Albion Park by Daniel Peppé

Author:Daniel Peppé
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Clink Street Publishing
Published: 2022-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

May 2015

Next to the three boards of plans, the artist’s impression depicted a paradisal vision of the new development. The drawings were in technicolour. They transported the drab and the utilitarian into the realm of prestige and aspiration. A usually litter-strewn car park had been replaced with an open green space populated by flourishing trees and wisteria growing up the side of buildings. Smart young professionals could be seen riding bikes in pairs while others lounged on benches deep in meaningful discussion. Some residents were depicted standing on their balconies interacting with neighbours. Down below, carefree children skipped around on one of the lawns which separated the blocks.

In the picture, six medium-sized six-storey blocks enclosed a shared podium courtyard. Residents socialising in the courtyards were illuminated by beams of sunlight that flooded through the buildings’ gaps. Resting against the wall of one of the blocks were two unlocked bikes.

Val, Jacquie and a dozen or so other tenants were in the crypt of St Luke’s Church for an open evening arranged by BRP, short for Bevan Estate Regeneration Partners, the name for the joint venture company set up by the local council, the Hand & Hyle Property Group, Oak Grove Housing and We Hear You. (Understandably they decided to omit the E for estate from the acronym.) The night had been billed as a Community Consultation Event, which would provide residents with an opportunity to get the first glimpse of initial designs for the Bevan Estate.

‘I can’t believe how quickly they’ve got all of this organised,’ Jacquie said. ‘When did they send out those questionnaires?’

‘It was only at the beginning of the year,’ Val said. ‘See, all that nonsense about including us at every stage. I told you it was a load of bollocks.’

‘Looks pretty nice though, right?’ Jacquie said, taking a closer at the picture. ‘I wouldn’t mind living in one of these places.’

‘I don’t know.’ Val shrugged her shoulders. ‘It all seems a bit unreal to me. Do you know what I mean? It bears no relation to where we live now.’

‘But that’s the whole point,’ Jacquie said. ‘They’re going to do it up.’

‘Why would anyone suddenly choose to upgrade our lives? The council don’t care about us. If they cared, the flats wouldn’t look the way they do. This is all they care about.’ Val tapped her finger against one of the boards. ‘The stuff they can sell.’

Out of the six blocks depicted in the drawing that Jacquie and Val currently stood in front of, three had two-storey glass penthouses. ‘The only thing that matters here,’ Val continued, ‘is how much money can be made.’

‘What I want to know’ – Randall joined Jacquie and Val in front of the boards – ‘is where have all the black people gone? Do you see any?’

Val looked closely at the boards. ‘I can see one.’

‘Where?’

‘There. See?’ Val pointed to a single cyclist pedalling in the background of the drawing. Randall kissed his teeth. ‘Look,’ Val said, ‘and there’s a black woman sitting on that bench over there.

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