Goodbye to Theresa’s

Goodbye to Theresa’s 

It has been on the cards for so long, shelved, promised, and shelved again but finally, the St Theresa Gardens regeneration project has begun with the demolition of the flats, a process they expect top finish by the end of the second week of March. I spent a lot of my youth there and in a way, I was sad to hear the news.

Yesterday, when walking up Cork Street, I could see this huge demolition machine travelling towards the Gardens, so I headed up to my old stomping grounds. The machine had already half devoured the middle block by the time of my arrival. I was taken back by the amount of dust blowing in the wind.  It was a haunting scene as there was no one around, as these old memories came crashing down. The workers stood idle while waiting for a machine to come to water down the area, the scene was eerie in its way.

To complete the job and knock down the remainder of the flat’s to the back of the Coombe hospital, they will have to rehouse the last of the two remaining tenants. One man lives in one block and another family live in the front block. It is believed that one of these tenants is refusing to leave, the reasons are unknown but more than likely they are holding on to get a preferred address.  It struck me as strange that there were only two left in what was once a vibrant community.

Normally when I used to go up to these flats there would be people going about their daily business, but yesterday it felt utterly silent. I went on a quick walk and met another tenant who wants to be rehoused down of Brown Street, or they won’t go. As I walked around the flats I felt sadness as it feels like they are knocking down history. The flats used to be homes for hundreds of families throughout their lives and possibly their parents to; I do wonder where everyone’s gone to.  A worker told me that people are asking him to pick up old bricks to give to them as souvenirs, and number plates of the hall doors and a lot of people are pulling up and talking photos. I don’t need a photo I have a memory………

Hashtags: #DemolitionTheresa'sGardens, #Theresa's Gardens, #UrbanRegeneration