a “Public Works Depot” (in the 1960s, this was indeed the local PWD site) and Site G for a “Sunday School” Site C is now home to SOAR Works, an Enterprise Centre providing office, artist and workshop space to local businesses and individuals. The local cinema was The Ritz. Situated at the junction of Wordsworth Avenue and Southey Green Road, it opened in 1939 and closed as a cinema in 1966, although it continued as a bingo hall until 2001. The final film was shown on Wednesday 9 November 1966 – Kim Novak & Richard Johnson in “The Amorous Adventures Of Moll Flanders”. During the early years of the new millennium, the building was allowed to fall into ruin and became the victim of graffiti artists and arsonists alike. In the closing weeks of 2012, the bulldozers moved in and began dismantling this former "Palace of Laughter", completing the task in early 2013. Parson Cross’s most famous son is The Right Honourable David Blunkett (born 6 June 1947), who, despite being born totally blind, carved out a successful political career, rising to the post of Education Secretary and eventually Home Secretary. He announced that he would be retiring as an MP at the 2015 election. Olympic silver medallist Sheila Sherwood (Long Jump, Mexico 1968) is also a native of the estate. As Sheila Parkin, she attended local secondary modern school “Yew Lane”, later renamed "Yewlands", where, at the age of fifteen, she was appointed as Head-Girl. After a successful set of O-Level results, she transferred to a grammar school in nearby Ecclesfield to study for her A-Levels. Valerie Georgina Howarth, Baroness Howarth of Breckland, OBE (born 5 September 1940) was born and grew up on Buchanan Rd, and took the title of "Baroness of Parson Cross in the County of South Yorkshire" when she was made a life peer in 2001. She attended Southey School until the age of 11 when she transferred to the Girls High School at Abbeydale Grange. She was Head of Social Services for Brent Council and later worked alongside Esther Rantzen as Director of Childline In the late 1990s, the housing Authorities instigated a program of housing reduction. Many of the two-bedroom houses, especially those on and around Buchanan Road, were demolished, and the land they occupied left to grow wild. In 2012 some of these sites were developed as new housing facilities. This was