16 Apr 2006 - Middlewood's Winners
It took a band of determinded single mothers to turn around life on one estate in Sheffield.
It was always known as Hillsboroughs poor cousin - a sixties dream of green space and village life turning slowly sour. Yet thanks to the ladies of Winn Gardens estate in Middlewood, that rural idyll has been returning once again.
"It was build in the 1960's when they had this dream of open spaces" says Wendy Wells, local mum and chair of Middlewood Winners, an innovative community group based in the Pavilion in Middlewood Park.
"But it hit a bit of a rough patch in the 1970's. There were problem families, it all ran down and the council ran out of money. Now the estate has a reputation it will probably never shake off."
Clearly things have been changing though. For we are standing inside the almost brand new community centre, housing day care and nursery facilities, catering, sports rooms and an IT suite, as well as health counselling and job clubs. There is even space for the local bowls team.
There is still much to be done. But the contoured walkways, the blue-matt outdoor sports courts and the specially constructed bandstand (for youth to hang out safely, not too far away from parents) suggest a new vitality in this tight-knit community.
"When we took this over, it was a shell" says Wendy. "There were just a couple of rooms and some changing space for the football team. Things started to change when us mothers got together at the toddler group. A lot of us were single mums, it was all very informal. But we thought wouldn't it be great if we had a proper building for the whole community?"
A long period of fundraising, writing letters and chasing grants followed. Eventually the money was raised and from an auspicious opening by David Blunkett MP back in 2004, the Middlewood Winners - a name chosen to reflect the new feelings in the area - was born. And all of its dozen members were mothers.
" Our youngest was 18 when we started" says Wendy. "And the oldest was a grandmother! Try as we might to encourage the males of the species" she laughs. "Yorkshire women have a reputation for taking control, being in control and taking action. Thats one of the reasons we've got as far as we have."
It was a team effort by all the women and showed just what could be done when people put their minds to it. Rather than wait for help, the mothers of Middlewood went out and made things happen themselves. "We worked heart and soul for this building" says Wendy.
Whats more heartening is that the women of Middlewod Winners reflect the increasingly varied community.
"We're slowly becoming more diverse" adds Wendy "and thats something we welcome. We have new families from Iran and west africa, thankfully there is no racism on the estate,we don't see races or disabilities.
It was always known as Hillsboroughs poor cousin - a sixties dream of green space and village life turning slowly sour. Yet thanks to the ladies of Winn Gardens estate in Middlewood, that rural idyll has been returning once again.
"It was build in the 1960's when they had this dream of open spaces" says Wendy Wells, local mum and chair of Middlewood Winners, an innovative community group based in the Pavilion in Middlewood Park.
"But it hit a bit of a rough patch in the 1970's. There were problem families, it all ran down and the council ran out of money. Now the estate has a reputation it will probably never shake off."
Clearly things have been changing though. For we are standing inside the almost brand new community centre, housing day care and nursery facilities, catering, sports rooms and an IT suite, as well as health counselling and job clubs. There is even space for the local bowls team.
There is still much to be done. But the contoured walkways, the blue-matt outdoor sports courts and the specially constructed bandstand (for youth to hang out safely, not too far away from parents) suggest a new vitality in this tight-knit community.
"When we took this over, it was a shell" says Wendy. "There were just a couple of rooms and some changing space for the football team. Things started to change when us mothers got together at the toddler group. A lot of us were single mums, it was all very informal. But we thought wouldn't it be great if we had a proper building for the whole community?"
A long period of fundraising, writing letters and chasing grants followed. Eventually the money was raised and from an auspicious opening by David Blunkett MP back in 2004, the Middlewood Winners - a name chosen to reflect the new feelings in the area - was born. And all of its dozen members were mothers.
" Our youngest was 18 when we started" says Wendy. "And the oldest was a grandmother! Try as we might to encourage the males of the species" she laughs. "Yorkshire women have a reputation for taking control, being in control and taking action. Thats one of the reasons we've got as far as we have."
It was a team effort by all the women and showed just what could be done when people put their minds to it. Rather than wait for help, the mothers of Middlewood went out and made things happen themselves. "We worked heart and soul for this building" says Wendy.
Whats more heartening is that the women of Middlewod Winners reflect the increasingly varied community.
"We're slowly becoming more diverse" adds Wendy "and thats something we welcome. We have new families from Iran and west africa, thankfully there is no racism on the estate,we don't see races or disabilities.