THE year is 1960 and a new Southampton was taking shape and rising out of the heart of old communities that had been waiting to be redeveloped since the end of the Second World War.

At the time the new Northam block of flats was, at 16 storeys high, one of the tallest structures of its type in the country.

The building, which used 6,000 tons of masonry in its construction, was due to be completed by the end of the year at a total cost of £150,000.

The photograph taken in the spring 60 years ago also shows the new row of shops and flats running from the high-rise towards the bottom right-hand side of the picture.

Around, large areas of cleared space await development while to the immediate left of the block are groundworks for other construction