Has anyone ever lived in a tower block؟

[MattA7]

Has anyone on here ever lived in a tower block? If so was it as bad as people say?

I know they often have a bad reputation with regards to crime, anti social behavior, drug abuse etc however I have also heard a lot of people claim they liked living in the high flats especially those who lived near the top and had a spectacular view of the city where they lived.

A lot of people think councils and housing authorities should renovate them and house responsible tenants to help the social housing crisis rather than razing them to the ground. Has this been successful in any area?

 

[GusB]

I lived in a tower block in Aberdeen for a while, and it wasn't too bad. My main issue was the fact that I'm not good with heights and my flatmate had the habit of leaving the windows wide open (having to lean out to close them wasn't happening!)

Being on the fourteenth floor, I did have spectacular views out over the links and northwards over Bridge of Don. The early sunrise over the sea in summer was spectacular (when it wasn't raining) and it was nice to watch the supply boats queueing up to enter the harbour.

Our block was one of the earlier blocks and it hadn't been refurbished as some of the neighbouring blocks had, but this was probably because it was still in reasonably good condition. The lifts were original and were quite slow and rattly, but they worked. Most of the people I met were pensioners, which was probably the reason why there wasn't much, if any, antisocial behaviour. If I remember correctly, the neighbouring block was sheltered housing.

I knew people who lived in tower blocks in other parts of the city, some of which were in poorer condition and suffered more vandalism. Like anywhere else, it's not the type of housing that's the issue, but the people who live there. I've heard some horror stories, but equally I've known many people who were happy where they lived.

 

[AlterEgo]

You may need to define what a tower block is. I lived in a high-rise building but I'm not sure whether it would count for the purposes of this discussion?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

You may need to define what a tower block is. I lived in a high-rise building but I'm not sure whether it would count for the purposes of this discussion?

Some sources suggest that a 'tower block' is any tall building containing six or more storeys of offices or flats. Often there'll be many more storeys than just six, in which case you'd certainly hope there'd be a working lift!

 

[DarloRich]

Has anyone on here ever lived in a tower block? If so was it as bad as people say?

Do you mean a 1960's style tower block? Like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Road_Flats

 

[nlogax]

An ex used to rent a flat in a council high-rise in West Kensington, ie Fulham. As council buildings went it was ok.. a bit ratty and some interesting smells and with lifts that were operating 80% of the time. May have seen the police there once or twice but not really as much as you might have thought.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

I lived in one, on the ground floor mind, no problems.

Lifts can be very troublesome, when adding them to older buildings they may have to be very small, and they can break down - best to have more than one if possible.

A public building near me has a lift (one floor up) that has been out of service for MONTHS. It would have been better to build ramps, there is enough room.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

In the early 80's , it was fairly easy to get a high rise flat - friends had one of Camden's very near to Euston on the 19th floor.

Absolutely fine , decent accommodation with superb southwards views over the city , - but it was very secure and kept in good condition.

 

[MattA7]

Do you mean a 1960's style tower block? Like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Road_Flats

yes I’m referring to high rise blocks of flats (usually owned by councils or housing associations)

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

An old woman who lived in Nelson House in Grimsby, now demolished, said she loved living in them. I think they are suitable for some who need little space, but are not good for families.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

To put it simply, the desirability of a tower block is all down to good management.

Putting to one side the current issue of cladding materials, also the build quality of some blocks over the decades, once built correctly;

• the functioning of the lifts - management
• the management of the communal spaces (cleanliness etc) - management
• the allocation of tenancies (assuming a council block) and the behaviour of tenants - management

As a student, we were told that the many tower blocks of Birmingham were much more popular once concierges were put in, rather than the previous situation where someone who couldn't care less propped the door open for a friend later, thus letting any ne'er-do-well in to vandalise, graffitti, run-riot and urinate in the lift. This was in the days before widespread CCTV and the potential for remote monitoring.

Not sure how that relates to the more recent expansion of private sector developments, many of which will contain a mix of owner occupiers and buy-to-let tenants.

I lived in a council block for six months as a tenant. The views were good, security was reasonable, the lifts worked, the balcony would probably have been nice but I was only there over winter. As a long-term investment option, the area where I lived (high rise blocks and low rise maisonettes) has declined somewhat with significant substance mis-use and associated behaviours. The blocks are adjacent to the city centre ring road so were very convenient for pubs, shops, bus station etc.

