Kelvin Flats

[Sweetcheeks]

Reading through this thread it appears that Kelvin, like many council estates, deteriorated rapidly during the 1980`s. When I worked there, the decks were freely accessible to all, the areas were clear of litter and the estate generally well maintained by a small but dedicated group of workmen, such as the Garchey operatives and Heating engineer, who were residents themselves. I would not say that everything was perfect at that time, far from it, but the respect for people and property appeared to be a higher priority than it is now. I have no knowledge of the supposed Council`s running down of the estate, in fact I would suggest that more damage was inflicted by the standards of the tenants themselves in the latter days of Kelvin`s life. As on most of the estates that I have worked, once the "bad eggs" get a foothold in that area, the standards begin to slip, the better tenants move away and the whole place deteriorates quite quickly, something that sadly appears to have happened to Kelvin. Happily I never saw this happen and my memories of working there are of a nice bunch of tenants who I was happy to serve.

[pete_fcs]

.... i had so much more freedom to roam about round there with my friends,there was always someone to play with and if there wasnt i could ride my bike around,something i couldnt do at home because mom wasnt keen on the idea because of the traffic........

 

this is so true!

 

there's an old cliche that says high rise flats robbed kids of their places to play, but in fact kelvin had traffic-free decks to play on and loads of grass at the back

 

[pete_fcs]

.... more damage was inflicted by the standards of the tenants themselves in the latter days of Kelvin`s life. As on most of the estates that I have worked, once the "bad eggs" get a foothold in that area, the standards begin to slip, the better tenants move away and the whole place deteriorates quite quickly......

 

i agree

 

there was nothing wrong with the building itself. most of the staff were ok, of course not all of them were, but it was the bad eggs that spoilt it.

 

[mazmw]

taz 1 is that really u Tracy? get intouch mazmw@hotmail.co.uk

[RJAY]

Wasn't there a couple of pubs within the complex?

 

One was cold the Half Penny

[Plain Talker]

One was cold the Half Penny

 

and I take it the Gatefield was the warm one, then?

[happyhippy]

and I take it the Gatefield was the warm one, then?

 

Most of the stuff being sold inside it was hot .........

[Plain Talker]

Most of the stuff being sold inside it was hot .........

 

that accounts for it then...

*groans* :lol:

[mazmw]

One was cold the Half Penny

 

Yep n the other was the Gatefield

[pete_fcs]

i once went into the halfpenny with someone who wasn't from kelvin.

 

"don't worry," i reassured her, "nothing ever happens in here, it's dead peaceful".

 

the next second two lasses, who up to now had been as quiet as anything, began hurling fists at each other on the next table.

 

happy days