Built in 1935 when budgets were tight and materials scarce, many of the flats were damp, cramped and old fashioned. But that didn’t stop the residents of Bradford’s Sloan Square having an immense sense of community spirit and resilience.
In 1974, opportunity came along for the for the staff of the Whetley Voice and the long-suffering residents to finally have their say regarding community newspapers. The square and its residents, who had so often been neglected or forgotten, were now providing the centre piece for the BBC-2’s Access programme, Open Door.
Although the programme had already featured several community groups from all over the country, it had never considered a community newspaper, and the role it could play, until receiving editor Colin Mennell’s application form.
The result, three days of intensive shooting for a 30-minute film of Sloan Square and the Whetley Lane area, with the willing and wildly enthusiastic help, and occasional hindrance, of children in the area, not to mention a half dozen or more dogs.
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