Mixed memories of estate life
With the possibility of a Swansea housing estate being demolished, RICHARD YOULE speaks to residents about life in Penlan
THIS was the scene in January 1969 when new council houses and flats took shape in Penlan.
The Heol Emrys and Tudno Place developments may not have won any prizes for architecture, but they provided a roof over the head for hundreds of people.
Derek George, his wife, Cynthia, and their young children Karen and Andrew, were the first occupiers of a three-bedroom house on the estate.
Mr and Mrs George are keen to hear what Swansea Council’s emerging proposals will be for the area, with demolition described as a “possibility” by a cabinet member at a meeting this week.
Council chiefs are keen to stress that views of residents of the 231 properties affected will be taken into account, that it was still very early days, and that it was unlikely any owner-occupied properties would be torn down should the demolition route be taken.
But they want to improve the estate, and hope to get consultants working on a masterplan over the next six months.
Mr George described walking into the new house on Heol Emrys more than 40 years ago as “fabulous”.
He said: “I had to work nights at Felindre tinplate works, and my wife would be in the bath singing away.
“It was great. And we are still in the same house.”
The couple had moved to Penlan from Brynhyfryd, and paid the council £11.25 a week for their smart new home. Families were moving into neighbouring properties at the time and a community was born.
“Down in our corner we still have that community feeling,” said Mr George.
In 1989 the couple bought the house they had rented for so long for £15,000.
Mr George — now a great-grandfather — moved from the tinplate works to titanium supplier Timet in Waunarlwydd before retiring.
By then, demolition workers had razed 32 flats in Tudno Place in 2001, and a grassed area took their place.
Some people living in the area claimed this week that drugs blighted the Heol Emrys complex, while others said it was perhaps no worse than other housing estates.
Mr George said he had seen just one discarded syringe in all his time there.
“We got one or two idiots who moved in, but they moved out,” he said.
“A new couple have moved in recently, and they are lovely people.”
Asked how it could be improved, the 72-year-old replied: “It is fine. The kids have a bit of grass to play on. I take my dog up to the fields. I like it.
“But the biggest problem is rubbish. We have complained about it.”
The council has been spending tens of millions of pounds bringing its stock of 13,600 properties up to a designated Welsh housing quality standard. Firm options for Tudno Place and Heol Emrys will be developed in the coming months, with input from residents.
Current and former residents have been sharing their experiences of living there.
Writing on Wales Online’s website, self-styled doogie26 said they lived in Tudno Place as a child in the late 1970s, and gave this account.
“The flats were considered stateof-the-art back then. By 1979, Tudno Place had already become a ghetto.
“There were several flat fires, and I remember being evacuated to a friend’s flat as all the flats were interconnected.
“A regular police presence was familiar even back then. Alcohol and drugs were also a big problem. By 1979 my parents had enough and we moved into a house in another part of Penlan.”
Another person, Hughesy, had a different take. “Absolutely loved Heol Emrys. Lived there in the late ‘70s early ‘80s. When the heating was included in the rent!”
A less favourable recollection came from Nicky Thomas, who said: “Myself and my wife had a council flat in Heol Emrys when our daughter was first born back in 2012 to help us get on our feet while I was at university and so we had a place of our own, we spent a fair bit of time and money ensuring the flat was up to scratch and decorated to a decent standard.
“Within less than a month of moving in, we moved out. Someone tried kicking in our front door, people were drug dealing at the bottom of our steps, house parties until the early hours, constant police presence and someone getting chased with a baseball bat.”
Joe O’Rourke, left, whose daughter and her young family live in Heol Emrys, said he felt the estate had “quietened down”.
“Over the years Tudno had a bad name — it has mellowed out,” he said. “And there is good and bad everywhere.”
Ward councillor June Burtonshaw said she felt the estate “definitely needs something doing do it”.
“It is a rabbit warren in some places, with all the alleyways going through.
“We need to look at that,” she said.
“Obviously we would have to discuss with residents before we went ahead with anything.”
She added: “The caretakers clear the estate — I think there has been some improvement there.
“I don’t get as many complaints from this area as I used to.”