CIVIC TRUST AWARDS IN WOLVERHAMPTON

Chetton Green,  Harrowby Road

Boscobel Estate, Lower Stafford Street

These two council housing developments are together on this page as they both received a commendation in 1966 and the citations treat them together.  Both are by A. G. E. Chapman, the Borough Architect.  The contractors on the Boscobel Estate were Wates (Midlands) Ltd. and at Chetton Green were A. F. R. Godfrey & Co. Ltd..

The Trust's comment on both was:  "These two submissions are well designed, competently landscaped and provided with excellent children's play areas.  The only criticisms are that the siting of the blocks could be closer or more use made of walls to overcome the disconnected and rather too open feeling.  Also some of the colours used on the panels beneath the windows were a little garish when occurring next to the colour of the local red brick".

Chetton Green:

At the time of photographing (June 2001) the 9 storey blocks were being refurbished and therefore looking like something that has been got at by Christo - and none the worse for that.  These high rise flats were sited on what was then the outskirts with plenty of open land around. The wide apart siting of the blocks is quite appropriate: had they been closer together, they would have looked better in plan, where such a layout always seemed to promise vast extents of green space.  That was always illusory and not even relevant here.  This siting may also have avoided, whether intentionally or not, the problems of high winds funneling between tower blocks.

Some of the four storey blocks have been refurbed, and the rest are still in progress.  The result here seems to be a rather more urban feel and probably a more secure feeling too.  This is not unreasonable even though the site remains on the edge of much open space. How successful these flats have been socially I do not know.  They are in an area which has not been without its problems.