Gresham (Middlesbrough)

Despite my best efforts, and despite having got myself up there and spent a day being shown around by local campaigners, I never managed to get anything published on the residents campaign in Gresham, an area close to Middlesbrough town centre. A late addition to the Housing Market Renewal initiative, something like 1,500 terraced properties were scheduled for demolition more than five years ago by the council and elected mayor Ray Mallon, known nationally as “robocop” from his former life as a police officer. People were moved out but no properties have been cleared. It seems too much of a coincidence that this land is within a few minutes walk of the town centre. Here, three residents/campaigners talk about their situations.