'Worst street in East Lancashire' being flattened (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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'Worst street in East Lancashire' being flattened
12:00pm Thursday 6th October 2011 in Rishton
FLATTENED The houses in Rishton
A ROW of derelict terraces which became famous for creating ‘East Lancashire’s worst street’ are finally being flattened.
Yesterday the majority of the dangerous properties in Rishton’s Spring Street had been razed to the ground, with the remainder of the demolition expected to be completed today.
At the height of the problems on the street, firefighters were called to the stretch of 11 properties 33 times in just six months.
As well as encouraging arson and anti-social behaviour, many of the homes have no roof, or internal structure, with several appeared to lean into the pathway. The buildings had deteriorated to such a degree that they were dangerously unsafe.
The demolition marks a victory for residents after ten years of campaigning for the empty properties to be addressed. Clearance of the area should be completed within weeks following the last demolition.
Rishton Coun Harry Grayson said the demolition work marked a victory for residents after ten years of campaigning.
He said: “I have very mixed feelings about today because I was born in Spring Street and remember the community we used to have there. Nobody locked their doors and people looked out for one another.
“It is sad that we had to pull these houses down, because they were good houses before they were left empty. However they degenerated to the point that it created a nightmare situation for neighbours.
“Now the way has been paved for this plot to be regenerated.”
Fellow ward councillor Ken Moss said: “It is terrific to see these houses finally coming down.
"They have been a blot on the landscape for so long and residents can now finally breathe a sigh of relief”.
An outline planning application to create a canalside flats development at the site has been submitted to Hyndburn Council, but no firm plans for the area’s future have yet been made.
Comments(15)
badref
says...
12:15pm Thu 6 Oct 11
By creating a new development in its place but not tackling the anti-social behaviour of the residents, all the council and its partners are doing is giving these people temporarily imporved accommodation in which they can carry out their lawlessness and petty criminality.
Mr Grayson is right to point to the fine social history of those houses but those days are long gone. people with no self-respect are highly unlikely to have any respect for property however modern and appliance-filled it might be.
The council and private landlords need to adopt a far more draconian approach to anti-social behaviour and failure to maintain properties to acceptable standards.
Slimplynth
says...
12:58pm Thu 6 Oct 11
The original planning application stated 'Executive housing'.. it would be a massive shame if they back peddle and choose to make the area into a Mini-Shad.
The local councillors surely have some weight to throw when it comes to this.. Rishton needs to stop taking on the **** that breeds in Blackburn.
badref
says...
1:34pm Thu 6 Oct 11
happycyclist
says...
1:41pm Thu 6 Oct 11
badref wrote:Good comment.
Several years ago a local council moved tenants out of multi-storey flats into a new development on the outskirts of the town. Within three years it had become a ghetto. These houses on Spring Street are solidly built, on the southern edge of the twon ideally placed for both local amenities and nearby countryside. There was nothing wrong with these houses.
By creating a new development in its place but not tackling the anti-social behaviour of the residents, all the council and its partners are doing is giving these people temporarily imporved accommodation in which they can carry out their lawlessness and petty criminality.
Mr Grayson is right to point to the fine social history of those houses but those days are long gone. people with no self-respect are highly unlikely to have any respect for property however modern and appliance-filled it might be.
The council and private landlords need to adopt a far more draconian approach to anti-social behaviour and failure to maintain properties to acceptable standards.
Dave139
says...
3:17pm Thu 6 Oct 11
DJ_Jaybee
says...
6:17pm Thu 6 Oct 11
What they put up nowadays won't last half as long.
What they did in Nelson to renovate the terraced houses was great - but most developers seem to prefer to throw up some flimsy new-builds and pocket the cash.
hairy mary
says...
6:26pm Thu 6 Oct 11
Pendle Bill
says...
10:00pm Thu 6 Oct 11
DJ_Jaybee
says...
10:09pm Thu 6 Oct 11
hairy mary wrote:That's a rat problem... something that needs addressing whether you live in a farm house, terraced house, new build, stately home or Downing Street.
im glad they dont make them like that anymore ive got rats in my terraced house they run over my face when im asleep
If Buckingham Palace has rats the solution isn't to knock it down and put up a cheap replacement.
The terraced houses were built to a much better standard than what they throw up now... to knock them down rather than renovate is a dumb solution.
If you have rats running over your face at night you think demolishing the street is the solution? No wonder stuff like this happens when there's people that think like that. Unbelievable.
useyourhead
says...
9:12am Fri 7 Oct 11
DJ_Jaybee wrote:Calm down dj haha, hairy is a freestyle random commenter who just throws out random, amusing wierdities lol.
hairy mary wrote:That's a rat problem... something that needs addressing whether you live in a farm house, terraced house, new build, stately home or Downing Street.
im glad they dont make them like that anymore ive got rats in my terraced house they run over my face when im asleep
If Buckingham Palace has rats the solution isn't to knock it down and put up a cheap replacement.
The terraced houses were built to a much better standard than what they throw up now... to knock them down rather than renovate is a dumb solution.
If you have rats running over your face at night you think demolishing the street is the solution? No wonder stuff like this happens when there's people that think like that. Unbelievable.
-
on the construction subject though, I have been told by more than one developer that modern construction is designed and costed to be of a quality that has a realistic life expectancy of 25-30 years, which is curiously just about the length of a mortgage, interesting ...... I hate new builds and would never have one unless i did it myself. shoddy and characterless boxes mostly!!
Slimplynth
says...
12:58pm Fri 7 Oct 11
badref wrote:Deffinitely agree, the landlords in that area don't care though. My only wish is that the council has done everything in it's power to financially punish them for this outrage. (Those houses - especially the end one looked great to me)
Of course the houses needed to be demolished you are correct. My point was that with care these houses could have been habitable for future generations just like hundreds of other terraced properties in the town where the residents actually take some pride in their dwellings
BIGGLESTOE
says...
10:49pm Sat 8 Oct 11
Cllr Ken Moss
says...
10:59am Sun 9 Oct 11
badref wrote:I live 50 yards from where these houses were and my gut feeling was that renovation was the best option. However, the houses were in extremely poor condition and had become dangerously unsafe to the point where the road had to be blocked off during the icy weather and people were forced to drive down back alleys. The row has been like this for a decade and allowed to fall into disrepair by the owners but renovation would have involved council spending to the tune of around £750k which we simply don't have. I'm always sad to see terraced housing demolished (particularly when there really is nothing wrong with it) but in this instance it was the most sensible option.
Of course the houses needed to be demolished you are correct. My point was that with care these houses could have been habitable for future generations just like hundreds of other terraced properties in the town where the residents actually take some pride in their dwellings
kylecosw
says...
7:59pm Tue 11 Oct 11
ROBERTSLUMDWELLER123 says...
12:03pm Thu 6 Oct 11