Mackworth, Derby
Mackworth Estate is a large council estate situated to the north-west of Derby near to Markeaton Park and the suburb of Mickleover and also the village of the same name but which is linked by no other means.
The area was developed during the 1950s (the first house completed in 1953)and was one of the largest housing estates to be built in the city. Mackworth's most noticeable landmark (SK312368) is a large water tower owned by Severn Trent and can be seen from much of the estate. The estate is also home to Derby College, Prince Charles Avenue Campus. These buildings were formerly Mackworth Secondary School and Parkfields Cedars Girls Grammar School, subsequently combined to form Parkfields Comprehensive School, which closed in the 1980s, the building then being turned over to the local tertiary college .
Today the majority of homes on the estate are now owner occupied, though there is still a significant stock of social housing available. The visual environment of the estate is excellent, with most homes having well maintained and attractive gardens, comparable to any full owner occupied private housing estate. Housing density is very low, there are plentiful areas of green open space, and there is very little terraced/apartment housing. There are also decent amenities and facilities for local residents (shops, dentist, doctors, churches etc). Petty crime (which was a rising problem over the course of recent years) has dropped dramatically and is considered one of the 'most improved' areas of the city for the said subject. There is still the off putting sight of youths gathering in large numbers (due to limited things for youngsters to do on the estate), but in most cases they just mind their own business and will not bother other residents if left alone. Six years ago Mackworth was dubbed Smackworth due to massive problems with drug offences. The ward can look forward to public works projects, such as its own branch of the city library which opened in late March 2010.
Much of the estate council properties have been renovated over the last few years. This included the kitchen and the bathroom many of which were done by Cliff Perrott and Neil Scott.
- Julia Watson, who played Baz in the BBC TV soap Casualty spent some of her school days in Mackworth, her family living at Westbourne Park in Mackworth.[1]
- Keith Hamer, TV test card collector, lives on the estate[2]
All but one (the one exception being the main artery of the Estate, Prince Charles Avenue) of the road names in Mackworth are named after places in London, for example Knightsbridge, Wembley Gardens, Bayswater Close and Marylebone Crescent, apparently living Mackworth the nickname "Little London" (though many people who are Mackworth born and bred have never heard this nickname). Of course, many of the streets have their own Mackworth pronunciations, often differing from the London ones.
References
- ^ BBC description of Mackworth
- ^ The Sun, 6 November 2006 accessed 15 January 2008