 

[WesternLancer]

The main issue with council tower blocks is
a) standard of the regular communal area cleaning and maintenance regime
b) housing people in them who don't want to live in them but have no choice about it.

If you can avoid (b) it's no real problem - so long as they are properly maintained.

Big cut backs in the 1970s in (a) resulted in many blocks getting a very poor reputation far too quickly.

The issue with council housing finance is that it tends to result in maintenance being done in 'big bursts'. The gaps between these big bursts result in decline which in some cases can get so severe that the flats get a very bad reputation which then results in anyone who can move out doing so and only those with no other choice moving in - so it then creates a spiral of decline to which the solution is then presented as just best to demolish them.

Two experiences of interest involve taking a group of visitors round a high rise block that they expected to be grim but were visibly taken aback to find how smart and tidy it was in the communal areas (lifts/landings/stairs etc)

Other being taken around an 18 storey block of ex council flats that had been sold by the council to a property developer who had renovated them and being shown round by the estate agent charged to sell them who extolled how big the flats were (since the more recent comparable private sector new build flats that were the comparator for the estate agent were so much more pokey - the council flats were not exactly big - just built to the standard 1960s 'Parker Morris' size regulations that were abandoned in the 1980s.

There is also an issue (as with any blocks of flats) of social isolation since you don't have a street level view to watch people coming and going to and from (eg neighbours) as you do on a conventional road. This is not much of an issue if you have the time / fitness / money to spend time away from your flat doing other things - but for many in council housing those are not easy options due to low incomes for example, so that can be an issue for some people.

Other issue can be that thermal insulation in 1960s concrete blocks can be poor and they rely often on electric heating which can be costly (gas not seen as a good idea in system built flats after the Ronan Point disaster in 1967ish). This will be part of the reasons for over-cladding with insulation that at Grenfell Tower went so tragically wrong - due to the type of insulated cladding used of course.

And as mentioned up thread not so good for kids IMHO as not easy to access play space etc directly from door of flat as would be the case with a house.

These flats at the Barbican - originally built as council flats by the corporation of London IIRC, must be pretty desirable given the asking prices c£1.3m+ - but that is clearly at an extreme end of the spectrum!

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[KeithMcC]

I lived in one as an older child and it was fine. Warm and quiet with a stunning view over the river and sea.
However the area wasn't great and getting home in grammar school uniform was a bit hairy at times, until I discovered someone else from the same school who lived close by.
It was a bit concerning when a few years ago I went to a presentation on building repair to discover the same buildings subject to significant strengthening as they were considered unsafe!

 

[XAM2175]

These flats at the Barbican - originally built as council flats by the corporation of London IIRC, must be pretty desirable given the asking prices c£1.3m+ - but that is clearly at an extreme end of the spectrum!

Barbican Estate is a niche case - it was developed, owned, and managed by the Corporation of the City of London and so technically was (and still is) a 'council' estate, but it had been targeted at 'professional' tenants from the very first moment and all the flats were let at market rates.

 

[WesternLancer]

Barbican Estate is a niche case - it was developed, owned, and managed by the Corporation of the City of London and so technically was (and still is) a 'council' estate, but it had been targeted at 'professional' tenants from the very first moment and all the flats were let at market rates.

Thanks. Yes, very much a niche case. Tho of course lots of high rise flats originally sold via Right to Buy in other parts of London sell at fairly steep prices too - which would be more typical I suspect.
Mind you - the concept of a 'market rent' did not really exist when the flats were built did it? Since before 1988 private rents were more controlled and subject to rent officer rulings - and by the late 1960s it would have been common for many council house rents to actually be more cost than many private sector rents (at least in homes considered to be for the 'working classes') - so perhaps The Barbican was targeted at professional classes from the start?

 

[DarloRich]

yes I’m referring to high rise blocks of flats (usually owned by councils or housing associations)

In that case: An elderly relative of mine lived in one and had done for some time. The flat was perfectly pleasant although the main issues were due to the lack of funding for the council to maintain the fabric of the building. The lifts never seemed to be working and the communal heat system was a law unto its self.

The community had changed on the years she had lived there but it was hardly the druggie crime ridden hell many would associate with a tower block. Of course there were residents who were difficult/wrong uns but there were many who were utterly decent. It seemed a good if not spectacular place to live and as it was a council flat it cost next to nothing to rent.

