RUN DOWN ROWNER

RUNDOWN ROWNER | Hard to find a route out of the deprivation

Once named the worst estate in the country, Rowner in Gosport, Hampshire, has struggled hard to re-create the heart of its community. So what is the latest..?

Imagine... you're living, or maybe just existing, on the 7th floor of a block of flats. No ordinary flats.

The lift has been out of action for a couple of years; your only way out is down... and up those endless stairs.

You pass faeces on the floor, broken windows and walls that let more air in than they keep out.

You have few local shops, and you live in a state of fear of going out alone, especially at night.

Welcome to Gosport's Rowner Estate.

Naval housing

There are 301 flats on the 13 acres of Rowner, home to almost a thousand people.

The facilities almost disappeared when the navy left

It's one of the largest privately owned housing estates in the country and the flats have a warren of 50 stairwells connecting 3/4 mile of corridor.

They were all originally built in the 1950s for the Ministry of Defence and used as accommodation for navy personnel. Then, the estate was well kept and well managed.

But the day came, in the late 80s when the MoD suddenly sold all the flats. And, just as suddenly, the estate amenities all but vanished.

The entrepreneur, Peter De Savary bought the freehold to the estate, but was swift with its disposal... next owner... lawyer Michael Baker-Harber.

Still in disrepair

The happy days of Rowner's community spirit were fast disappearing.

As people moved out, some undesirable tenants moved in. People evicted from local council properties found their way to Rowner and some have never found their way out.

Inside Out originally visited the Rowner estate in January 2003, when comedian "Posh Boy" Will Smith presented his own unique take on life on the estate.

At the time of his visit, the morale of the estate was at a low ebb.

Today, the lifts are still not working and the physical fabric of the buildings remains in serious disrepair.

But Will Smith was struck by the spirited community

Mr Baker-Harber has expressed his concerns for the property that was built in such as style as having a lifespan of 50 years.

He says, "One serious problem is that there is asbestos in walkways and that will become subject to enforced regulations in May."

This is just one of the problems that the residents have to bear.

Bitter irony

One of the two lifts in the block was burnt out in 2001 and residents went to court to force Mr Baker-Harber to repair them.

They won their case and the judge ordered Mr Baker-Harber to carry out the repairs.

But he says the £2m bill would have to be born by the 301 owners – a mix of leasehold landlords and tenants.

The first many of the residents knew about this was when they got their new service charge demand at the start of 2003.

Despite many being on low incomes, they were expected to pay more than £3,000 and a similar amount in 2004. So they are refusing.

Will Smith found the endless stairs a challenge but residents do it every day

On 23 March 2004, the Leashold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) held a pre-trial review on an action brought by Rowner Estates Limited through Labyrinth Properties Limited.

This action was to enforce the service charge on the flat owners to cover the reparation costs.

Following the review, the LVT has pronounced that there will be a two day hearing in August 2004.

The irony is that if Rowner Estates Limited win, and the service charge is enforced, the residents will most likely be in a position of not wanting or being able to pay.

If that happens, they will, as Mr Baker-Harber puts it "have to face the consequences". Maybe this will just lead to a vicious circle of no money and no repairs.

Carnival boost

But is there a way out of this seemingly endless downward spiral of deprivation?

In July 2003, the "Rowner Carnival" was started, bolstering the morale of the community.

It was a huge success for the hundreds of people involved - they weaved a long figure of eight around the estate in a musical parade.

The Carnival brought out hundreds of residents

But what the carnival also did was re-ignite an enthusiasm for the estate community to have a voice in their future.

Jacky Charman is a Community Development Worker with the Rowner Access Point.

She explained that the residents were feeling disenfranchised, so the carnival made the difference for so many.

"People feel so undervalued and they didn’t understand that they do have a voice, they can make a change and they have – and they have done it through carnival.

"Carnival is very non-threatening – people turned up to talk about costumes or routes, ice-cream men or whatever, and all of a sudden they are now involved in being active on their estate," she explained.

Jacky is also convinced that the work they are doing on Rowner is making a real difference.

She told the Inside Out web site: "At the end of the day, we're not looking at the concrete, we're looking at the people, and if we can build the people up, and that's what's happening, the people will then get a voice and make things change.

Onwards and upwards

There are signs of change that may bring changes in signs

The morale of the community is strengthening despite continuing gaps in the estate's infrastructure.

These changes strip away the concrete and find the real community - the people.

According to Jacky Charman people are queuing up to come to the estate again, "There is now a waiting list to move onto the Rowner Estate, which there has never ever been.

"If you were offered a house on Rowner, before it was 'I'd go anywhere in Gosport other than Rowner – don't want to go to Rowner'."

"And now there's actually a waiting list and that's because the housing association is putting in investment, SureStart, the police, projects like SRB (Single Regeneration Budget) – everybody working together has made the difference and it's a huge difference."

Starting with children

SureStart are part of the changes in the fabric of the estate

Barbara Higgins is the Programme Manager of SureStart, a government partnership between a number of agencies to provide support for children up to four-years-of-age.

SureStart are currently building a new centre in the heart of the community that will benefit both parents and children alike. Barbara believes that the centre will be a catalyst for further change.

She looks forward to this summer, "We have all been watching the development take shape over the last few months and anticipate the "Day Care Unit" within the new building will be operating from June 2004.”

It’s said that when you’ve reached the bottom, the only way is up.

Rowner Estate has experienced "the bottom", but even if they are hitting some difficulties on their way, they are gradually finding their way up again.