Mackworth Estate
Encyclopedia
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
near to Markeaton Park and the suburb of Mickleover
Mickleover
Mickleover is a suburb located two miles west of the city centre and is the most westerly suburb of the City of Derby in the United Kingdom.-History:...
and also the village of the same name
Mackworth
Mackworth Conservation Village, mentioned in the Domesday Book, and civil parish in the borough of Amber Valley, in Derbyshire, England. Historically, the parish also contained the neighbouring village of Markeaton, now within the Derby city boundary. Mackworth Estate shares its name with the...
but which is linked by no other means.
The area was developed during the 1950s (the first house completed in 1953) and was one of the largest housing estates to be built in the city. Mackworth's most noticeable landmark is a large water tower owned by Severn Trent
Severn Trent
Severn Trent plc is a British public utility. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.Severn Trent is a group of companies employing more than 15,000 people across the UK, US and mainland Europe, with some involvement in the Middle East.The main...
and can be seen from much of the estate. The estate was also home to Derby College
Derby College
Derby College is a further education centre with sites located within Derbyshire , England and the surrounding area...
, Prince Charles Avenue Campus. These buildings were formerly Mackworth Secondary School and Parkfields Cedars Girls Grammar School, subsequently combined to form Parkfields Comprehensive School, which closed in the 1980s, the building then being turned over to the local tertiary college .
Today the majority of homes on the estate are now owner occupied, though there is still a significant stock of social housing available. The visual environment of the estate is excellent, with most homes having well maintained and attractive gardens, comparable to any full owner occupied private housing estate. Housing density is very low, there are plentiful areas of green open space, and there is very little terraced/apartment housing. There are also decent amenities and facilities for local residents (shops, dentist, doctors, churches etc.). Petty crime (which was a rising problem over the course of recent years) has dropped dramatically and is considered one of the 'most improved' areas of the city for the said subject. There is still the off putting sight of youths gathering in large numbers (due to limited things for youngsters to do on the estate), but in most cases they just mind their own business and will not bother other residents if left alone.
Six years ago Mackworth was dubbed Smackworth due to massive problems with drug offences, though in reality this kind of problem is occurring on a national scale and it is believed that Mackworth only picked up this name due to the ease of applying the letter s to the ward's name. The ward can look forward to public works projects, such as its own branch of the city library which opened in late March 2010.
All but one (the one exception being the main artery of the Estate, Prince Charles Avenue) of the road names in Mackworth are named after places in London, for example Knightsbridge, Wembley Gardens, Bayswater Close and Marylebone Crescent, apparently living Mackworth the nickname "Little London" (though many people who are Mackworth born and bred have never heard this nickname). Of course, many of the streets have their own Mackworth pronunciations, often differing from the London ones.