Jessica Farey GCSE Unit 4 "Watch this Space": Places That Could be Regenerated For The Community

Clothall Park

Clothall Common is the largest housing estate, built in the late 1980s. For any young children or families in the area, the park is the nearest green space/ recreational area; there is a small court for playing ball games, space for bike riding/ skateboarding and play equipment. The park has not been done up in many years, meaning the area is badly kept; the grass is messy and overgrown in some areas, the play equipment looks tacky as the colours are fading and there is a lot of graffiti due to older teenagers. The play equipment could be fixed or even replaced, the grass and bushes could be trimmed and reghularly looked after, the litter picked up and the graffiti painted over, to make it more appropriate for the young families who use it and would benefit from these changes.

Baldock Police Station

The old Baldock Police Station was located in the centre of the high street, until it was closed in May 2011 in a bid to cut costs. Police officers and PCSOs now work from Baldock Community Centre on Simpson Drive. The downside to this is that the old building, which takes up a fair amount of space, is now abandoned and in a complete mess, distracting from the aesthetics of the rest of the high street. There is a lot of litter and mess in the old car park, while the building itself is in a terrible condition. To make it not only look better but to benefit the community, the old police station could be knocked down and built upon, for example a Cafe, small hall or shop.

Field Opposite Hartsfield

The field opposite Hartsfield JMI School was a popular teenage hangout on Baldock a few years ago, and was also used as the training grounds for Baldock F.C. Now, the field is still used, but by mainly dog walkers. It isn't in a good condition the field is extremely muddy and the grass isn't very tidy. The football pitch lines are faded and the goalposts are wonky and rusted, meaning footballers no longer frequently use the area. The small building at the edge of the field, previously used by the football players and then a darts club, is currently abandoned. The football pitch could be redone, the greenery tidied up and the building renovated- it could be rented for small functions in the summer, and there is room for a small skate area to attract teenagers again.

Derelict Garage on Icknield Way

The garage, located on the edge of Baldock on Icknield Way, used to be a second hand car showroom until it was shut down around 6-7 years ago. Since then, the large building has been left empty, and there is still rubbish left there from when the garage was open. It looks bad- it is in the midst of housing, making it even more of an eyesore. The remains of the garage could be knocked down and more residential buildings could be built there; this would attract more people to the community, make the area look a lot nicer and also bring more money into the local economy.

Goldcrest Hotel on the High Street

The Goldcrest Hotel is located in a prime location in the centre of Baldock, however was forced to shut down roughly 10 years ago because of the lack of business/ losses in profit. Ever since, it has been boarded up, which doesn't look great. It is an older building, like many of the other buildings on the high street, and architecturally pleasing. The hotel could be regenerated and reopened as not necessarily as a hotel, but as a venue for functions or meetings (from which the community would benefit the most), a residential or retail outlet. It would make the high street much more aesthetically pleasing and would be good for the locals too. The look of the building would definitely fit in with the modern high street, which underwent regeneration in 2008.