Oldest existing block of flats?

raveydavey · Post by **raveydavey** » Sat 18 Jul, 2009 2:00 pm

What about the flats at Saxton Gardens? I'd forgotten about them until I was driving up York Road this morning.There is a 1951 pic of Quarry Hill flats on Leodis.net which shows the proposed site of both the Saxton Gardens and "York Road Development Area" (now Ebor Gardens) areas for development, and other info on Leodis states the Saxton Gardens flats opened to tenants in 1957. So, are these the first in Leeds?The refurbishment of Saxton Gardens seems to have slowed to a crawl, if not stopped all together. Anyone know what is happening there?There are several references to the Lincoln Green estate being built in the early 60's, but no specific dates given that I've been able to find so far. One photos shows the 'new' estate, with Ebor Gardens visible in the background, so presumably these were built at the same time? Then I found this, the legendary "Elsie Tanner" pic, which shows that when she opened the shopping parade on 3rd November 1962, the flats behind were already in place. But that is around 5 years after Saxton Gardens.

Chrism · Post by **Chrism** » Sat 18 Jul, 2009 4:41 pm

...dam, I was just gonna say Saxton Gardens.

raveydavey · Post by **raveydavey** » Sat 18 Jul, 2009 4:45 pm

Looking at the dates, it's clear there was a truly massive amount of development going on in the late 50's / early 60's - probably more than even in the last few (pre-crunch) years.There were not just flats, but whole new housing estates springing up. Except that back then, they actually put other infrastructure in place at the same time.

Trojan · Post by **Trojan** » Sat 18 Jul, 2009 5:01 pm

Loiner Paul wrote: The blocks at Holbeck Moor were built in the late 1950s I think you are correct about that. I'd say they are the oldest high rise flats in Leeds. I remember marvelling at how high they were when I was a kid and wondering if they were as high as the Empire State

Hector · Post by **Hector** » Mon 20 Jul, 2009 1:08 pm

Saxton Gardens was the firdt post war high rise development in Leeds, late 1940s. However, if you include cottage flats then these were actually built in the 1930s.

Post by **chameleon** » Mon 20 Jul, 2009 6:45 pm

I thought it a toss up between somewhere round there, Ebors was a contender but the site wasn't cleared until '59ish.

Misc · Post by **Misc** » Fri 24 Jul, 2009 1:33 pm

Not a high-rise, but there's a block of flats on Scott Hall Road that must be fairly old? They are nice-looking, a bit art-decoish.

Chrism · Post by **Chrism** » Sat 05 Sep, 2009 7:56 pm

c1955-1957. View of Saxton Gardens under construction. Seven blocks of flats were built between 1955 and 1957 designed to accommodate up to 1791 residents in one, two and three bedroomed units. The flats were installed with the Garchy Systemn of refuse disposal and the underground suction pipes were linked to the Refuse Disposal Station at Quarry Hill Flats. The buildings were constructed in reinforced concrete with brickwork to the external walls. Six shops and a boiler house were also constructed on the site and a play area was designed for small children. The first of the blocks to be completed was officially opened on 12th November 1957. Recently two of the tower blocks have been redesigned by architects Union North. Work commenced in January 2007 and the renovated apartments are currently being developed and marketed by Urban Splash. The surrounding landscaping includes allotments, wild flower meadows and an orchard. The development is now called 'Saxton'.

raveydavey · Post by **raveydavey** » Sun 06 Sep, 2009 5:13 pm

From what I can see on the York Road flyover, work appears to have ceased completely on "Saxton" - the blocks where work was going on appear to have been caught in limbo, with nothing apparently happening for a few months now.Anyone know any more?

Si · Post by Si » Mon 07 Sep, 2009 12:48 pm

According to a telly programme last week, Urban Splash are also responsible for renovating Park Hill in Sheffield.