Locals who live in the flats famed for featuring on This Is England have spoken out about what it's really like to live there. Blackstock flats and Ironside Road in Sheffield appeared throughout three of the TV drama sequels from 2010 to 2015.
But the area wasn't picked for its beauty. Instead it became the epicentre of Shane Meadows' vision of a troubled Britain in the 80s and 90s. The concrete tower blocks proved the perfect backdrop for a gritty vision of of the UK and the north during troubled times.
Blackstock flats themselves were featured prominently as the grim-looking location that Lol and Woody move to in This is England 86. Today the grey monuments to post-war architecture remain a fairly uninviting prospect on approach, rising out of the greenery of Gleadless Valley.
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Behind the brutal facades and the rusting iron railings however, there is a community of people making the most of the lot they have been given. Even as their area is portrayed as the epitome of 'rough' to a nationwide audience on TV, people here remain proud of the community they have forged, reports YorkshireLive.
Jen, 30, lives in one of the iconic blocks on Ironside Road itself. She told Yorkshire Live that the area 'isn't as bad as people make out' but admitted there was an issue with littering and fly tipping. She said: "I think people look at the buildings and just think they're grim. Yeah it doesn't help when they've been shown a certain way on TV but it really isn't as bad as people make out.
"At the end of the day, I've got a two bed here and I've got really nice views out the back that I wouldn't get many places. People assume there must be loads of trouble but I actually think things are getting better.
"The worst thing is some people who don't look after it, the littering and the fly tipping around the blocks and be really bad. Inside though they're really not as bad as people might think. I'm happy in my place, it is modern inside and hadn't long been done out when I bought it. I like it here, there are all sorts of families and different people, just like anywhere else really."
Bailey had only recently moved to the area around Blackstock Road. He said: "I've lived in three different places in Sheffield and this is the best one I've been in to be honest. I think it looks worse than it is.
"I don't get around loads but people seem okay, there isn't a load of trouble here like you get in some places. It is mainly just people trying to get by and keep their head down."
Jon, 40, has moved to the area with his family and said they recognised it had problems but also said they were happy there. He said: "There is some people who cause trouble but it isn't the majority like you get in certain areas these days.
"We've been able to get a good home for us here without paying a lot of money so we are happy about that. When you walk around there are a lot of families now, it can be a nice place to be.
"I haven't seen these TV shows but I can imagine how they show it, it is because it looks a certain way they make a judgement about the people that must be there. Things can change though. I think this is becoming a better place for families now than it might have been."
Another resident was washing her balcony facing Blackstock Road and tending her numerous plants when she spoke to Yorkshire Live. She said: "I've been here a long time now and I've seen it all. The kids, the gangs, fire, crime, all of it.
"It is nowhere near as bad as it has been here now, there are loads of different types of people moving in and it is becoming an alright place to be. There have been moments when it has been really rough before. People only seem to talk about places when they're really bad or really good. Things have been really bad in this part of Sheffield in the past but I think things are getting better for the most part.
"Doesn't make it a very good headline for you when I say 'it's alright' though does it? Its fine, I like it, lots of people do. Some don't like it just for looking at it and that's fine for them. We don't want those people here anyway. Things aren't like you see in those series, if it was like that all the time there wouldn't be anyone left here. You can't believe everything you see on the TV or in the news."
