This is what it's like to live inside a high-rise council tower block in Leeds

Council estates have been for years the bedrock and heartlands of the city and its variety of communities.
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As the Yorkshire Evening Post continues to shine a light on housing in Leeds, here, on the fourth day of our special report, Emma Ryan looks at the more traditional council properties.

When seven multi-storey tower blocks were earmarked for demolition more than 12 years ago in east Leeds after a series of problems with drugs, poor quality accommodation and anti-social behaviour - one was saved.

High-rise

Life in the skies at Sherburn Court at Swarcliffe.Life in the skies at Sherburn Court at Swarcliffe.
Life in the skies at Sherburn Court at Swarcliffe.
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We may be in the midst of Storm Dennis but as I wander around the windswept patio of Sherburn Towers standing tall between the A64 and Swarcliffe, I see the reason for why.

Resident George Harmer smokes a cigarette while pointing towards the fence he is hoping gets moved back so he can help build a vegetable patch, he also shows us the planters, raised beds and rockeries that he and a group of other green-fingered residents have been installing, at the foot of the 14-storey building over the last few years.

He is 80-years-old and beams with an understated pride about what they have achieved in the last four years since he moved in.

George had never lived in a tower block before and after being asked to view the flat with his wife Susan, an amputee, he was sceptical - but snapped it up.

George Harmer in the garden at Sherburn Court.George Harmer in the garden at Sherburn Court.
George Harmer in the garden at Sherburn Court.

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They can now no longer worry about being broken into when they go on holiday, he says, which happened where they lived before.

Meanwhile, John McHugh viewed his flat on a Wednesday and had moved in by the Saturday.

All the flats are let and are specifically aimed at over 55s, an often under-represented sector in the housing market.

Mr McHugh, 78, said: “I lived in a block of flats for about 25 years and would probably still be there now but we got the drugs carry on and the ones above and below never went to bed. We stuck it out longer than we thought we would, but put in for this, got it on the Wednesday and moved in the Saturday morning.

“It took me 12 months before I could get to sleep.

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“I had got used to the times it started [the noise]. It’s a wonder it didn’t send me insane. You can only talk about your own flat but it is a lot quieter.”

PFI

A PFI deal lasting 30 years was struck between Leeds City Council and Yorkshire Housing to take on the 85 flats, which in that time, have seen a huge level of investment and revamping.

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More than 580 bids for council property in Beeston as Right to Buy decimates hou...

Mark Lawson is the scheme manager at Sherburn Court and after having worked on the estate around Swarcliffe for 12 years, he has been at his current role for 18 months.

From managing the block to lightbulbs and lift breakdowns he says the estate has changed dramatically.

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He said: “There was crime, cars being set on fire and anti-social behaviour. It was not what people wanted for the place.

“Once those flats were demolished the whole estate improved dramatically. There are a lot more areas tidied up and more pride in the estate.”

Back in the warmth of Sherburn Court, a noticeboard in the lounge lists a whole host of activities for residents who, if you are living on the 11th floor, might not get too many people passing by.

There are social evenings, bingo, afternoon teas, fish and chip nights, housing officer drop ins and a Christmas party. And it was last year that Mr Lawson and his assistant, Peter North, realised they had nailed the job.

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He reveals: “Residents have a Christmas party every year. We (managers) don’t get invited but this last Christmas we did. They had the meal and were doing some speeches. The resident spokesman got up and said ‘as you know there have been a few changes over the last year and the best thing is Mark and Peter coming to work at Sherburn Court’.

“There had been a bit of an uproar when we came in but we thought, ‘we have made it’ and it was really nice to hear.”

Village life

A couple of miles away is the village of Scholes. A mixture of newer homes and traditional semi-detached houses along with shops, a couple of pubs, churches, a library and a community centre all serve each other.

“Everybody knows everybody” and this is something that hasn’t changed in years.

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Belle Vue Road was purpose built council housing 60 years ago to meet that post-war demand for housing and a few years later another row was added.

Like many council houses, some have been purchased via Right to Buy, some have been sold and some families have moved on but for one couple - they are the first and only tenants to have lived in their home.

The 87-year-old didn’t want to be named but shared their story with the Yorkshire Evening Post.

The lady said: “The road used to be council houses but most of them are private. They were built 60 years ago and we were the first tenants. People didn’t bother about buying houses at our time. It wasn’t so easy.

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“It has always been quite a decent sort of person that lived here. Everybody knew everybody else but the older people of our generation did talk more to one another.

“Kids played on the street of course but we never had lots of young ones for some reason or another but as they started to grow up, they moved away but it has always been a nice area.”

The Scholes Manor House community centre was added to the estate around 40 years ago and is a hive of activity from coffee to bingo and elsewhere in the village is WI, Mothers Union, a choir and tea dances.

Her husband worked as a joiner before being called into the forces for two years. They had been saving to buy the house and then the market changed but they were never tempted to move.

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She said: “We managed to save and scrimp and we could have bought this but there was a big block of prices going up and they went up with colossal so really that was it and we couldn’t manage it.

“We were never tempted to move. We liked it and still do. I just hope that they don’t move me out. There is still a lot of community and since my husband became ill I did not know I had so many friends.

“He was in hospital for nine weeks and people I only knew by sight wanted to help and do all sorts and gave me their numbers.

“In all the nine weeks I only had to get four taxis. I was always going off in somebody’s car so I could see him.”