 

[Non Multi]

My mother's friend lived in a high rise in Fulham, West London, facing Lillie Road during the 1990s. Although I also lived in a flat as a young child, it wasn't high rise.

The Fulham flat was cosy, fully carpeted and still had its metal framed windows. Due to a lack of space, I recall her microwave oven being located in the living room. The communal lift was grotty, smelly and unloved, and I was never fond of the glass balcony walkway to the front door due to my slight dislike of heights. The private balcony at the other side was also grotty and somewhat covered in bird droppings.

I did love though the eastward view over the rest of the city from the living room. There was also a fun moment when I saw Challenge Anneka with the blue beach buggy being filmed at the leisure centre across the road IIRC.

I didn't feel unsafe or any unease being there despite parts of the local estate being somewhat run down. There was no obvious antisocial behaviour too beyond a bit of graffiti, not even loud music, but I think this was when local gentrification was beginning to improve matters.

 

[Calthrop]

I've never lived in a tower block; but -- with the worrying future owing to rising sea levels, of Fairbourne village and its miniature railway, being at present under discussion in other sub-forums here -- find flippancy associated with the topic, impossible to resist. Not far from where I live, in the north-eastern suburbs of Birmingham: there is a tower block which goes by the name of Fairbourne Tower. An ill-omened choice of name, one fears ...

 

[johnnychips]

Live in Park Hill flats in Sheffield. Not a block, rather a twelve-storey row, but it is great. Four-minute walk to the station for my commute to Doncaster. I’m looking at bats out of my window now. I have sold my car. There is some anti-social noise sometimes, but generally it’s superb. Of course it would be no good for families.

 

[Busaholic]

In the early 80's , it was fairly easy to get a high rise flat - friends had one of Camden's very near to Euston on the 19th floor.

Absolutely fine , decent accommodation with superb southwards views over the city , - but it was very secure and kept in good condition.

I worked for Camden's Housing Department for a few years in the 1970s and some of their accommodation was as you describe. I helped an old Russian lady and her spinster daughter with learning difficulties move to a block called Blashford that overlooked Primrose Hill Station and kept in touch with them for a few years after I'd left the job. It had a resident caretaker, Reg, and two lifts: I never heard of a time when at least one wasn't working. It had been built privately to conditions better than most council ones and purchased by the council, who had the most progressive social housing policy of any London borough. I wouldn't have minded living there!

A few years after that I attended Bristol University as a mature student and spent two periods living in South Bristol in tower blocks, but not as a tenant. The second one, in Hartcliffe, I hated every aspect of and never felt safe there. I'm sure it contributed to the illness I developed at the time.

Conclusion - if you get a good one, with good (or quiet!) neighbours and a landlord that both cares and is prepared to deal with problems that ought to be within their control, then they can be marvellous. If they're the opposite, they can be the most awful, depressing places

 

[johnnychips]

Funny: I posted on another thread about daft school rules about Hartcliife. I did my teacher training in the school in the 80s. It was supposed to be the roughest school in Bristol. I can’t remember any high-rises, though I suppose they must have been there. I went recently and everything seems to have been razed to the ground - I didn’t recognise anywhere.

 

[Busaholic]

Funny: I posted on another thread about daft school rules about Hartcliife. I did my teacher training in the school in the 80s. It was supposed to be the roughest school in Bristol. I can’t remember any high-rises, though I suppose they must have been there. I went recently and everything seems to have been razed to the ground - I didn’t recognise anywhere.

I'd never go back to Hartcliffe and tbh would be pleased to hear some of it had been razed, so long as alternative accommodation had been provided. I've only a vague memory now, but I think there were 3 or 4 blocks fairly adjacent to one another. The police were rarely absent.

 

[Paul Jones 88]

My Uncle Sid lived in a tower block in London, he said it was OK, 15 minutes from the City, 15 minutes from the West End and 15 minutes from the ground on a bad day.

 

[Tracked]

Yes, lived in one while at Uni in Stafford in the 90's, the fixtures and fittings would be best described as "adequate", but it was cheap enough.

Pros:
Cheap
Good views - I was on the 9th floor
Enough space

Cons:
Lifts had obligatory bad smell (greasy bacon and pee, but they didn't break down much)
The locals (though we got a good view of some police chases/drug busts from the 9th floor)
Noisy neighbours above/below/next door/etc ... (it was student accommodation, so we were all that noisy neighbour at some point ... )