Marsh Farm

Marsh Farm is a large housing estate in Luton, Bedfordshire near to Leagrave and Limbury, mainly of council and social housing.

The estate was built in the late 1960s, with a mixture of flats and houses as part of the post-war expansion of Luton. The estates at Farley Hill, Hockwell Ring and Stopsley were all built at about the same time. The council owned tower blocks that dominate the estate are called Lea Bank, Penhill and Five Springs, each is of a similar design and are 15 floors each reaching a total height of 44.20m. (145.0 feet)

The estate takes its name from the farm that owned much of the land that eventually became the estate. Marsh Farm was located by Leagrave Marsh and part of the old farmland is now Leagrave Park.

There are several schools and there is a leisure centre as well as a few popular play areas.

The estate was infamous in July 1995 when the social problems on the estate boiled over into three days of rioting. Although local police received the help of the Metropolitan Police riot squad to bring the situation under control, it was the rave organisers Exodus Collective who brought the riots to an end by staging an impromptu party out of town which drew 1500 young people from the area and calmed them down. The 1995 riots followed similar riots in the area in 1992.

Whilst many parts of the estate still look like a typical 1960s development, the estate has £50m of European money available for re-development and plans are being drawn up by the local council and other interested parties.

In the summer of 1999 some regeneration money was used to fund murals on the underpasses around the estate. The lead artist, Viv McIntyre, visited each school on the estate and carried out workshops with the pupils where they provided the images (based on given themes) to create the mural designs. A team of artists, including Emma Rhodes and Margaret Rhodes (artist), then worked with the children to transfer the designs from paper to the walls.