The very first person to buy a house on the oldest council estate in Nottingham has spoken out about the area. Stockhill Lane Council Estate in Old Basford started construction on October 29, 1919. In 2019, 100 years of the estate was celebrated. Neighbours on the estate has been described as quiet with people that are “very pleasant.”
The first person to buy a house under the Right to Buy Scheme for £6,000 was Grazyna Wicher. The Right to Buy Scheme was introduced in 1980 by former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. The scheme helped people buy their council house at a discounted price. Grazyna, 86, now lives with her partner, Derek Gilchrist who she has been with for many years.
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Grazyna moved to the estate in 1972 and is originally from Poland. Speaking about the area, she said: “It has changed for the better. When I first moved here there were a lot of elderly and middle-aged people.
“In the late 70s, the council had a bright idea of putting a community centre here which was more like a shack, many people complained about it. Now, you’ll find trees there.
“The people around here are very pleasant, I have no complaints apart from the road. The potholes are awful.”
Grazyna came to England at the age of 11. She continued and said: “There weren’t a lot of children on the estate at first but there was a group of boys who always snapped the branches off my apple tree! They’re all grown up now.
“It was years later until more youngsters moved into the area.” Grazyna added: “There are plenty of shops on Nuthall Road we use and there used to be a pub not far on David Lane but it has been rebuilt into flats.”
Stockhill Lane is a small area and home to the Stockhill Lane Fire Station. A plaque was added to celebrate 100 years of the estate.
Derek Gilchrist originally from York moved to the area in the 80s. In his spare time, Derek enjoys gardening. In the many years Grazyna and Derek have lived together, they have homed rescue dogs. He shared his thoughts on the area.
Derek said: “Stockhill Lane was all built as a unit, it was all built at the same time and has never been added to.
“It’s not a very big estate either. I would say very few of the houses around here are still council.”
The 84-year-old continued: “Now, I don’t see too much interaction between people. When I was a lad, people left their doors open and you knew everyone.”
Derek continued: “It’s a very multicultural area, we have every race and people are friendly. The tram is a Godsend and there’s a dedicated bus service.”
The NCT yellow line 71A and 71B go past Stockhill Lane. Derek pointed out one of the only flaws about the area. He said: “I’m an ex-school teacher and my only problem is the school up the road gets very noisy, it has got better though.”
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