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LAST MAN STANDING
Our ‘streets of the sky’ horror flats are riddled with decay, grime & thug squatters but I WON’T budge
Locals recalling living in darkness as drug dealers moved into abandoned flats
RESIDENTS of horror flats riddled with decay, grime and thug squatters are refusing to leave.
Robin Hood Gardens estate in Poplar, East London, has been dubbed "streets of the sky" after it was built with walkways connecting neighbours.
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Opened in 1972 as social housing, it is now set for demolition - with only one local refusing to budge.
Robert Smith, 76, lived on the estate for 30 years before he made the move to Limehouse following council plans to knock the flats down.
The pensioner said his last few years at Robin Hood Gardens had been ruined when drug dealers started moving in and taking over vacant properties.
Robert also said it felt like a prison because of workmen's scaffolding towering over him everywhere he looked.
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He said: "We moved out last year and there’s only one person left as far as I know. It was sad when we left. We were there for 30-odd years.
"Our last few years there were terrible. They put up scaffolding ‘for our safety’ but it blocked out all the light.
"We were living in darkness. We had to keep the light on constantly. It was like living in a dungeon or a prison.
"It’s terrible. Living at Robin Hood in its hey day was great. We had lovely neighbours.
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"They always said good morning to us. When they moved out we got more frightened.
"The drug dealers got in and people started breaking into the flats.
"They stole metal piping. It was really scary. The police were constantly coming.
"The council had to pay thousands to keep fixing the doors but it didn’t stop them.
"We’re in Liligate House in Limehouse now. It’s been alright, it’s quite nice. The neighbours were welcoming which was so nice."
During his time on the estate, Robert watched Canary Wharf be built and witnessed the docklands come back to life.
The estate, originally made up of 213 flats surrounding a central garden area, was made up of two elongated blocks - one of 10 and one of seven storeys.
Its architects, husband and wife Alison and Peter Smithson, created "streets in the sky" so neighbours could meet and socialise.
The homes, which border the noisy Blackwall Tunnel approach, were designed to be as comfortable as possible.
They were a mixture of single storey flats and two-storey maisonettes.
Bedrooms were built on the inside of the blocks to keep away from the noise from the road.
And the windows were large to allow in as much light as possible.
A Tower Hamlets Council spokesperson said: “Robin Hood Gardens is due to be demolished.
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"We have a small number of households living in the building who are due to be moved but, like everywhere else in London, we have a severe shortage of available homes in our borough which means we’ve not yet been able to move them.
“All households at Robin Hood Gardens remain high priority for a new home and will be moved as soon as possible.”
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