Clay Lane 50 Years Later.
When the estate was built it was a much quieter area with a more rural feel than at the present time. On the western boundary what was a quiet country road is now a busy dual carriageway Wheatley Hall Road which links into the A18 on the south side and onto the nearby M18. The northern boundary has been transformed from a quiet country road into a very busy road carrying a great deal of heavy traffic into the now industrial and commercial developed areas between Clay Lane and the River Don and the still growing areas of Edenthorpe and Kirk Sandall. The eastern boundary is clearly marked by the railway embankment carrying a once busy mineral line to the pit at Armthorpe and other areas of Doncaster. This line is now relatively quiet compared to twenty years ago. This setting is why the locals often refer to living on the island of Clay Lane.
Of the original 356 houses plus 7 flats just over a third of the properties have been bought under the "Right to Buy" scheme. With the problems in the homes market making it more difficult to sell we now have a small but growing number of private tenants on short leases in ex council properties.
The opening of the primary school in 1953 was followed by the building of a second school Curlew Middle School which opened in 1958.as by this time the estate was complete and the number of children on the estate necessitated the need for expansion of education facilities. Curlew School was built on the other side of Barnby Dunn Road on the northern edge of the estate. In the 1970s Hungerhill Comprehensive school was built at nearby Edenthorpe with parents on the estate been given the option of having their children going to this new school which is now the accepted system for children of the estate until they sit their GCSEs at 0 level. By 1994 the estate had gone the full circle and pupil numbers were falling at both the first and middle school and under the rationalisation of education in Doncaster it was decided to close Curlew School and make St George's a 4 to 11 primary school with a custom built nursery with 60 places. Although the residents had fought the closure of Curlew School on earlier occasions it was accepted that, sadly, it was not practical to keep it open any longer and the building of additional classrooms and the nursery at St George's site seemed a good option with the oldest year group going up to Hungerhill Comprehensive School a year earlier than they had in the past.
St George's and Curlew were amalgamated. In consultation with both boards of governors, tenants and residents on the estate, Diocesan representatives and the local church members it was decided that a new name was needed for the new school so St George's School became St Aidan's Church of England Primary School with just under 100 pupils in the main school plus 60 nursery places 30 in the morning and 30 in the afternoon which serves not only the estate but nearby communities of Edenthorpe, Kirk Sandal and Wheatley.
Like local authorities all over the country Doncaster does not have the resources it needs to carry out all the work the tenants would like. At the moment the properties on Clay Lane are in a reasonable condition. All the council houses have had UPVC windows fitted over the last two financial years, the Council has also given a commitment that all council houses will have central heating under the capital receipts initiative by the year 2002. The first phase of external painting will take place this financial year to some of the properties and hopefully be completed next year which will enhance the appearance of the properties. The most serious and possibly costly work that needs doing is to the Easiform properties, these concrete industrial type houses are suffering from 'spalling' of the concrete exposing the re-enforcing material to the elements and needs attention as soon as possible.
Sadly the other major problem is more of an environmental problem which is caused by the change in attitude to their council properties by of some of our newer tenants and residents. Older tenants and residents who have lived on the estate for anything up to 50 years took a pride in their gardens as much as in their homes and can remember the days when an officer of the council would put a card through the door if they did not do so, sadly even when they are able bodied it is not the case today. All that is required is that the grass and hedges are cut regularly no one is expected to be a budding Alan Titchmarsh or Percy Thrower depending on your age.
The seven shops which were originally built to serve the estate now face a big challenge from development in the area Tesco has a large store 1 mile away Sainsburys has a store across the road from the estate, Lidl and Netto have opened a stores within a mile of the estate. There are large national DIY, electrical etc stores all within a mile of the estate and this has made it difficult for anyone to sustain their business within the small shopping parade on the estate. We still have the newsagent, post office, chip shop, gent's hairdresser, and an electrical shop (recent relocated business) but one shop relies on external custom for its survival with one shop been empty. Over the last few years several of the shops ceased trading because they got into financial difficulties, sadly a sign of the times not only on Clay Lane but on many estates throughout the borough.
The Tenants & Residents Association meet on Tuesday evenings 7pm -9pm at The Clay Lane Information Shop & Community Centre
Labour Party Councillor surgery is held on the first Monday in every month 6.00pm - 6.30pm (If the Monday is a Bank Holiday then the surgery moves to the following week).
St. Aidan's C of E Church holds an informal Communion Service on the 1st and 3rd Friday of every month at 2.00pm which is conducted by Rev. D. Goss
Clay Lane Estate Partnership Ltd holds its monthly Open Meetings on the First Monday of every month from 6.30pm and Everyone from the estate is welcome
