Typical pit
housing of the 1920s, many now owned privately. Hardly architectural
masterpieces,
they are
nonetheless solidly built compared to the instafix boxes frequently put up
today.
Inside they have often been imaginatively altered and well-decorated
to suit
their owners’ tastes. Fit for another eighty years!
Housing
Having
stated earlier that Doncaster is a primarily working-class town, this is most
clearly seen in the housing stock.
There are four groups of people in Doncaster in terms of property
use:
Ø
A few
very wealthy people own large properties close to the town plus large houses
away.
Ø
The
comfortably-off who live in private housing in estates in Bessacarr, parts of
Cantley, Old Rossington, Sprotbrough Village and a number of other places away
from the town centre. The new Lakeside development
is imaginative. There are several new developments along Bawtry Road.
Ø
Workers
who desire to own their homes and who are buying up ex-pit houses and turning
them from drab terraces into lively attractive places to live. Recently, prices
for these houses have shot up.
Ø
The least
well-off (which encompasses quite a range of people); many old people; some
with ideological views regarding property ownership; some who just didn’t
bother buying once they rented occupy council or private landlord-owned
houses. There are quite a number of
people who have bought old pit houses to rent out, some just a few, others
owning whole streets. Often these houses are rented by DHSS-designated tenants.
Plainly, these are very broad categories and there is great
overlap amongst them. Many people don’t fit into any. There are a number of
good private houses available for rent, short or long term. The increase in the
number of single people buying and renting has put added pressure on housing
stock; this of course is a national trend.
In some
ex-pit villages, such as Armthorpe, where there has been a large take up of the
government scheme to buy previously rented pit houses, similarly with
ex-council houses, people have made great efforts to make their houses more
attractive. Conversely, in the large council estates such as—but not
exclusively—the Wimpy estates in Thorne and Rossington the stock appears drab
and run down. There appears to be a marked degree of apathy amongst the people
who live here regarding the care of the property and appearance of the area.
Often they regard this as the Council’s responsibility; renting of this nature
can cause disenfranchisement: a feeling of being too far removed from any
decision-taking to the point that they feel they have little say.