It was a housing estate that promised a new beginning, but would meet a sad end - abandoned, falling to ruin, eventually bulldozed.
It's 15 years since the Gorsey Bank estate in Cheadle Heath, Stockport was demolished, eight years after the last residents moved out. The site - on the bank of the River Mersey - is now occupied by the Aurora Business Park, with few reminders that the area was once labelled 'Stockport's worst', and plagued with vandalism, burglaries and arson attacks.
Gorsey Bank, with its semis, terraces and recreation ground, dated back to 1935, but by the early 1970s, life there had deteriorated to the point where residents called for the council to pull it down.
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In 1978, the Stockport Express’s predecessor, the Stockport Advertiser, reported: "Many in the area believe that the whole area should be razed to the ground to make way for industrial development."
"Raymond Atherton, 42, said: ‘There is no point wasting any more money on this area. The Council should bulldoze the lot and build factories on the land.’"
Reporting from the time revealed a divide had opened up in the neighbourhood between proud, law-abiding householders - and people who were labelled 'problem families'.
Painting a bleak picture, a 1972 article in the Alderley and Wilmslow Advertiser said: "In 1935, Gorsey Bank was a new housing estate. Today it is looked upon as an 'open prison' for debtors and problem families who find it difficult to lead a civilised life.
"For the past few weeks it has been under the microscope of town hall officials, who will announce their findings next month. Their test is to decide whether it should remain a housing estate or be converted to some other use."
The report continued: "It would be difficult to paint a more sombre picture than that which has developed over Gorsey Bank during the years, yet, when the Advertiser visited the estate we found there were two sides to the story.
"We found problem families who protect what is left of their homes with vicious dogs, but we also found many families who take a pride in their homes and their gardens and will resist all attempts to have the estate 'put down'."
By the late 1980s, the estate appeared to have fallen even further into dereliction. The Stockport Express Advertiser described the estate as being: "Tucked into a hollow between the busy Brinksway and the murky Mersey, the only road to Gorsey Bank winds down an alley with high, corrugated iron fencing on the one side and a graffiti-strewn wall on the other.
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"As you crawl down the bank, you hold your breath as the tyres of your car crunch over the broken glass in the road. And despite the continued efforts of council workmen, glass and debris still litters the roads, paths and grass verges.
"The windows of the empty houses stare blankly over this desolate scene. Children play in the streets but they are outnumbered by the dogs. Dogs of all shapes, sizes and colours that prowl the streets for scraps and occasional fights."
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Yet, despite the outward appearance of the estate itself, most residents were 'warm and friendly', as the Express reported. It what was we now call 'anti-social behaviour', involving a minority, that accelerated the area's decline.
In 1989 the Stockport Express reported: "Apart from vandalism and lack of security, people particularly mentioned the problem of leaving their house empty for any time, such as to go shopping. Problems included graffiti, rubbish being tipped in gardens, windows smashed and cars damaged."
"Housing staff have become aware that harassment is a growing problem," the newspaper added. "Recent incidents included verbal abuse, graffiti, objects being thrown and physical threats. This is believed to be only a small proportion of the true extent of the problem since many people are unwilling to report incidents to police or housing staff or to testify in court for fear of reprisals."
Despite the council installing 24-hour security patrols at the estate, it wasn't enough to halt its decline. Apart from a small number of families unwilling to move from the estate they grew up in, many gave up on it in the eighties and nineties, leaving behind vacant properties that added to the sense of desolation.
In a news story in 1996, the Stockport Express Advertiser described the estate as a scene of "dereliction and decay" with only eight to ten families left among 200 homes. "The scene has an eerie, atmospheric quality, as streets on what was once a bustling council estate are now probably the quietest in Stockport," they reported.
Mary Bancroft, 82, who had lived in Gorsey Bank for 61-years, was among the last few. She told the Advertiser: "I don't want to go. I have had some good friends here. At one time it was the best estate you could ever live on and people really helped you if you had problems with people from outside."
After decades of the estate descending further and further into decay, the Council made the decision to clear it entirely, and in July 1998, announced plans to redevelop the site. However, the site remained abandoned for a years, after that continuing to attract antisocial behaviour from youths and fly tipping.
Does the Gorsey Bank estate awaken any memories for you? Let us know in the comments section below.
Then, in 2007, the site was finally cleared and work on the new business park began. The late Cllr Sheila Bailey said that year: "There were many law-abiding citizens living on the Gorsey Bank estate but, as usual, it was a minority ruining it for the rest.
"A lot of money was spent on the estate in the 1970s in an attempt to change the culture but the area just deteriorated. Clearing the estate was a long process and a difficult period, but it did reduce anti-social behaviour in the area. No one is particularly sorry to see the back of the Gorsey Bank estate."
Images in this article supplied courtesy of the Stockport Local Heritage Library.
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