Broadwater Farm

Until the opening of the nearby Bruce Grove railway station on 22 July 1872[8] the area was still rural, although close in proximity to London and the growing suburb of Tottenham. Aside from a small group of buildings clustered around neighbouring Bruce Castle, the only buildings in the area were the farmhouse and outbuildings of Broadwater Farm, then still a working farm.[9]

Broadwater Farm, 1892

Following construction of the railways to Tottenham and Wood Green, suburban residential development in the surrounding area took place rapidly. However, due to waterlogging and flooding caused by the River Moselle, Broadwater Farm was considered unsuitable for development and remained as farmland. By 1920, Broadwater Farm was the last remaining agricultural land on Lordship Lane, surrounded by housing on all sides.[9]

Despite being deep in the Moselle valley, the Estate dominates the area. The mural on the Debden building is more than twice the height of the neighbouring Victorian houses.

In 1932 Tottenham Urban District Council purchased Broadwater Farm. The western half was drained and converted for recreational use as Lordship Recreation Ground, while the eastern half was kept vacant for prospective development and used as allotments.[9] Heavy concrete dikes were built to reduce flooding of the Moselle in Lordship Recreation Ground, whilst on the eastern half of the farm, the river was covered to run in culvert as far as Tottenham Cemetery.

In 1967, construction of the Broadwater Farm Estate began on the site of the allotments. An area of the southeastern part of the park was used to replace the allotments destroyed by the new construction. As initially built, the estate contained 1,063 flats, providing homes for 3,000–4,000 people.[10] The design of the estate was loosely inspired by Le Corbusier,[11] and characterised by large concrete blocks and tall towers.[4]

Because of the high water table and the flood risk caused by the Moselle, which flows through the site, no housing was built at ground level.[12] Instead, the ground level was entirely occupied by car parks. The buildings were linked by a system of interconnected walkways - the "streets in the sky" - at first floor level known as the "deck level".[10] Shops and amenities were also located on the deck level.[13] While this reduced flood risk for residences and businesses, it resulted in there being no "eyes on the street" at ground level, and decreased the feeling of community. As in similarly-designed developments, the walkways and especially the stairwells could not be seen by anyone elsewhere, so there was no deterrent to crime and disorder; no "eyes on the street" as advocated by Jane Jacobs in her book The Death and Life of Great American Cities.

The 12 interconnected buildings were each named after a different World War II RAF aerodrome.[12] The most conspicuous buildings are the very tall Northolt and Kenley towers, and the large ziggurat-shaped Tangmere block.

Layout of the Broadwater Farm Estate

By 1973, problems with the estate were becoming apparent; the walkways of the deck level created dangerously isolated areas which became hotspots for crime and robbery, and provided easy escape routes for criminals.[11] The housing was poorly maintained by authorities. It suffered badly from water leakages, pest infestations (including a serious outbreak of cockroaches) and electrical faults.[12] More than half of the people offered accommodation in the estate refused it, and the majority of existing residents had applied to be re-housed elsewhere.[10]

In 1976, less than ten years after the estate opened, the Department of the Environment concluded that the estate was of such poor quality that the only solution was demolition.[12] While residents objected to conditions on the estate, some also opposed the demolition plan. Relations between the community and the local authority became increasingly confrontational.[12] A process of redevelopment began in 1981, but was hampered by a lack of funds and an increasingly negative public perception of the area.[10]

Hawkinge block, showing the building constructed on a deck of stilts above the floodplain, and the remnants of the deck-level walkway running along the first floor.

