Personal Photography Project – Park Hill Flats
I’ve been fascinated by Park Hill flats for years, The stories of love and loss, real lives and the futuristic brutalist architecture of the Streets in the Sky I find just captivating.
The building is so interesting with a real rich history within Sheffield. The love story of the I love you bridge is a tragic tale of lost love and tough lives that for so many who lived in the streets in the sky were a daily reality.
The building is listed and as such can’t be demolished. In 2006 Sheffield council recruited an agency to develop the flats but to date they have only completed a small portion.
Currently there is a tent city within the gardens of the flats and a small population of substance users who seemed friendly whilst I was there but I’m not sure I’d want to be there over night.
Is it ironic that there are so many empty flats that could house the homeless of Sheffield and in the gardens of these flats the homeless have made a home in tents? Or is it symptomatic of our uncaring society that we can’t see fit to allow them access to the security and shelter of a building?
It certainly made me think and I know of a few people who are trying to do what they can to help out.
I think I’ll go back in the spring and see what’s changed. This could end up being a year long project… Watch this space.
Cheers
Timm.
