The History of Bowater House
Bowater House was built around 1968.
It is a nine storey council owned tower block which has 36 dwellings.
Bowater House is situated on the Lyng estate, West Bromwich. The Lyng estate covers over 40
acres and is now due for repairs. In total, the Lyng consists of about 1000 homes. It lies
between several major roads, Lyttleton Street, Lyng Lane and Moor Street, which is the main road
link between the local centres of West Bromwich and Oldbury. The Estate is a five minute
walk from West Bromwich town centre. Apart from social housing, the site also boasts two
churches, a parade of shops, a doctor's surgery, a local neighbourhood housing office and
a private social club. There is also a recreation ground nearby which covers approximately four acres.
Bowater House's Problems
- Bowater House has a flat roof.
- Bowater House is not in a high crime area
- A nine storey tower block is also not a place for pets,
and families often found themselves with insufficient space in their rented homes.
- The redevelopment of Bowater House is meant to get rid of these problems.
- The roof is being changed to a design that will stop rain water from collecting
- The community atmosphere around the Bowater House is
expected to minimise the problem of vandalism.
At present the Estate is a large housing project, with a maze of poorly lit
and badly defined pedestrian routes, poor access for private, service and emergency vehicles.
All the buildings were designed in a 'modern' style, typical of the 1960's.
The land area occupied by the present Lyng estate is a brown field site with one area
of contaminated fill and three mine shafts. This is another aspect of the project which
will provide an opportunity to demonstrate best practice and set up a model for brown field
redevelopment.
Bowater House menu.