Rosie Niven

Regeneration on TV normally has more to do with Doctor Who than downtrodden estates. But this week, regeneration people finally got some recognition from broadcasters with BBC1’s The Estate We’re In.

The five part series saw Silla Carron transplanted from her London council estate to a notorious estate in Plymouth. There the grandmother, who’d won the accolade of Neighbour of the Year, was charged with turning around Wolseley Road Flats in the same way as she transformed her own estate in Camden.

During the week, viewers saw Silla get the council to repaint the estate, organise a litter pick and spread the message to residents that they have to vigilant about who they allow into the flats. By episode five things were certainly looking up for the Wolseley Road flats and residents were starting to feel the benefit of their efforts.

Unfortunately, many people would have missed the residents efforts because the programme was broadcast at 9.15am. However, you can watch episodes on the BBC’s iPlayer for a few more days – check the BBC Website for details.

Let’s hope The Estate We’re In marks the start of more coverage of regeneration on TV. It’s certainly an improvement on the Channel Four vehicle Streets Ahead, which seemed to suggest that most neighbourhood problems could be solved by a lick of paint.

Channel Four are also behind The Castleford Project, which is dubbed ‘the world’s first televised regeneration project’.

There have been at least two Doctor Whos since Channel Four started filming in 2003, yet nothing has been screened. This goes to show how long regeneration takes in reality – perhaps this is the real reason why regeneration gets so little coverage in the mass media.