Market Estate
Encyclopedia
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
estate consisting of 271 flats
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
and maisonettes situated to the north of Caledonian Park in the London Borough of Islington
London Borough of Islington
The London Borough of Islington is a London borough in Inner London. It was formed in 1965 by merging the former metropolitan boroughs of Islington and Finsbury. The borough contains two Westminster parliamentary constituencies, Islington North and Islington South & Finsbury...
. It is named after the Metropolitan Cattle Market
Metropolitan Cattle Market
The Metropolitan Cattle Market in Islington, north London was built by the City of London Corporation and opened in June 1855 by Prince Albert...
held in the area for many years up until the 1960s. Three of the six blocks that make up the estate are named after famous breeds of the animals that used to be traded in the market; Tamworth (pigs), Kerry (cows) and Southdown (sheep). The remaining three blocks are called the Clock tower blocks after the Clock tower in Caledonian Park, which contains a still working clock used as a prototype for Big Ben
Clock Tower, Palace of Westminster
Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and is generally extended to refer to the clock or the clock tower as well. It is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world...
.
The estate was built by the Greater London Council
Greater London Council
The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...
(GLC) and completed in 1967 to a design by architects Farber & Bartholomew. Although flats are relatively large (having been built in accordance with the then new Parker Morris standards
Parker Morris Committee
The Parker Morris Committee drew up an influential 1961 report on housing space standards in public housing in the United Kingdom titled Homes for Today and Tomorrow. The report concluded that the quality of social housing needed to be improved to match the rise in living standards and made a...
), the estate became run down, neglected and plagued by anti-social behaviour. The redevelopment of nearby Kings Cross
Kings Cross, London
King's Cross is an area of London partly in the London Borough of Camden and partly in the London Borough of Islington. It is an inner-city district located 2.5 miles north of Charing Cross. The area formerly had a reputation for being a red light district and run-down. However, rapid regeneration...
probably contributed to a growing drugs
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
and prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
problem in and around the estate as activity was displaced from Kings Cross.
A multi-million pound UK Government
Government of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Government is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Government is led by the Prime Minister, who selects all the remaining Ministers...
and Islington London Borough Council
Islington London Borough Council
Islington London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Islington in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Islington is divided into 16 wards, each electing three councillors...
investment in the 1990s failed to stop the decline. Walkways connecting the blocks were mainly removed, gardens created for most ground floor flats, and closed-circuit television camera
Closed-circuit television camera
Closed-circuit television cameras can produce images or recordings for surveillance purposes, and can be either video cameras, or digital stills cameras...
s linked to a concierge
Concierge
A concierge is an employee who either works in shifts within, or lives on the premises of an apartment building or a hotel and serves guests with duties similar to those of a butler. The position can also be maintained by a security officer over the 'graveyard' shift. A similar position, known as...
in an onsite office installed. The concierge's office was burnt out and the CCTV system vandalised. It was not replaced.
Hyde Northside were given the management of the estate in 2001. Following the death of a young boy on the estate, Christopher Pullen, when a security door fell on him, residents set up the Market Estate Tenants and Residents Association (METRA), demanding that the estate's fundamental problems be resolved. Following several years of discussions, it was agreed that the estate needed complete redevelopment
Redevelopment
Redevelopment is any new construction on a site that has pre-existing uses.-Description:Variations on redevelopment include:* Urban infill on vacant parcels that have no existing activity but were previously developed, especially on Brownfield land, such as the redevelopment of an industrial site...
. Islington Council decided that the only way of bringing in the necessary funding to do this would be to invite a housing association
Housing association
Housing associations in the United Kingdom are independent not-for-profit bodies that provide low-cost "social housing" for people in housing need. Any trading surplus is used to maintain existing homes and to help finance new ones...
to take the estate over in a stock transfer. Hyde Northside failed to be selected by the residents and Southern Housing Group was chosen from a short list by METRA representatives in 2003. After nearly 18 months of further discussions between residents, Islington Council, the office for the deputy prime minister
Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a senior member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not a permanent position, existing only at the discretion of the Prime Minister, who may appoint to other offices...
(ODPM), Southern Housing Group and their masterplan architects, Watkins Gray International, over 80% of the secure tenants on the estate voted on whether to transfer the estate and their tenancies to Southern Housing Group, with over 85% voting in favour.
Under the agreement the whole estate will be demolished and replaced by a mixture of houses and small blocks of modern low rise flats, built on a traditional street
Street
A street is a paved public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more often paved with a hard, durable...
pattern to Watkins Gray International's masterplan. The contractor on this project is Higgins Construction. Existing secure tenants were guaranteed a new home on the new development if they wanted it, and 90 additional homes for sale and shared ownership will also be built to help cross-subsidise
Subsidy
A subsidy is an assistance paid to a business or economic sector. Most subsidies are made by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry or an increase in the prices of its products or simply to encourage it to hire more labor A subsidy (also...
the costs of building tenants' new homes.
Caledonian Park will also be improved as part of the scheme. Work on the new homes started in early 2005, significant improvements were made to Caledonian Park beginning in 2006 including planting new trees and redoing all the paths.
The Market Estate Project
The Market Estate Project marked an important moment in the regeneration of the Market Estate, Islington. With the last remaining residents moving out of the old estate blocks in February 2010, the Market Estate Project invited 75 artists, designers and the residents of the estate, to work together in flats left behind, corridors, staircases and building facades.Work was developed over a number of months, culminating in a one-day event on 6 March 2010 which invited the public to explore the art works created on site, just before the demolition bulldozers move in.
An estimated 2500 people attended the day, which was considered to be a success - described by British artist Anthony Gormley as a "joy and Delight".
The project was developed as a partnership between Southern Housing Group and TallTales, a London based art practice which focuses on working with artists in areas undergoing development.