also be demolished under the scheme. These streets criss-crossed the area where the Park Hill flats would be built.

The city’s Planning Officer, G. C. Craven, presented a report in November 1936, highlighting the issues with the existing houses, but also noting that while the area appears suitable for maisonette or flat type development, this would not be easily achievable owing to the uneven terrain.

In late 1937, the Planning Department’s General Development Plan stated that “it does not appear probable that flats will become the normal method of house building”. The second interim report of Sheffield’s Town Planning Assembly in November 1941 stated that the City Road and Duke Street area would be “best dealt with by a redevelopment scheme”, however reference to what form it would take was not mentioned.

The outbreak of World War II caused the City to halt demolition of the area, and also resulted in a temporary pause of planning. After the war, the City resumed its planning and consideration of multi-storey housing for the area. A special meeting of the Council’s Housing Committee was held on 28th April, 1949, where the possibility of mutli-storey flats with lifts was considered. The city planners looked to London and Scandinavia for inspiration, as multi-storey flats had already been developed there. The Chair of the Town Planning Committee, the Town Clerk, City Architect and the Planning Officer visited Copenhagen and Stockholm to increase their knowledge of multi-storey housing development. These visits were made between 27th June and 2nd July 1949.

The Planning Officer’s report in December 1950 determined that, to achieve the housing density recommended in the Ministry of Housing Manual of 1949, would require “a departure from the standard and type of development provided in Sheffield just prior to and since the war, which has been almost entirely by semi-detached houses.”

Like the visit made by the City in June and July 1949, a group from the Housing Committee consisting of the City Architect and General Manager of the Public Works Department, embarked on visits in September 1954 to Western Europe to study the designs and methods of construction used when developing multi-storey flats. The group’s report “Multi-Storey Housing in Some European Countries: Report of the City of Sheffield Housing Deputation” was approved by the Housing Committee in March 1955. This enabled the Park Hill flats development project to start. At this time, reports were also accepted on proposals for the redevelopment from the City Architect, City Treasurer, and Cyril Sweett and Partners, the chosen Chartered Quantity Surveyors.

Development plans, drawing and photographs were made public. The Star reported about the City’s plans for a new flat development, on 15th March 1955, as did The Sheffield Telegraph on 16th March 1955. Park Hill was the first of four areas to be redeveloped (the others being Netherthorpe, Woodside Lane (Pitsmoor) and Burngreave).

The first year of the slum clearance and redevelopment programme included 369 demolitions (271 rehoused), and to create a public open space, and demolish a further 282 unfit/63 fit houses under Compulsory Purchase Orders.

Planning and Construction (1950s — 1960s)
The construction of Park Hill was completed in three phases. Planning permission for the first two phases was granted in the first six months of 1956. Phase one included the building of 990 dwellings in four blocks ranging from four to thirteen storeys.

Phase two involved the building of two three-storey terraces of 152 dwellings on the east side of Bernard Street, and beyond those a development of four blocks with between five and nineteen storeys, containing 1,160 dwellings with 3,958 habitable rooms. Phase two of the redevelopment programme became the Hyde Park Estate which resided above the site of Park Hill flats.

John Laing, George Wimpey, M. J Gleeson and Henry Boot were all construction businesses which submitted for the Park Hill tender. The City’s Public Works Department was also on the tender list. Costs for the development ranged form £2.1 million to £2.4 million. The estimated duration of the development ranged from thirty to forty-three months. In November 1956, the Housing Committee authorised the work to be given to the Public Works Department to build 990 dwellings and other buildings, at an estimated cost of £2,158,587. This total cost resulted in each dwelling costing £2,800.The choice of the Public Works Department caused disagreement, with some Committee members preferring the more expensive tender of John Laing. Despite this, a Notice to Commence Work was served on 1st March 1957.

Further to two past visits by the City, members of the Housing Committee visited London to inspect mutli-storey flat developments in April 1959, for the purpose of developing proposals for social, recreational and general amenities for future residents of Park Hill.

