We live on council estate and watch stars’ BMWs drive past from fancy mansions yards away – here’s the hardest part
RESIDENTS living on a council estate in a picturesque village say they watch flash BMWs drive past from posh mansions just yards away – but that’s not the hardest part of life for them.
Dore, an exclusive suburb of Sheffield, is home to celebrities with supercars and million-pound properties as well as the council homes.
A detached house in the exclusive suburb of Sheffield will cost you roughly £800,000, according to Rightmove – however five-bedroom homes are currently on sale for up to £1.5million.
Chocolate box lid worthy cottages jostle for attention among contemporary new builds with sci-fi looking architecture and Porsches park up next to Bentleys.
But in the shadow of the uber posh Rushley Avenue is the 1980s built Causeway Grange, a large and neatly kept council estate, just 400 metres away.
Locals in the village, which has a small parade of shops and a pretty green, say the stark difference doesn’t case any divide and community events are attended by people from both sides of the fence.
Anyone hoping to grab a council property in the area may want to reconsider though as it can take as long as 15 years to get one.
Once there though you can rub shoulders with celebrities like Olympian Jessica Ennis-Hill and boxer Kell Brook.
Michael Mason, 73, is a retired pub landlord who owned the village pub The Devonshire Arms for 20 years and having previously lived in nearby Totley, he says he waited 15 years for the council flat he now lives in with his wife – and feels lucky to be living in Dore.
He told The Sun: “I live here in the council estate with my wife, we have a council flat.
“When we step out we see BMW‘s, Rolls-Royces, Audis and Porsches but there is no resentment – we feel lucky to live here.
“It took 15 years to get here and this is the third time the flat came up and we were fifth on the waiting list – but we got it, I am not sure why. We viewed it, loved it and were told if you like it you can have it.
“There is a lovely community and in the summer months everybody gets together and gets involved in community events like the lantern parade – it really doesn’t matter if you are coming out of a council house or a million-pound house.”
Council estate resident Judith Bettridge, 80, agrees – describing the neatly kept council estate as “a lovely, friendly place” to live.
She said: “My friend lived here and sold her house six or seven years ago for £200,000 and it was on the TV show Location, Location, Location. Now it is worth £690,000.
“There is no animosity between neighbours, they are so friendly and everyone will help you.
“The council estate is lovely and there is no divide between anyone.
Neighbour June Balfour, 81, said: “In the 80s I lived on a different street called Burlington Road and although my next door neighbour was lovely, everyone was really snobbish. It was completely different – people are so much more friendly and helpful now. It’s a lovely place to live.”
Sheffield City Council’s profile of the neighbourhood shows the median household income in the area to be £45,000 – with the largest majority of households – 1,146 – earning £75,000.
One resident, who has lived in the village for 42 years says the price of the houses means the high income is needed.
He said: “It’s a very exclusive area, it’s a bit like Alderley Edge in Manchester.
Some people here may be affected by the rise in cost of living but they are cushioned to some extent by having very good jobs such as being a lawyer, doctor, solicitor.
“A lot of people living here are earning good wages.
“Some of the properties are as expensive now as some of the houses in the good parts of London.”
Florist Vicky Scott said she has worked in the village for 15 years and says she has seen house prices hike – pricing her out of living there herself.
She said: “I have seen the village change in that time – the house prices have gone through the roof.
“Dore Road had plenty of spaces but they knocked a lot of bigger houses down and built estates.
“You are paying £1.2m and you are still right next to your neighbour.
“It’s still a lovely area though, the footfall for businesses is not as much as it used to be, the village seems a lot quieter.
“There are a few footballers who live here and boxer Kel Brooks lives here too.”
Mike Stones, 45, owns the village cafe with wife Hayley and says the village is welcoming of all.
He said: “There are a lot of celebrities in the area including Jessica Ennis and Def Leppard guitarist Rick Savage.
“You see a lot of exclusive cars and a lot of those are electric now so it’s not the fuel guzzlers they used to be and people are more eco-conscious.
“There is a lot of community spirit – it’s not cliquey and there is no divide.
“We have had the cafe for ten years and we see a lot of the same regular customers coming in who have been coming in all that time.”
Mum Anthea Menezes, 44, walking her daughter Paloma home from school down the pin drop quiet streets, says she moved to the area eight years ago and is very happy to be part of the community.
“It’s a really friendly area and the neighbours talk to each other on the road,” she says.
“There is no divide between people who live in expensive houses and those who live in council houses.
“There are a lot of down to earth people and a lot of community events. Everyone gets involved.”
A spokesperson for Sheffield City Council said they have an open register for applicants who place “bids” on properties advertised each week using their waiting time which is calculated from when they joined the register.
The council said: “It is not uncommon for applicants to have a long ‘waiting time’.
“However, most applicants will not have been actively seeking rehousing for the vast majority of the time they have been registered with us.
“It is also common for us to receive bids from applicants who have hugely varied waiting times.”