English Heritage — Season 1, Episode 2: Romancing the Stone
Documentary • 60 min • 1 season, 4 episodes
Episode synopsis
Chief executive Simon Thurley's programme of modernisation leads to the project of saving Sheffield's Park Hill Estate, a crumbling 1950s monolith that dominated the city's skyline. The decision to list the site proved highly unpopular with the local population and plunged English Heritage into a bitter dispute, costing the taxpayer over ~£40 million. It also brought one of the UK's major property developers to the brink of collapse after the onset of the credit crunch meant they ran out of money. Could Thurley find a way forward to restore this eyesore?
About English Heritage
An observational documentary series made over four years, following four stories of properties whose conservation falls under the guardianship of English Heritage and its controversial chief executive, Simon Thurley.