Somerstown or Somers Town is a residential area of the city of Portsmouth in the English county of Hampshire. The area was one of the most deprived wards in the city, but since 2012, it has been the subject of a major regeneration initiative. [1]
The area was developed during the 1820s, on land owned by Mr Somers, and was heavily bombed during the Second World War. After the war, the majority of what remained of the area was demolished to make way for social housing to a plan by the then city architect F. Mellor. [2] One pre-war survivor was the Castle Tavern originally a 19th century private house. [2]
It is a very run down area of the city, due for redevelopment. This inner city neighbourhood has relatively high levels of deprivation while much of its physical fabric is in need of renewal or refurbishment. It is one of the poorest areas in the South of England and has one of the highest rates of unemployment. The area is an integral part of the "Heart of Portsmouth" bid for SRB funding and a Joint Project Board has been established to oversee the preparation of a new physical regeneration plan through continued community involvement.
On 23 June 2017, Portsmouth City Council confirmed that cladding had started to be removed from two Somers Town tower blocks, Horatia House and Leamington House, which had failed safety tests in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire. [3] Both blocks were built in 1964-65 and are 18 storeys tall. [4]
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is an Inner London borough with royal status. It is the smallest borough in London and the second smallest district in England; it is one of the most densely populated administrative regions in the United Kingdom. It includes affluent areas such as Notting Hill, Kensington, South Kensington, Chelsea, and Knightsbridge.
The fortifications of Portsmouth are extensive due to its strategic position on the English Channel and role as home to the Royal Navy. For this reason, Portsmouth was, by the 19th century, one of the most fortified cities in the world. The fortifications have evolved over the centuries in response to changes in tactics and technology and the area defended has increased. While the first defences focused on Portsmouth harbour, in step with the fortifications of Gosport, later defensive structures protected the whole of Portsea Island and an increasing distance inland. At the same time, the fortifications of Portsmouth and Gosport became part of the wider fortifications of the Solent. Old Portsmouth, on the southwest corner of Portsea Island, has been walled for much of its history.
Fratton Park is a football ground in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and is the home of Portsmouth Football Club. Fratton Park's location on Portsea Island is unique in English professional football, as it is the only professional English football ground not located on the mainland of Great Britain. Fratton Park has been the only home football ground in Portsmouth F.C.'s entire history.
The Berkeley Group Holdings plc is a British property developer and house-builder based in Cobham, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
Urban Splash is a UK-based property development business. It was founded in 1993 by chairman Tom Bloxham and creative director Jonathan Falkingham. Headquartered in Castlefield, Manchester, it also has regional bases in Liverpool, Leeds, Bristol, Sheffield, Cambridgeshire and Plymouth.
Marsh Farm is a suburb of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, near to Leagrave and Limbury, mainly of council and social housing. The area is bounded by the edge of Luton to the north, Bramingham Road to the south, Spinney Wood and the path from the wood to the edge of Luton to the west, and Great Bramingham wood to the east.
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service (HIWFRS) is the statutory fire and rescue service for the county of Hampshire, including the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, and the county of the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England. The service was formed on 1 April 2021 from the merger of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service and the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service. The service's chief fire officer is Neil Odin.
Ballymore Group is an Ireland-based international property development company. The majority of the company's employees and business activities are located in the UK.
On 14 June 2017, a high-rise fire broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of flats in North Kensington, West London, England, at 00:54 BST and burned for 60 hours. Seventy people died at the scene and two people died later in hospital, with more than 70 injured and 223 escaping. It was the deadliest structural fire in the United Kingdom since the 1988 Piper Alpha oil-platform disaster and the worst UK residential fire since the Blitz of World War II.
Grenfell Tower is a derelict 24-storey residential tower block in North Kensington in London, England. The tower was completed in 1974 as part of the first phase of the Lancaster West Estate. Most of the tower was destroyed in a severe fire on 14 June 2017.
Lancaster Road (West) Estate is a housing estate in North Kensington, west London.
Tower blocks are high-rise buildings for residential use. These blocks began to be built in Great Britain after the Second World War. The first residential tower block, "The Lawn", was constructed in Harlow, Essex, in 1951; it is now a Grade II listed building. In many cases, tower blocks were seen as a "quick-fix" to cure problems caused by the existence of crumbling and unsanitary 19th-century dwellings or to replace buildings destroyed by German aerial bombing. It was argued that towers surrounded by public open space could provide for the same population density as the terraced housing and small private gardens they replaced, offering larger rooms and improved views, whilst being cheaper to build.
Chalcots Estate is a council housing estate on Adelaide Road and Fellows Road in Swiss Cottage in the London Borough of Camden. It was designed by Dennis Lennon and Partners. The Chalcots Estate was built on land owned by Eton College, which is reflected in the names of the individual buildings.
Pendleton Together is a tenant management organisation (TMO) in Pendleton, Salford, England. It manages part of the council housing stock of Salford City Council. It was formed in 2013. As of 2023 it managed over 1,000 homes, with plans for expansion.
Rydon is a British facilities management and property maintenance company which was founded in 1978. Its head office is in Dartford, Kent, and it has two maintenance offices in London. It had a turnover of around £51.9 million and employed an average of 423 people in the year to September 2022.
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry is a British public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people and destroyed Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017. It was ordered by Prime Minister Theresa May on the day following the fire.
On 14 June 2017, the Grenfell Tower fire broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of flats in North Kensington, West London, at 00:54 BST; it caused 72 deaths, including those of two victims who later died in hospital. More than 70 others were injured and 223 people escaped. It was the deadliest structural fire in the United Kingdom since the 1988 Piper Alpha disaster and the worst UK residential fire since the Second World War.
The Ampthill Square Estate, also known as the Ampthill Estate, is a housing estate in the London Borough of Camden in London, England. The estate is located in the Somers Town district, on the south side of Harrington Square, east side of Hampstead Road, and west side of Eversholt Street.
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry is a British public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people and destroyed Grenfell Tower, residential building in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, on 14 June 2017. It was ordered by Prime Minister Theresa May on the day following the fire.
Criticism of the response to the Grenfell Tower fire primarily consisted of condemnation of issues with the emergency response and fire safety regulation practices in the UK at the time. Broader political criticism was also directed at British society, including condemnation of the response by governmental bodies and UK politicians, social divisions, deregulation issues, and poor transparency overall.
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