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Manor and Castle Green Estate

Sheffield

Manor and Castle green estate

Background

The Manor and Castle wards in Sheffield ranked among the most deprived in the UK in the 1990s. The demise of large-scale steel manufacturing in the lower Don Valley decimated the employment prospects for residents of the Manor estate. In a short period modest prosperity gave way to benefit dependency, falling housing quality, increased crime, low educational achievement and poor health.

The Manor estate contained some 600 hectares of mixed-use open space including:

  • amenity greenspace amongst housing
  • demolition sites
  • recreational grounds
  • allotments
  • ancient woodland
  • a scheduled ancient monument
  • a cemetery

This open space was largely regarded as neglected, undervalued and unloved. It had a significant impact on the local quality of life and perpetuated the view that ‘green’ was a liability rather than as asset.

The process of change began in 1999. Two organisations agreed to work in partnership to turn the tide of dereliction and create a network of multi-functional green infrastructure for people and nature:

  • Manor and Castle Development Trust - a newly-formed community organisation set up from local people to administer single regeneration budget funding across these wards.
  • Sheffield Wildlife Trust - an environmental organisation working to improve Sheffield for wildlife and people.

Unencumbered by statutory roles and land management responsibilities, these organisations took a fresh look at the open space through the eyes of residents. The result was the launch of the Green Estate programme.

The early stages saw £2 million of short-term grant funding sourced from the single regeneration budget and developer contributions. This money was considered an urgent investment into individual new open space projects. However, it was obvious that much more radical and sustainable change was needed if there was to be a lasting and widespread impact.

Part of the solution for long-term, sustainable change was to evolve the Green Estate programme into a social enterprise. This was done with support from Sheffield City Council and the founding organisations.