By 4th November 1959, 59 houses were completed, with 935 of 994 in hand. By 1st March 1961, all 995 dwellings had been completed.

Opening
Park Hill was officially opened by Hugh Gaitskell, MP and Leader of the Opposition on 16th June 1961. The media favoured the scheme, with the Sheffield Telegraph on 14th September 1960 referring to the open space between South Street and Granville Street. The speed of construction and cost of the development were also highlighted as being impressive for its time in Europe. (Sheffield Telegraph, 20th January 1961).

Decline (1970s — 1990s)
By the late 1970s, changes in the economy and society started to affect working-class neighbourhoods in the UK. Manufacturing industry in Sheffield started to experience a decline throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and as such so did the working-class population employed by the industry. The council housing estates that had been developed by Sheffield City Council throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s started to experience a shortage of tenants. Before the construction of Park Hill and the slum clearance scheme, the Park area was the site of steel mills, mines and workshops of cutlery makers. As industry declined, between 1979 and 1989, 53,000 jobs were lost in a city of 200,000.

As the complex declined throughout the 1970s and 1980s, there were several issues with the building. A cockroach infestation plagued the site for many years, and a similar ant infestation was a recurring issue at the Hyde Park estate nearby. Complaints of cockroaches were reported as early as 1975. The council attempted to rectify the issues of infestations, but had difficulty gaining access to all dwellings, thus not being able to fully rectify the problem.

to the poorer East of the city, there developed an over supply of council flats as the manufacturing population began its long decline. By the late 1970s, there were already significant vacancies in these working-class neighbourhoods (Watts, 2004).

Watts, H. D. (2004) Discovering Cities: Sheffield, Sheffield: Geographical Association.

By the mid-1980s, Park Hill was in a poor state of repair and reputedly a high number of its tenants at the time were so-called "problem families" the Council had located there from other developments in the City.

As early as 1986, Sheffield City Council's Directors of Land and Planning and Housing submitted a joint report on areas of land in City Council ownership, including Park Hill and Hyde Park. It was deemed these areas were at the time surplus to the requirements of the Housing Programme Committee. Authority was to be given to the Director of Land and Planning to submit planning applications regarding future use of the Park Hill site, and to proceed with disposal.

Pemberton, a tenant at the time of the building's Grade II listing, like many others, wanted the building to be demolished. He told The Times newspaper "There are a lot of decent families but there are also a lot of prostitutes, drug addicts and scum." At the time of listing, Sheffield City Council was hoping for £6 million of funding from the Lottery for repairs and renovation.

Grade II listing (1998)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport referred the listing of Park Hill at Grade II* status to English Heritage. The building was listed on 22 December, 1998 for its “architectural importance, its ground-breaking use of ‘streets in the sky’ and its impressive scale”. The listing includes the buildings residing on Talbot, Duke and South streets. At listing, English Heritage highlighted the key areas of importance. The interiors were deemed “not of special interest”. Instead, the listing focused on the concrete H-shaped frame and street decks. The school and other separate buildings in the internal courtyards were not included in the listing and were demolished in 2007.

During their assessment, English Heritage deemed Park Hill “of international importance”. It was described as “the first built manifestation of a widespread theoretical interest in external access decks”. Sheffield and London County Council had the only major local authority departments designing “imaginative and successful” council housing in the 1950s.

The bid for a Grade II listing was rejected by Sheffield locals in 1996. A poll found almost 90 percent preferred the building to be demolished.

Design
Park Hill was designed by the Sheffield Corporation City Architect’s Department. Jack Lynn and Ivor Smith, two young Modernist architects who were recent graduates of the Architectural Association, were hired by the City Architect John Lewis Womersley for the project. They were influenced by the British architects Peter and Alison Smithson, pioneers of Brutalism who themselves were influenced by the Modernist Swiss architect Le Corbusier.

Lynn and Smith aimed to create a sense of community with their design of Park Hill. Lynn believed that post-war housing for the working class deserved the same attention to design as private housing, insisting upon the involvement of artists John Forrester and Ben Nicholson.

