Fairstead, Norfolk
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[edit] Destination and brief history
The Fairstead Estate is a suburb of King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. The Fairstead Estate is located about three kilometres to the South-East of King's Lynn town-centre. The area is known as The Fairstead or just Fairstead to local people.
Fairstead spreads South-West in direction towards grass wasteland next to the main road that leads to the round about at the Queen Elizabeth hospital. To get to Fairstead, head past the hospital towards King's Lynn for approximately one and a half kilometres west. There are two entry points to Fairstead estate.
Fairstead is a recent development, the result of an overspill agreement that the borough council had with the Greater London Council in 1962; it commenced Lynn’s second industrial revolution (light engineering, chemicals, clothing, food processing). Fairstead was once a large farm (thus giving the name to the housing development), the Wildfowler pub on Gayton Road is believed to be the old farm house. King's Lynn itself has a rich history dating back over 1000 years.
[edit] Poverty and Crime
Although Fairstead looks very clean at the entrance to Winston Churchill Drive, it is in fact very violent area with significant poverty over much of its area. Evidence for poverty includes boarded up windows, loud disturbances (music and joy riding), bullying from neighbours, vandalism, arson, burglary, and murder. Needles used by drug addicts have been discovered in gutters and burnt out cars are often left in the street. The area is frequented by drug dealers. Approaching the industrial estate on its' perimeter is Fairstead Forest, a small but nightmareishly compact nest of mud, trees, drug paraphernalia and torn discarded clothing. Beyond this is a bleak, open wasteland of scrub overlooking a reservoir and the aforementioned industrial estate. The degradadation of this district has been gradual over a period of roughly 20 years and in the initial period after construction the area was hailed as a very modern, calm and pleasant area to live in.
Because of the dangers and abuse that goes on here, people are reluctant to move to the area, depressing prices of private property throughout the estate. Family houses in the area sell for as much as £120,000 significantly below typical prices of £150,000 to £200,000 in other areas of west Norfolk.
Some buildings have fallen into such disrepair that they have had to be bull-dosed and demolished.
[edit] Statistics
Fairstead has 2 schools. 1) Fairstead county primary school - A very large school. 2) Ethel-tipple school - A school for disabled people
Fairstead has its own minor shopping zone, called Centre Point in which there is a doctor's surgery, a chemist and about 4-6 other shops. It also includes a community hall that has a variety of uses. At the other end of the estate is Nirav's convenience store and a boarded up pub (formerly The Fairstead, formerly The Phoenix (as it was burnt down, a common occurrence on the estate), formerly The Fairstead again)
Fairstead has a small wooded area extending from the front of the school area and also a map of the area on the road side further towards to Winston Churchill entrance.
[edit] External links
Scam in which 18 Chinese people where smuggled into a house that burnt out for evidence of poverty.