By the time Alice Coleman's critique of 1960s planned housing, Utopia on Trial (1985), was published, the estate was regarded as being representative of unsuccessful large-scale social housing projects. When a major exhibition by Le Corbusier in the mid-1980s was unable to attract sponsorship, the refusal of sponsors to be associated with his name was attributed to the "Broadwater Farm factor".[4]

The book's criticism of alleged "lapses of civilised behaviour" on Le Corbusier-inspired estates, claiming that residents of such buildings were far more likely to commit and to be victims of anti-social behaviour, were highly influential on the Thatcher government. Although the book focused on Tower Hamlets and Southwark and did not discuss Broadwater Farm, by the time it was published, the estate was becoming synonymous with this type of housing.[11] The government began to put pressure on Haringey London Borough Council to improve the area.[4]

The Tangmere ziggurat block

Although the demographics of Broadwater Farm at the time were roughly 50% black and 50% white, the Tenants' Association was all white. It was regarded with increasing distrust by black residents and those whites who were not connected with the Association. In 1981, residents set up the rival "Youth Association". It was praised by many members of the local black community for challenging the Special Patrol Group's perceived harassment of local youths and of black residents of the estate. In 1983, the council gave the Tenants' Association an empty shop to use as an office and a vague authority to "deal with local problems". This apparent favoritism heightened antagonism between the Tenants' Association and Youth Association, which in turn set up its own youth club, advice centre, estate watchdog and local lobbying group.[12]

Despite a lack of funds and willingness on the part of the council to commit to regeneration, by 1985 progress was made in solving the area's problems. Pressure from the Tenants' Association and the Youth Association forced the council to open a Neighbourhood Office. In 1983, a tenants' empowerment agency, Priority Estates Project, was appointed to coordinate residents' complaints and concerns. Residents were included on interview panels for council staff dealing with the estate.[12]

Kenley and Northolt towers and Hornchurch block.

A number of initiatives aimed at providing activities for disaffected local youths and at integrating the mixture of ethnic communities in the area appeared to be succeeding; Sir George Young, then Minister for Inner Cities, secured significant funding for improvements. Broadwater Farm began to be seen as a case study in regenerating a failed housing development.[12] Princess Diana paid a visit to the estate in February 1985, to commend the improvements being made,[1] but much of the apparent progress was superficial. The problems caused by the deck-level walkways had not been solved; children from Broadwater Farm were still under-achieving academically in comparison to the surrounding areas; the unemployment rate stood at 42%; and there was a mutual distrust between the local residents—particularly those from the Afro-Caribbean community—and the predominantly White British and non-local police force.

There had been earlier riots in Brixton and in Handsworth in Birmingham, which were indicative of a period of rising racial tension,[14] during which some police methods such as raids, saturation policing and stop and search tactics increased the frustration of some members of the black community.[15][16]

Floyd Jarrett, whose home was about a mile from the Farm, was arrested by police on 5 October 1985, having given false details when stopped in a car with an allegedly false tax disc. While he was in custody, four officers attended his home to conduct a search. During the search, his mother Cynthia Jarrett collapsed and died.[13][17] It has never been satisfactorily concluded how and why Cynthia Jarrett died, and whether it was a heart attack or due to police actions.[18]

Tangmere block, with its distinctive ziggurat structure. The holes in the wall at first floor level left by the demolition of the deck-level walkways are clearly visible.

The next day, 6 October 1985, saw a small demonstration outside Tottenham police station, which initially passed off relatively peacefully other than a bottle being thrown through one of the station's windows.[17] At 3.15 pm two officers were attacked and seriously injured by the crowd,[13] suffering gunshot wounds.[17] Three journalists were also treated for gunshot wounds.[17]

At 6.45 pm a police van answering a 999 call to Broadwater Farm was surrounded and attacked.[19] As further police officers made their way to the area, rioters erected barricades on the deck level and the emergency services withdrew from the deck level.[13] At 9.30 pm fire broke out in a newsagent's shop on the deck level of the Tangmere block. Firefighters attempting to put out the fire came under attack, and police attended to assist them. As the situation escalated, police and firefighters withdrew. In the withdrawal, PCs Keith Blakelock and Richard Coombes became separated from other officers. A group of around 40 people[20] attacked them with sticks, knives and machetes, leading to PC Blakelock's death and serious injuries to PC Coombes.[21] As news of the death spread, the rioting subsided. Local council leader Bernie Grant claims to have been misquoted as saying that "What the police got was a bloody good hiding".[22]