Womersley was influential in realising Lynn and Smith’s concepts. Womersley stated that the Park Hill area was suitable for high density multi-storey dwellings because of its proximity to the City centre, and the terrain allowed for planning of high rising flats with ample light, air and pleasant views.

The buildings were designed with a horizontal roof line following the topography of the land, with four storeys at the Talbot Street end and thirteen at the Anson Street end. It was planned that Park Hill would also include a local shopping and amenity area at the pedestrian level, providing nursery schools, laundries, a police station, and four public houses (to replace eight in the existing area). In June 1957 it was decided that leases would be available for vinyl record sales, a chemist, laundrette, chiropodist, fried fish shop, greengrocer, fishmonger, draper, butcher, shoe shop, radio and electrical suppliers, ladies’ hairdresser and the Sheffield and Ecclesall Co-operative Society.

The area’s primary school was modernised and extended, and the existing road patterns were changed. The spaces between each block of flats were designed as park areas with a system of footpaths and several small play areas.

Concrete Frame and Façade
Park Hill was constructed using reinforced concrete to form a H-shaped frame, modular in style. Reinforced concrete was a popular material of choice during the Brutalism architectural movement throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s, in part because of its low-cost compared to stone or brick. Brick was used for the façade of the frame, as panels next to the window in each dwelling.

John Forrester, a Constructionist sculptor, was hired as an aesthetic consultant to the project team during the early stages of design. He was consulted for advice regarding the façade treatment, particularly the relationship of how the concrete and brick materials would be used in combination to create the final façade of the H-shaped frame. It was decided that, to give each flat its own individuality, each brick panel would adopt its own color based on which street deck the flat was on. Brick infills were used in four shades - a progression of purple, terracotta, light red and cream.

A 1961 architectural review of Park Hill described the façade treatment as “free from fashiony touches” and “curiously dateless in its detailing”. The concrete H frame which forms the structural basis for the building was kept without any cladding, instead being used as the key element of the façade. Balconies, constructed separately to the H frame, were designed with a double top rail, and although large were not too imposing as to block the view outwards.

Streets in the Sky and Bridge Walkways
Streets decks, later known colloquially as ‘Streets in the Sky’ were included as a key element of the design of Park Hill, and later Hyde Park Estate. Each block incorporated street decks ten feet wide, open to the air, on every third floor, to effectively replicate ordinary streets. The width of the streets was chosen to allow for milk floats to use them. Being covered from the weather, and free from vehicle traffic, also enabled the streets to be used for recreation and social gatherings. Womersley stated “The deck can, in fact, be considered as an extension of the dwelling so far as children are concerned.”. Each street deck was named after the roads in the area that were closed as part of the redevelopment. These included Gilbert, Hague, Long Henry and Stafford.

The design of the street decks made it possible to walk to any point on the same floor level across different blocks on the estate, creating a greater sense of community and unity across the complex. Each street deck, except the highest, runs out to ground level at some point up the rise of the site, as the roofline was kept at the sam level throughout the building, following the terrain contours. It was decided that the living rooms in each flat have the primary sunward aspect, and for the bedrooms to be laid out on the deck side of each flat.

The streets in the sky continue across the buildings by way of bridges that connect the individual blocks of the complex. Some have considered the bridges to create such a unity that Park Hill be considered a singular building rather than individual buildings. The bridges presented a striking visual element across the complex, having architectural dominance over the vertical lifts and stairs. The bridges also created clearance for roads beneath, allowing vehicles to enter the internal courtyards of the complex.

Heating and Waste Disposal
Park Hill was connected to Sheffield City's district heating system which is oil-fired from an incinerator. A large chimney which resides next to the North Block, still visible today, was used as part of the district heating system. A former resident noted that the chimney didn't have any visible emissions and usually didn't have any smell.

