Bestwood Estate

Bestwood Estate is a large council estate located to the north of the city of Nottingham, England. Its population amounts to approximately 5,800.^[1] There is also a ward of the City of Nottingham called Bestwood. At the 2011 census this had a population of 16,753.^[2] Not to be confused with the Bestwood Park Estate, developed later to the east of the Bestwood Estate.

Origins

Construction was commenced in the 1930s and by 1938 some of the roads had been established including Andover Road, Gainsford Crescent and Landcroft Crescent. Work was interrupted by World War II, after which the bulk of the housing stock was constructed. Most of the houses are constructed with identical or near-identical layouts. They are generally semi-detached buildings with two residences each, or town houses with three or more often four residences each.

Early years

The first decades saw a generally working class population in residence.

1980s-1990s

Under Margaret Thatcher's Right to Buy policy, a modest proportion of council tenants chose to purchase their rented property at hugely discounted prices. The majority of the housing stock remained in council ownership. The demographic of the inhabitants noticeably altered since the estate's early years. The estate increasingly housed young families with high levels of unemployment.

Recent years

The decline of Bestwood Estate continued, with increasing crime levels. Policing the area became difficult as a small number of local families established a grip on it. Most prominent amongst these was the extended Gunn family. Supported by the proceeds of crime and drug-dealing, the Gunns gained notoriety for their ruthlessness. A number of highly publicised murders^[3] eventually led to the arrest and imprisonment of some family members.^[4] These people were described as the Bestwood Cartel and the Godfathers of Nottingham gang crime.^[5] Bestwood Estate earned an enduring and strongly negative reputation as a centre of crime, intimidation and anti-social behaviour. Violent crime and theft remain a problem as observed by bloggers and commentators^[6] and reported widely in national UK media.^[7]

Dr Harold Shipman

Harold Shipman, the serial killer doctor who was convicted of the murder of many of his elderly patients in North West England at the end of the 20th century, was born on the estate in January 1946.

References