Three local residents, Mark Braithwaite, Engin Raghip and Winston Silcott, were convicted of PC Blakelock's murder. However, three years later their convictions were overturned when it was discovered that police notes of their interviews had been tampered with.[23] The person or persons guilty of the murder have never been identified but in 2010, a man was arrested on suspicion of murdering PC Blakelock.[24]

"Waterfall" mural

After the events of 1985, Broadwater Farm became the focus of an intensive £33 million regeneration programme in response to the problems highlighted by the riots.[25] The all-white Tenants Association was restructured to more accurately reflect the community, and residents' concerns seriously addressed by the authorities.[12] A local management team was brought in to oversee improvements to the estate and to collect rents and enforce regulations, instead of continuing to attempt to run the estate centrally from Haringey Council's central offices.[11] The deck level was dismantled and the overhead walkways demolished, with the shops and amenities relocated to a single ground-level strip of road to transform the semi-derelict Willan Road into a "High Street" for the area.[25] The surrounding areas were landscaped and each building redesigned to give it a unique identity.[6]

A network of council-run CCTV cameras was installed to monitor the streets and car parks, and each building staffed by a concierge to deter unwanted visitors.[25] Two giant murals were painted which now dominate the area, one of a waterfall on the side of Debden block[11] and one depicting Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., John Lennon and Bob Marley on Rochford block.[6] Disused shops left empty following the withdrawal of businesses after the riots were converted into low-cost light industrial units to provide employment opportunities for residents and prevent capital from flowing out of the area.[26] Since the redevelopment, the flow of people leaving the estate has slowed to a trickle, and there is now a lengthy waiting list for housing.[27]

Broadwater Farm was built using the same Taylor Woodrow-Anglian system of panels as Ronan Point. The domino-like system of large structural slabs speeded the building and allowed cheaper, less expert labour to be used to assemble the prefabricated panels. Even so, construction standards were ignored; mortar joints stuffed with newspaper reduced drying time and weakened the buildings. The blocks were inspected for safety in 1985 about the same time that gas was installed. Gaps, wide enough to see the flat below, were found between the external wall panels and the edge of the floor slabs. The gaps opened and closed depending on temperature. Fire could push them out of alignment and would cause the collapse of the building.[29]

In 2007 a new Children's Centre opened on the estate, with nursery places for 104 children. It is considered one of the best designed nursery schools in the world, and won the Royal Institute of British Architects's Award for 2007.[41]

Broadwater Farm contains Broadwater Inclusive Learning Community, which comprises The Willow (a two-form entry primary school), The Brook (120 space special school), Broadwaters’ Children Centre (school nursery, childcare for under 5s and a vast range of community services) and Broadwaters' Extended School Service (breakfast, after school and holiday provision).[42] Secondary education is provided by nearby Woodside High School, formerly named White Hart Lane School, approximately 200m outside the Broadwater Farm area.

Following the riots, many shops in Broadwater Farm withdrew from the area, and those that remained closed following the demolition of the deck level. Broadwater Farm is consequently extremely poorly served by shops. Haringey Council has provided 21 small "enterprise units" at a deliberately low cost to entice firms to open in the area,[43] but these have proved hard to fill. However, Broadwater Farm is only 400m from the shops and supermarkets of Tottenham High Road, and approximately 2 km from the Shopping City supermall at Wood Green.

Due to the waterlogged ground and lack of population prior to the containment of the Moselle, Broadwater Farm was bypassed by the Underground. Bruce Grove railway station, 400m east of the estate, connects the area to central London. Because of the narrow streets, double-decker and bendy buses are unable to serve the area. From 11 February 2006 the W4 route, which utilises Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart to navigate the narrow streets and sharp bends, was diverted to run into the estate,[2][44] providing direct public transport links for the first time. A number of other bus routes run along Lordship Lane, immediately to the north and Philip Lane to the south. Turnpike Lane Underground station is within walking distance to the south west.