An ITN report on the West Granton estate from 1985 has been unearthed and it shows what life was like for those on the infamous scheme during the height of the heroin epidemic.
The concrete jungle is said to have been forgotten by the local authority after it was built in the early 1970s and the presenter of the piece discusses issues relating to crime, housing, poverty and drug use. ITN interviewed a number of those with experience of living on the estate but opens up the broadcast by showing residents laughing with a cup of tea in hand as police try to blow up their tyres after they were slashed by a group of youths.
The news segment then shows how the area has become run down with graffiti strewn across crumbling building walls. The presenter says: “There are some places where you really shouldn’t leave your car unattended and this Edinburgh estate is one of them. West Granton is just two miles north of the city centre and it was built in the 1960s to replace old slums.
