"Peter Kay does not give a monkey's toss for anything except his own life and his own film..."
Local youth worker Graham Cooper today attacked Peter Kay and his ITV film crew for their attitude towards local people which has seen rubbish dumped on the pavement and local kids upset.
Peter Kay and his crew appeared on Condor Place, off Whit Lane, twelve days ago to film the comedian's new drama, Cradle to Grave (see previous Salford Star article – click here). The crew re-opened the tinned up end house and residents say they saw the film company drop off bags of rubble and flags which were used at the back of the house to steady lighting rigs and cameras.
Twelve days later, the bags of rubble and bricks have been left open on the pavement, together with pallets, while large pieces of wood and bricks are strewn across the road.
"Salford Council and Salix Homes allow a film company to come into the area, film the estate and not give a damn about what they are leaving behind" says Graham who works with young people at Oliver's Youth Club "If I'd dumped that outside my house I'd be getting nicked for it, or if I did that as a neighbour on the estate I'd get taken to court for fly tipping."
"We run a youth club and try to teach young people about responsibility; looking after the area, respecting each other, and then they walk out of the door onto this estate and they must think `Why are we doing it because no-one else cares?'" he adds "Where's Councillor David Lancaster now with his video camera and trumpet? Because someone has been allowed to do this and get away with it, and no-one is in the slightest bit concerned about it. That just sums up what's been going on down here for a long, long time."
The Whit Lane estate was part of the ill-fated £53million New Deal for Communities (NDC) project, which has left tinned up houses unoccupied and the estate in limbo for almost 15 years. While yet another developer, Keepmoat is supposed to be on board to build new houses - 75% of which won't be affordable to the people who live here – the `Forgotten Estate', as it's known, has been left to rot. And the attitude of the Peter Kay crew is symptomatic of that neglect.
About fifty yards from the film set site, by more tinned up houses, security gates are mangled and there's a wall collapsing dangerously, surrounded by loose bricks. Old sofas, mattresses, shopping trolleys and rubbish scar the paths where the community walk to the one shop that's left on the estate.
Graham points to the contrast between the freshly cut grass on verges in the parts of the estate that are staying, and the overgrown patches of weeds that grow in the areas earmarked for `redevelopment'. It's the same social housing landlord, and only around twenty yards divide the spaces but, like Graham argues, "It's a different world"
"This is a Salix estate" he says "They need to get into gear and start tidying it up because people who live here deserve a quality of life. There must also be a legal responsibility on Salix or Salford Council to keep this estate tidy and danger free...but they've all walked away. No-one wants to touch it. There's glass everywhere, bricks, walls falling down...
"There's no councillors here challenging what's going on or trying to co-ordinate clean ups, and this just sums up what people who come from outside think of this area" he adds "They're more than happy to film in what they might call a `dump', but this estate is only like this because of people such as Salix, the Council and the old NDC group which is now `Non-Inspiring Communities'. They have all left this estate in limbo. You've got houses that were compulsorily purchased years ago that are now danger zones and no-one's interested in trying to resolve it."
The lack of respect for the area from Salford agencies extended to the production company and to Peter Kay himself...
"On the day of the filming loads of young people on the estate were really excited about it" Graham recalls "We we spoke to them saying `Let them get on with the filming and you'll get to see Peter Kay and some of the other actors and actresses and get autographs or whatever'. Then the kids were told that he was going for his lunch and would be back. But he had no intention of coming back. At 6pm they told all the kids that filming was finished and he wouldn't be coming back.
"That once again highlights to me that Peter Kay does not give a monkey's toss for anything except his own life and his own film, and it's the same with the film company" he adds "There were fifty kids here waiting with pens and paper for his signature, and you should have seen how upset they were when they found out he wasn't coming back. Yet all day the crew had asked them to be quiet, to not mess about and they respected that, based on the thought they were going to get autographs. He just rubbished them. And then left his rubbish here when they'd finished filming..."
The Salford Star contacted the BBC, which is handling press for Cradle To Grave production company ITV Studios. A spokesperson for production said, with no apology: "Following filming, the site was cleared. It has come to our attention that we missed some items and we have arranged for their immediate collection."
Update: Wed 13th 11am: The spokesperson has just added... "Could I clarify that we weren't fly tipping. For your background, we had arranged for all material to be picked up at the end of filming. Unfortunately, due to a misunderstanding, some items were left behind. When this came to our attention we immediately arranged for their collection, and we're sorry for any inconvenience caused..."
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