Chapel Street Estate
Encyclopedia
Chapel Street Estate is a residential area of Brierley Hill
, West Midlands
, England
.
Although the Chapel Street Estate was only created in the 1960s, the actual site of the estate had been a dense residential area for at least 100 years previously.
Hundreds of terraced house
s had been built on the site of Chapel Street during the 19th century, housing the many industrial workers who were being employed at new factories like the Round Oak Steel Works. But by the end of the Second World War, many of these houses were unfit for human habition and plans were soon being made for their demolition.
By the end of the 1960s, all of the old houses in the area had been demolished and replaced by a new housing estate that consisted entirely of council flats. There were eight tower blocks and approximately 15 smaller blocks that were between three and six storeys high. The road layout of the estate was also much better than before, and it was soon regarded as one of the best council estates in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley
(which had absorbed Brierley Hill in 1966).
However, the estate has deteriorated considerably in recent years, and is now one of the most crime-plagued parts of the Dudley borough. Drug-fuelled crime is a serious problem, and in recent years many of the flats have been occupied by Asian
and Eastern European
asylum seekers
.
Brierley Hill
Brierley Hill is a town and electoral ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England. It is one of the larger Black Country towns with a population of 9,631 and is heavily industrialised, best known for glass and steel manufacturing, although the industry has declined...
, West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Although the Chapel Street Estate was only created in the 1960s, the actual site of the estate had been a dense residential area for at least 100 years previously.
Hundreds of terraced house
Terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
s had been built on the site of Chapel Street during the 19th century, housing the many industrial workers who were being employed at new factories like the Round Oak Steel Works. But by the end of the Second World War, many of these houses were unfit for human habition and plans were soon being made for their demolition.
By the end of the 1960s, all of the old houses in the area had been demolished and replaced by a new housing estate that consisted entirely of council flats. There were eight tower blocks and approximately 15 smaller blocks that were between three and six storeys high. The road layout of the estate was also much better than before, and it was soon regarded as one of the best council estates in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley
Metropolitan Borough of Dudley
The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It was created in 1974, and is made up of the towns of Dudley , Stourbridge , Halesowen, Brierley Hill, Amblecote, Sedgley and Coseley...
(which had absorbed Brierley Hill in 1966).
However, the estate has deteriorated considerably in recent years, and is now one of the most crime-plagued parts of the Dudley borough. Drug-fuelled crime is a serious problem, and in recent years many of the flats have been occupied by Asian
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Eastern European
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
asylum seekers
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
.