Byker Wall: antidote to "poverty porn"
A modern council estate in Newcastle offers an alternative view of what's possible
A online search last spring for the most noteworthy council estates in Britain surfaced a place I had not heard of, and only 45 minutes away from my home in County Durham. I tend to visit these places first and gain my own impression, without reading up in advance, so I am not prejudiced. Byker estate near Newcastle was a pleasant surprise, even if it is a little rough at the edges. While superficially similar, Broadwater Farm Estate in London is a thoroughly undesirable place to live; Byker has a unique charm and it doesn’t feel like someone who hates you designed it.
The Byker community is adjacent to South Heaton, an impoverished area. The emblematic character of the area is a semi-reformed criminal nicknamed “Rat Boy” — as he used ventilation shafts at Byker Wall Estate to burgle people as a child. You can read up his tragic story in the Daily Mail. It seems like he repented crime for a period and reformed, before relapsing. Some people do wrong without being innately evil, and I just sense a very damaged person who, despite a vast legacy of chaos, probably needs some love.
We’re firmly in the land of Food Bank Britain. I have only ever been in one once in my life, tagging along with some struggling friends. It’s a world away from where I grew up in the more affluent area west of London.
The initial impressions are not the greatest, and I was prepared to encounter something rather grim. However, my expectations were confounded.
Byker was a traditional terraced slum area near manufacturing on Tyneside. The old brick houses were demolished, and the community moved into new housing. This was done in a phased way that preserved the social structure as much as possible. Rather than being a social “garbage disposal”, it has the air that the architect wanted for other something he would be willing to live in himself. It has won numerous awards, which in modern terms may not always be a good sign, but at the least suggests something out of the ordinary.
The signature theme of Byker is the undulating curtain wall(s) — plural, as there are breaks for roads. It is a bit like a fortress on the northern side, but the southern aspect is terraced and has a mix of low and high rise buildings, with considerably more detailing that is common in concrete jungles.
Can’t deny that the locals are friendly!
While the area may have a legacy of de-industrialisation and material poverty, is does not feel like a spiritual ghetto. You really have to walk these places and feel your gut to grasp what they are about. I didn’t feel safe in some places in London, the Midlands, or Yorkshire with my fancy camera — but Byker didn’t give me any worries.
In some parts of London I would imagine comparable homes might actually be quite costly. There are apartments on the banks of the Thames from the 1970s with similar architecture that cost a fortune!
There are some of the obligatory discarded sofas and refuse about, but it’s character.
As postmodern grunge architecture goes, it’s pretty good.
Local transport is just over the road, so it’s not isolated miles from anywhere at the end of a bus route — unlike, say, Blackbird Leys in Oxford (that I will document another day).
A deep-cut highway energetically severs Byker from its local commercial environment, even if it is only a short walk away.
It has a slight feel of communist propaganda! The Party loves you, really.
This isn’t a slum, nothing like it…
…even if poverty and the welfare state are the themes, with a quarter of residents suffering from disability or illness.
There’s a strong undercurrent of local Georgie culture that hasn’t been erased or touristified. London is unrecognisable even from the city I grew up in during the 1980s. Byker is around 90% white, the UK as a whole around 80%, and London about 50%. The situation is complex, with some immigrant-led areas being delightful, and others are a disaster. Social cohesion is a thing, but is problematic when it is cohesion among those who oppose or displace the indigenous culture, rather than embrace it.
The most destructive drug isn’t heroin, crack, or meth — alcohol is the one that’s killing our society from within. That’s on us, and we’re the ones who have to take responsibility. Blaming newcomers for our own dirty towns won’t help anyone.
Fun as many imbibers may be. It’s not the Rastas in Brixton who are harming themselves. They have tasty malt beer in all the local convenience stores, with no alcohol. If we have social problems, then we have to start with putting our own houses in order.
Byker is a 20th Century experiment in social housing, and one of the best. Many who live there like it, and Ray Boy is the exception, not the rule. There are plenty of facilities in easy walking distance. The estate feels like is respects human dignity, not assaults it. I would far prefer characterful Byker Wall Estate to many of the soulless nearby locations.
I’d go back to Byker and take more photos and talk to people.
Byker feels “right” to me.
