This is the beginning of the end for the the St Pauls area of Cheltenham. However, it is only temporary, as new houses are going to replace parts of the 1930's estate. The estate is on the West side of town, close to the centre, and for decades has had a bad reputation, as the area is rife with vandalism, drugs and crime, although it is only the minority that give the estate this reputation. Unfortunatly mud sticks. In April 2005 the Council decided to demolish all 312 house but after protests from residents this number was reduced to 72. The streets facing demolition are parts of Hudson and Manser Street and all of Crabtree Place, and at the end of January this year the work started to reduce them to rubble. Many residents will move back into the new development and some say that the problems faced in the past will return too. I tend to agree with them. The problem isn't necessarily the buildings themselves, but some of the people in them.
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