TO the people who live there it is just another housing estate. However, to Government officials it is an important part of the region's cultural heritage.

The Byker Wall, the one-time home of Rat Boy, the juvenile delinquent who lived in its heating ducts, has won Grade II-listed building status.

Heritage Minister Andrew McIntosh said the Government had agreed to grant listed status after taking advice from English Heritage.

"Across Britain today, the old and the modern sit side by side and both have their place," he said.

"Post-war British architecture is full of examples of innovative but also practical approaches to design and living, reflecting the realities of life in the second half of the 20th Century.

"The merits of the best of these post-war buildings deserve listing in the same way as their older counterparts."

The Byker Wall estate arose from the huge slum clearance project in which a large swathe of Newcastle's East End was levelled for redevelopment. The project to create the estate began in 1969 and was completed in 1982.

Architect Ralph Erskine consulted residents on what they wanted before putting pen to paper.

The houses and flats he designed were built around concrete courtyards with seating areas called "natter places" where people could meet for a chat.

Since then the Byker Wall has become world famous and when council chiefs put forward partial demolition plans in 2001 there were cries of protest.

Earlier this month, Newcastle City Council responded to problems of crime and anti-social behaviour on the estate, announcing a £1.3m scheme to increase the number of closed-circuit television cameras from four to 12.

The main purpose of listing a building is to ensure that care will be taken over decisions affecting its future.

This means that any alterations or redevelopment must respect the particular character and interest of the building.

A Government statement about the area said: "Byker Estate is regarded as being both of historic and architectural importance, and has been influential on housing projects up to and including the Greenwich Millennium Village.

"The estate is regarded as a significant social achievement because of the carefully phased process of development that attempted to preserve the social infrastructure of the whole community.