Major revamp in store for 'blot on the landscape' tower block

No-one has lived at the former Manor Heights in Hadley, Telford, since a police raid almost two decades ago saw it cleared of tenants.

Now the complex is being renamed The Haybridge ahead of a major revamp of the 12-storey block to breathe new life into the site and attract new residents to the area.

Councillor Pat Smart, of Hadley & Leegomery Parish Council, said she was over the moon with the moves to renovate the building after years of neglect.

She said: “I am utterly delighted that at long last something is going to be done to a building that has been an architectural blot in Hadley for such a long time.

“I understand that inside it’s quite nice and has potential.

"My understanding is that the developer hopes to attract couples who can’t afford a place of their own and who are living with their parents, rather than single people.

“When the first tenants moved in many years ago people enjoyed living there, but as their families grew people moved out into houses with gardens and others, some disaffected, were placed there.

“The developers told the parish council that when it’s completed it will be the jewel in the crown for Hadley.

"We used to push for it to be demolished, but we were advised that because it’s on such a small piece of land commercially it was best not to knock it down.

“The council has spent thousands of pounds on making Hadley beautiful over the years including the development of the village green and the hanging basket project which has proved successful.”

Tower block developer Russell Harrison Ltd has declined to comment on the revamp.

It was granted planning permission by Telford & Wrekin Council in 2007 for 68 flats and 51 parking spaces at the site off Haybridge Road, but that scheme was put on ice due to the credit crunch.

A police raid 17 years ago saw 30 arrests for drug dealing and other anti-social issues.