Description: Documentary about run down estates of council housing, how they reach this state and strategies for dealing with their problems that avoid demolition. In 1979 the Department of the Environment began their Priority Estates Project in three areas: the GLC's Tulse Hill Estate in Brixton; the Wenlock Barn Estate in Shoreditch, Hackney; and The Willows in Bolton. On the Tulse Hill estate, there are interviews with Department of the Environment consultant Anne Power. Norman Burke, Head of Housing Management, for the GLC and Trudie Cooke, of the Tulse Hill Tenants Association reveal how changes have been made for the better in Lambeth. The Department appointed consultants to these three estates and from their work drew up six points of action to improve the situation on hard to let estates: 1) Improvement of security. George Varaghese, from the London Borough of Lambeth describes the problems of crime faced on the Stockwell Park estate, Lambeth, and how they were solved through the introduction of community policing. Jean Styles of the Stockwell Park Tenants Association speaks about the methods used to reduce other problems including changing the layout of the estate through limiting the access points, restricting access to a few roads on estate, as well as reducing speed limits, restricting cars, and introducing entry phones and video entry. Jack Shaw of the Charecroft Tenants Association adds his thoughts on the reduction in crime. 2) Improving the physical condition of properties. Lesley Andrews, the Department of the Environment consultant on the Willows Estate, Bolton speaks about refurbishing building exteriors, providing new kitchens and bathrooms and making local agreements with residents on upkeep. Peter Liddell a Landscape Architect in Bolton speaks about the environmental improvements, and resident involvement in landscaping. Derek Green, Director of Housing for Bury St Edmunds speaks about the stigma associated with the Prio''s Estate in that city and how it was lifted through a Local Authority facelift of the estate with modernization and environmental improvements. 3) Changing letting policy. Alan Jones, District Housing manager for Dudley speaks about the problems of letting multi-storey flats to families in tower blocks in Stourbridge, and how they are letting them to the over 40s instead. Peter Atkinson of Liverpool Polytechnic speaks about how Liverpool council reallocated two difficult to let tower blocks to the polytechnic for repurposing as student accommodation. 4) Introducing locally based estate management. Tony Shoults, Director of Housing for Hackney and Ann Blaber, the Department of the Environment consultant for the Wenlock Barn estate in Hackney speak about locally based works team, decentralisation, and estate budgeting. 5) Facilitating tenant participation. John Roe, the Director of Housing for Bolton speaks about supporting tenant participation in Bolton where residents of The Willows have started a community newspaper Willows World and converted a waste area into playground and allotments. Denis Sannachan of the Speirs Housing Management Coop and Jill Paton, Development Officer for the Speirs Coop Estate speak about their estate in the Yoker district of Glasgow, where tenants have decided what changes are made to their estate and the substance of the modernisation programme. 6) Offering properties for sale. John Gray, Director of Housing, Newcastle speaks about the advantages of selling difficult to let flats after converting them to houses. In Kingshurst, Solihull some blocks of flats have also been sold off as starter homes. Alan Jolley the Estates Officer for Skelmersdale speaks about sales on a Skelmersdale Newtown estate left mainly empty after local employer Courtaulds closed down and workers moved away. The houses (many vandalised) were then sold at knock down prices as they stood. The resulting sales stopped the estate decline. On the August Estate in Toxteth, Liverpool a plan to refurbish blocks by Barretts to sell to first time buyers is introduced.