New North Prospect 'has less crime but less community spirit'

'We used to have the police coming around every five or 10 minutes'

It was once the most notorious area in all of Plymouth. But residents in North Prospect now speak of a low-crime estate, with “lovely” houses - but say that following its £130m regeneration it has lost some of its old community spirit.

This week marked the end of 12 years of rebuilding in what was once known as Swilly. Work began in 2012 on the largest regeneration scheme of its kind in the South West. It saw the demolition of almost 800 decrepit homes and the creation of 1,100 high- quality, energy-efficient new properties.

Before the regeneration the area was synonymous with social deprivation, antisocial behaviour and lawlessness. But now research says total crime in North Prospect has dropped by 59%, while public order offences have fallen by 76%.

And when PlymouthLive spoke to residents this week they said the area is brighter, cleaner, and safer. They liked the new-build properties, and the revamped older ones - but say regeneration brought in many new residents and some of the old community spirit has been lost.

Sharon Cox, has lived in North Prospect for 35 years. She’s in an older house in Austin Avenue which was refurbished with a new kitchen and bathroom.

She likes the area but feels something of the old spirit is missing. She said: “The community has gone. I walk around the streets and there are a lot of people I don’t know. But I belong to a social group at the Beacon, a lot of the older people come to it. But there was a lot of word-of-mouth before, there isn’t now. “

But she acknowledged that there has been an overall improvement. She said: “North Prospect looks a lot nicer, and the crime rate has gone down. That’s a really good thing."

Anita Lynch, whose Dingle Road, property was modernised with a new bathroom and kitchen and paint job outside, agreed. She misses the old community centre, but said its modern replacement, The Beacon, was trying hard to be a good substitute.

She said: “I have been here for 15 years. I lived two doors from the old Halcyon Centre, where they made you feel welcome. But the Beacon is trying - and getting people in.

“But there is less community spirit,” she stressed. “You don’t know what is going on until it’s happened.”

From the beginning of the huge revamp project, Plymouth Community Homes sought to rehouse as many residents, who had left during construction, back into the area as possible. Efforts were made to safeguard the rights of families with roots in the area and during the final three phases of the regeneration more than 70% of residents were able to move back into new homes in the neighbourhood.

Martin Walmsley grew up in Woodville Road, and moved away when he was a boy. He later returned, living in Cookworthy Road, before moving again and returning three years ago. He now lives in Halcyon Road in one of the refurbished older buildings.

“I remember when you could not leave your back door open or people would take everything,” he said. “Now you can leave it open and nothing would be stolen.

“We used to have the police coming around every five or 10 minutes. Now you see the cars going past but they are not knocking on any doors, crime has gone down at least 90%.”

David, who asked not to have his second name reported, has lived in North Prospect for eight years and said he was the final occupant to move into the newly redeveloped Grassendale Avenue. He’s in a new shared-ownership property in a street that is very different from the one that was known as a crime hotspot.

He loves his new home and said: “It’s ideal. I moved from Crownhill. My grandson lives with us, he’s disabled and we needed ground-floor access and a downstairs toilet and a stair lift, which the house has.

“The area is brilliant. My neighbours are down to earth, nice and friendly. I knew what it was like before: very rough, but very friendly. Grassendale Avenue was known as a big crime area.”

Susan Clark has lived in North Prospect for 11 years, and is in a three-bedroom, shared-ownership new-build. She said: “It’s lovely. It is the layout of the house that works well for me and my family, and it has a garden that I can manage.”

“I like it here, there’s a good community. The area had a very bad reputation, but every community is about getting on with your neighbours.”

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