In 1935, the Chairman of the Estates Committee and the City Architect visited Paris to inspect a system similar to the Garchey waste system. Each flat incorporated the Garchey waste system, a water-borne system “whereby the refuse is untouched by hand from the time it is placed in a special kitchen unit sink until it is removed as ash from the incinerator at the terminal point of the system”. The system was installed by Matthew Hall and Company Limited at a cost of £80,327. It was also used in Quarry Hill, Leeds and the Barbican Estate in London.

It was prone to blocking and did not include any features which would reduce or remove the possibility of sewage gases entering towards the kitchen sink end of the system. Past residents of Park Hill recall the reliability issues relating to the system, in particular when a 'blow back' of waste would occur back into kitchen sinks. Owing to these issues, in addition to the advent of disposable nappies, the system was later disused and replaced with the more common method of waste disposal, collection of refuse sacks. Towards the end of the complex's use before renovation, modern waste disposal was provided by the Council. Refuse sacks, to be left out at 8am, were collected from outside dwellings on the 'Streets in the Sky' by workmen using orange electric vehicles.

Today, modern households have InSinkErator garbage disposal systems which use a motor to grind and shred food waste. A Garchey waste system has not been used in the renovated Park Hill flats.

Interiors
Womersley also gave consideration to other aspects of day-to-day living, including playgrounds for older children, private gardens, sound insulation, communal rooms, garages, storage space, pets and clothes washing and drying. Private gardens were not included and allotments were deemed unsuitable. An electrical socket was provided in the kitchen for a washing machine, and clothes drying on balconies was permitted.

With Park Hill, Sheffield City Council successfully implemented several aspects of modern living, and was among the first of large-scale council housing to do so. Flats included central and underfloor heating, a waste disposal system, fitted kitchens and bathrooms, and were designed to be as airy and light as possible with the use of large windows. Many British homes were not fitted with internal bathrooms or fully fitted kitchens until the 1960s and 1970s, and central heating systems were similarly not installed in many British homes until this time.

Nursery
Grace Owen Nursery School opened in 1963 within the heart of the Park Hill complex. The nursery entrance and playground is located next to the former Parkway Tavern public house. Grace Owen was a school teacher who was awarded a CBE for her services to young children. She gave £10,000 for the nursery to be built and was 92 years old when it opened. The nursery employs 18 members of childcare staff. There are currently 133 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery also provides funded early education for two, three and four-year old children. When investigating the nursery in February 2014, Ofsted awarded the nursery school 'Grade 2', a 'Good' judgement where education is "effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well."

The nursery is due to be relocated to the redeveloped part of Park Hill during 2014. Sheffield City Council will be fitting out the relocated nursery and it will be funded from various external funding schemes, including the Local Growth Fund.

Renovation (2003 — Present)
In response to the Grade II listing by Heritage Heritage in 1998, Sheffield City Council began to plan the future of Park Hill to tackle the problems at the site. It worked with English Heritage to explore options for the renovation. English Heritage provided advice and identified the heritage values of the complex, including the scale and valuable history of the development. English Heritage believed that substantial changes could be made to the internals of the building without damaging its historic importance.

A strategic partnership was formed in 2002 which was made up of Sheffield City Council, Transform South Yorkshire, English Partnerships, English Heritage and Sheffield One Urban Regeneration Agency. This partnership was charged with developing a vision for the future of Park Hill.

In August 2004, the president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), George Ferguson, described the estate as one of Britain's "most vile buildings". He suggested it should be given a Grade X listing to speed up its demolition. The council's Liberal Democrats group also described the complex as an "eyesore" and vouched for its demolition and removal of Grade II status. Architects Ferguson Mann work closely with Park Hill developer Urban Splash on other projects. Ferguson, who voiced his opinion for the demolition of such projects whilst President of RIBA, stepped down from his role at the firm when he became Mayor of Bristol in 2012.

