As the years have passed, St Ann’s has changed dramatically. One woman who has lived in the area for decades has spoken out about how St Ann’s has changed throughout the years.
Vivienne Wynter, 62, from St Ann’s is a sales assistant. Having lived in the area for most of her life, she spoke to Nottinghamshire Live about ‘the old St Ann’s’ and how the area has changed.
Loving the area because of the friendly community and easy access to transport, Vivienne is a loyal customer to many businesses locally. She says it's unlikely she will ever move.
She said: “I moved to St Ann’s when my daughter was two, she’s now 43-years-old. I’m originally from the old St Ann’s. The old St Ann’s was different; the area had terrace houses with toilets outside and a cellar.
“The area is more developed now but one thing that’s stayed the same is that people still look out for each other in the neighbourhood. I’ve never left the area because I’m comfortable, I’m happy here.”
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Vivienne agreed that St Ann’s did have a reputation for being dangerous throughout the years, but said she has never been scared due to crime in the area. She said: “Personally for me, I wouldn’t say it's dangerous, it did have its time but it’s got better now. A lot of places were stereotyped like Radford and the Meadows.
Speaking about what the area no longer has, Vivienne has many fond memories of what use to be in St Ann’s. She said: “I miss the Iron Bridge behind Bilberry Walk, it use to take you up to Bluebell Hill Road - now you have to walk all the way around."
Speaking of things that used to be in the area, Vivienne spoke about things that she misses in St Ann’s including a pub. After reports of people in St Ann’s wanting to see at least one pub in the area, Vivienne agrees.
She said: “I miss the pubs, I used to print in the Pint and Pot, it’s now the Police Station on Wells Road, it was a brilliant atmosphere. They used to do karaoke competitions and I won once and got presented with a bouquet of flowers. It’s a shame there’s no pub now, it used to be nice to get the girls together and have a drink and a laugh.”
There used to be a bridge in St Ann’s. It isn’t known when the bridge was demolished.
She said: “I miss the Iron Bridge behind Bilberry Walk, it used to take you up to Bluebell Hill Road now, you have to walk all the way around. There used to be a market on The Chase too or fundraisers every now again but now, there’s a church service there on a Saturday which is good for the community.”
The Robin Hood Chase in St Ann’s is now home to the St Ann’s Advice Centre and food bank. Previously, many people have been concerned about the future of The Chase precinct due to speculation over possible plans for the Nottingham City Council to turn it into houses.
Speaking more of the events that happen on The Chase, Vivienne mentioned a carnival held there, that gets the community together. Vivienne spoke about the carnival and said: “It’s fun! All nationalities get together, it’s good for the kids, there’s jerk chicken and other food.
“It’s just nice in the summertime. I’ve been with friends a couple of times and from my house, I can feel the bass from the music and it just gets you in a good mood.”
Over the years, Vivienne along with family and friends have many memories of when the Afro Caribbean National Artistic Centre mostly known as ACNA was thriving.” She said: “I have fond memories of the ACNA Centre, when it was thriving, it was brilliant.
“You were always guaranteed a good night out there and I went on some of the Dominos trips with the centre, they used to go all over.”
Now, to improve the area, Vivienne, who has two grandsons aged 19 and 10, would like to see more facilities for young people, she said: “I think St Ann’s needs to be developed a bit more, there’s no youth facilities, before, there use to be youth clubs but they’ve all been taken away.”
Also speaking about the area, Labour Councillor Corall Jenkins said: "I’m really pleased to represent St Ann’s – it’s vibrant, lively and a place where people get on well together. Over the past few years we’ve made a number of improvements to the parks across the ward, at Heskey Park, King Edward Park, the Chase and Sycamore Park, replacing equipment and renewing the surfaces and I know there’s much more to do.
"In the coming months, I’m looking forward to seeing through further improvements right across St Ann’s, improving the footpaths on Windmill Lane, Serlby Rise and Robin Hood Street. We’ll also make sure the long awaited resurfacing of roads like Bond Street, Walker Street and Aster Road also takes place.
"Place like ACNA and culturally significant and belongs right in the heart of the ward – set up to improve the quality of life for African Caribbean people living in Nottingham it’s home to decades of memories and cherished by many.”
If you have fond memories of the area that you are from in Nottingham and you'd like to tell your story, please do get in contact with Nottinghamshire Live's community reporter, Keimae Blake who can be contacted on: keimae.blake@reachplc.com. We would love to hear from you.
