Goscote, Walsall

Goscote is a residential area of Walsall in the West Midlands of England. The Goscote name dates back several centuries and as recently as 1920 it was a rural area that had survived the recent Industrial Revolution which dramatically altered the face of the region.

But a mile or two away in Walsall town centre, hundreds of families were living in squalid and sub-standard housing. By the outbreak of World War II in 1939, some 400 families had been rehoused to new council housing around Goscote, mostly around Goscote Lodge Crescent. Further new housing was developed by the council around Goscote after the war ended in 1945.

However, Goscote was in serious decline towards the end of the 20th century with high crime rates. Demand for housing in the area became low, leading to an increase in the number of empty properties. Arson attacks were also a frequent occurrence.[1]

Goscote forms part of the Blakenall ward of Walsall, which also includes Blakenall Heath, Harden and Coal Pool, which was earmarked for major regeneration in 2001 as part of the government's New Deal initiative to regenerate some of the country's most deprived areas.

In May 2004, Walsall council unveiled plans to demolish nearly 900 homes in the Blakenall area, with the area around Goscote Lodge Crescent featuring on the shortlist of properties for possible demolition. These also included a large section of 1930s council housing around Harden and Blakenall Heath, although eventually some of the properties at risk of demolition were later selected for refurbishment.

In January 2007, the local council confirmed that it intended to demolish 281 interwar properties in Goscote Lodge Crescent, Hildicks Crescent and Middle Crescent and Hildicks Place. By this stage, several houses on the estate had already been demolished due to attacks by vandals and arsonists while they were empty.[2] 103 of the 281 condemned houses were already empty.[3]By April 2008, just over 20 families remained on the condemned estate, which the remaining residents were now comparing to war-torn Basra in Iraq due to increased arson, looting and vandalism. Some of the empty properties had already been demolished by this stage, and within a year almost all of the estate had been demolished.[4]The final resident left the estate in July 2011, enabling the demolition to be completed. Plans for 808 new homes on the estate were announced at the end of that year, with construction work beginning in 2018.[5]

  • Landscaping to towpath at Goscote Valley
  • Top Lodge at Goscote Hospital
  • Goscote Hospital, former isolation hospital
  • Demolition in Goscote Lodge Crescent, October 2008
  • Hollands Bridge near Goscote

References

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