A piece of graffiti, "Clare Middleton I love you will u marry me", which is written on one of the "bridges" linking two of the blocks, was the subject of a documentary broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011. The presenter went in search of the story behind the graffiti, eventually finding that Clare did not marry the author of the graffiti, a man named Jason. She died of cancer in 2007. As part of the refurbishment of the estate the developers have chosen to illuminate the portion of the graffiti reading "I love you will u marry me" in neon. Clare Middleton's name has not been illuminated.

Rehousing and Clearance
Sheffield City Council started to move existing tenants out of Park Hill in December 2003. The North Block, the 13 storey block overlooking the town centre, was emptied first.

On 30 December, 2003, it was reported by The Star that a shop trader, Kenneth Hopkins who ran the sandwich shop 'Dane Snacks' on The Pavement, had invested £14,500 in improvements to the shop upon taking the premise in 1999. The Council offered him a six-month notice to vacate and £1,200 as compensation for moving out.

As of June 2012, the local authorities had rehoused people from 886 out of a total of 995 units. As of April 2014, Phases 2, 3 and 4 are all empty and secured and the council is in the process of moving tenants out of the last block. Tenants who have lived in their flat for more than one year are entitled to homeless and disturbance payments and are awarded a rehousing priority so that they can bid for other council properties across the city.

Grace Owen Nursery is still open and regularly used. It has been recognised as a nursery with two 'outstanding' ratings from Ofsted. The nursery is planned to be relocated as part of Phase 2 of the redevelopment.

Urban Splash Redevelopment
English Heritage carried out several surveys in an attempt to combat concrete corrosion problems at Park Hill. English Heritage provided Urban Splash with £500,000 towards the concrete repairs. These included hydrophobic treatments, like-for-like patch repairs, anti-carbonation coatings and selective replacement. Anti-carbonation coatings were matched to the colour of the rejuvenated concrete. Over 5,500 concrete repairs were carried out to the H-frame over the course of more than a year. Contractor Prestec commenced works on May 2009 and completed in December 2011. Prestec carried out the concrete repairs and specialised coatings for the façade, in addition to repair works to the helical stairs, lift shaft beams, and fabrication works and brick cleaning.

In October 2005, the Sheffield Green Party criticised several aspects of the renovation plans. In particular the lack of environmentally sustainable energy such as solar plans or wind power was highlighted as a key drawback. The planned multi-storey car park was deemed unnecessary, and concerns were raised over how Urban Splash was to repair the concrete frame, given its state of disrepair. It was also mentioned that priority should be given to those on the Council waiting list for affordable homes, rather than private buyers. As of June 2009, Urban Splash had been holding meetings at the Park Hill Community Centre to inform local residents about the plans for the site.

In March 2008, work began to remove interior walls and leave the concrete frame exposed. Since the building work started, a 'soft-strip' was carried out on each flat in the North Block. During this process, remaining furnishings, carpets, cupboards and fittings are removed from the flats, leaving them as empty shells. The 'hard-strip' includes removing flooring, doors and wall coverings.

As of June 2009, scaffolding had been erected on the North Block, and hammer tests and repairs of the concrete had begun. The developers used abandoned dwellings in the undeveloped part of the complex to test materials and construction techniques that would be used on the North Block. These included test glazing, erected near the site of the former Scottish Queen public house.

NoChintz, an interior design studio based in Manchester, worked with second-year Sheffield Hallam University students to create a show home for the refurbished Park Hill development. Aiming to attract the interest of first-time buyers, young professionals, and the older market of couples whose children have now moved away, the firm created a design which bridges between contemporary and traditional styles.

Urban Splash identified that the old timber-frame single-glazed windows were of poor quality, deciding to remove them completely and replace with modern double-glazed units. 1,590 Everseal IG units, totalling 4,453m2 of glass, were used in conjunction with a Kawneer architectural aluminium system, designed and installed by SG Aluminium of Blackburn. The new units are assembled using 6mm/8mm/10mm clear toughened glass combined with 6mm Planitherm Total Plus from Saint-Gobain - an energy saving window glass that uses advanced coatings to retain internal warmth whilst capturing free energy from natural daylight.