People living in a Nottingham estate have spoken about what life is like in the area. Shop owners and residents in Broxtowe estate say that although the area is deprived, people go out of their way for one another and that there is an “old school” sense of community.
The close-knit area, where many people know one another, neighbours Aspley and Strelley. Neighbours said they were proud to be from the area, despite feeling people in other parts of the city have a negative impression of their community
Shop manager at Family Shopper, Michelle Dady, has lived in Broxtowe since she was 2 weeks old.
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Michelle, 48 said she would never move from the area she has known all her life. She said: “I’ve never had any problems here, I wouldn’t move.
“In a way, the area’s still old school and people look out for one another. I’ve always felt safe walking around. People hear ‘Broxtowe’ and they think violence and crime, it’s nothing like that.”
Michelle’s old school, William Crane Comprehensive School is no longer in the area. The school was on Minver Crescent and closed in 2003. Michelle, who has worked in other shops in the area before their closure, added: “There are some people I’ve served as children and now, I serve them as adults.
“I know a lot of people in the area. During Covid, in my own time, I would take people's shopping to them so they didn’t have to come out.
“People in the area are struggling with the cost of living like everywhere but there’s a force in them that will get them through it.”
Family Shopper is a convenience store. The store is also involved with a lot of fundraising for different charities.
Store owner, Prab Singh, spoke about the area. He said: “It’s pretty tight knit, we know a lot of the families so when kids come in, we know whose kid they are. You don’t see a lot of newcomers coming in here unless they’re a builder or someone like that working in the area.”
“In any area you get bad stuff but we don’t see any of it here.”
At 302 Broxtowe Lane is Phone Zone. Phone Zone is also attached to a convenience store.
Owner, Sukhdev Singh, 46, knows people in the area very well. Sukhdev, who is from Wollaton, said: “The area is no trouble for me, most of the customers are local sometimes, we have three generations come in at a time.
“I know a lot of people on the estate are friendly but new faces sometimes are not.”
During the pandemic, Phone Zone had to close for 6 months. Now, with the cost of living, the business is trying to keep afloat.
Sukhdev continued: “People are struggling, milk has gone up, electricity, it’s not good. At the moment, people are mainly coming in for phone accessories.”
Phone Zone closes at 11pm to ensure that people who finish work late can still use the service.
Samantha Smith, 24 has recently moved to the area. The full-time mum of 3 has moved from the city centre.
Speaking of the area, Samantha said: “I like it, my neighbours are friendly. There are a lot of kids on the estate which reminds me of growing up because I’d play out all the time.
“It’s the areas with a bad reputation that seem to have down to earth people who know real struggle. I’ve not lived here long but so far, I’ve enjoyed it and not had a problem.”
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