Runcorn & Widnes Weekly News

‘Legoland’ estate went from dream to nightmare in just 15 years

- alan.weston@reachplc.com @alan weston BY ALAN WESTON

IT LOOKS like something from an old science fiction film – but this housing estate was once a reality for thousands of residents.

The Southgate estate in Runcorn only had a lifespan of 15 years. But in that short space of time, it went from offering an innovative solution to Liverpool’s slum clearances to becoming a problem-ridden estate that was ultimately demolished.

It’s easy to forget this bold housing project - with its harsh concrete blocks, colourful frontages and “washing machine” porthole windows ever even existed on an area of land now occupied by Hallwood Park in Runcorn.

The estate was first commission­ed in 1967 but only completed its final phase 10 years later.

It was designed to contain 1,500 residentia­l units with a population of 6,000.

Liverpool’s slum clearances necessitat­ed the creation of “new towns” to house the overspill created by the demolition of substandar­d and squalid living conditions in the city’s Victorian slums.

While many were moved to new tower blocks in engineered housing estates like Cantril Farm (now re-named Stockbridg­e Village), the designs for Southgate offered something totally different.

The Runcorn housing developmen­t was designed by James Stirling. with a layout inspired by the Georgian squares of cities like Bath and Edinburgh.

Mr Stirling said the round porthole windows, referred to by residents as “washing machines”, were inspired by Liverpool’s maritime heritage.

The estate was made up of flat-roofed terraced housing and deck-access apartment blocks, all linked up by “streets in the sky” walkways that passed above the traffic and allowed access to Shopping City.

Apartments on the estate were made from concrete panelling with colourful plastic cladding in bold blue, yellow and orange, which led to the estate being nicknamed “Legoland”.

But things quickly started to deteriorat­e on the estate, with the deck-access apartments making surveillan­ce difficult which led to problems with criminalit­y.

Occupants who had been moved out of the slums into new houses started complainin­g about anti-social behaviour and noise among a long list of other problems.

The decision to install an oilfired central heating system meant tenants could not afford to heat their homes after the oil crisis of the early 1970s.

Residents also complained about the inability to personalis­e the exterior of their homes, the lack of private garden space for many and the radical look of the developmen­t, which was a million miles away from the traditiona­l housing on offer elsewhere in the region.

With such a catalogue of problems, families started to move out, leaving properties vacant and the estate was regarded as a “dumping ground for undesirabl­es”.

By the mid 1980s, Southgate estate was a mess and in 1989 the Warrington and Runcorn Developmen­t Corporatio­n decided to demolish it completely, with work to tear it down beginning in 1990.

While Southgate may have been short lived, photos from this bold architectu­ral project still prompt debate over the decision to eradicate such a striking housing developmen­t.

 ?? Geoff Roberts ?? ● Housing units on the Southgate Estate, Runcorn, circa 1977
Geoff Roberts ● Housing units on the Southgate Estate, Runcorn, circa 1977
 ?? Geoff Roberts ?? ● Housing units on the Southgate Estate, Runcorn, circa 1977
Geoff Roberts ● Housing units on the Southgate Estate, Runcorn, circa 1977
 ?? Geoff Roberts ?? ● The living room area of one of the two-storey houses on the estate, circa 1977
Geoff Roberts ● The living room area of one of the two-storey houses on the estate, circa 1977

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