Socialist Worker online
Dated 24 July 2004
St Hilda’s estate Middlesbrough
By Geoff Kerr-Morgan
PROTEST IS growing against plans by Middlesbrough council to demolish the St Hilda’s estate against the wishes of the residents and tenants.
It’s not a big estate only around 300 people live there but it has its own valuable and distinct community.
It is not surprising that the estate is in a bad state.
Some £8.6 million of promised regeneration money for the estate never materialised.
In addition the council has allowed empty properties to remain empty.
This has allowed vandals to do their work.
Everyone in St Hilda’s believes this is a deliberate ploy to run the estate down.
There was no polling station sited in St Hilda’s for the last election, and people had to vote a mile away.
This made it difficult for people to take part in any sort of democratic decision making.
There are poor transport links to and from St Hilda’s, making it particularly difficult for the many pensioners in the area.
In backing the demolition plan, Ray Mallon, Middlesbrough’s mayor, has shown he is committed to the worship of Mammon.
Protests have started around such slogans as We shall not be moved and “People before profit.
The campaign continues!