Parkleys Estate is a highly influential 1950s development of flats by the pioneering architects/developers Eric Lyons and Geoffrey Townsend, the first of their large residential projects under the company Span Developments Ltd. This unique cluster of private flats was designed for first-time buyers, offering an innovative endowment mortgage, and is the first example of the successful residents’ management companies set up by Span.

Parkleys has been Grade II listed in recognition of its special historic and architectural interest. The estate consists of small blocks of flats in either a three-storey ‘H-plan’ shape with central entrance stairwell, or two-storey terraces positioned around shared courtyards. These flats are of brick construction with concrete-slab floors and flat roofs. They have large timber windows and distinctive concrete tile-hangings. Span was revolutionary in using such modern architectural design and mixing this with traditional materials.

Lyons’ Span developments are all about space and light, and blurring the edges between outside and indoor space. He paid great attention to the surrounding landscape, designing houses around existing mature trees and creating communal areas that encourage residents to mix. Span estates remain perennially popular with architects and designers in particular.