![Hurlfordfromkerrmuir](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Hurlfordfromkerrmuir.jpg)
A council house is a form of British
public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...
built by
local authorities
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
. A council estate is a building complex containing a number of council houses and other amenities like schools and shops. Construction took place mainly from 1919 after the
Housing Act 1919
The Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1919 (c 35) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was also known as the Addison Act after Minister of Health, Christopher Addison, who was Minister for Housing. The Act was passed to allow the ...
to the 1980s, with much less council housing built since then. There were local design variations, but they all adhered to local authority building standards. The Housing Acts of
1985 and
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
facilitated the transfer of council housing to not-for-profit
housing associations
In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, non-profit making organisations that provide low-cost "social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budget surplus is used to maintain existing housing and to help fin ...
with access to private finance, and these new housing associations became the providers of most new public-sector housing. By 2003, 36.5% of the social rented housing stock was held by housing associations.
History
House design in the United Kingdom is defined by a series of Housing Acts, and public housing house design is defined by government directives and central governments' relationship with local authorities. From the first interventions in the
Public Health Act 1875, council houses could be general housing for the
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
, general housing, part of
slum clearance
Slum clearance, slum eviction or slum removal is an urban renewal strategy used to transform low income settlements with poor reputation into another type of development or housing. This has long been a strategy for redeveloping urban communities; ...
programmes or just homes provided for the most needy. They could be funded directly by local councils, through central government incentive or by revenue obtained when other houses were sold. Increasingly, they have been transferred through the instrument of
housing association
In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, Non-profit organization, non-profit making organisations that provide low-cost "Public housing in the United Kingdom, social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budge ...
s into the private sector.
First World War housing
Woolwich Borough Council was responsible for the
Well Hall Estate designed for workers at the munition factories at Woolwich Arsenal. The estate and the house were built to the
garden suburb
The garden city movement was a 20th century urban planning movement promoting satellite communities surrounding the central city and separated with greenbelts. These Garden Cities would contain proportionate areas of residences, industry, and ...
philosophy: houses were all different. The estate received the royal seal of approval when, on Friday 24 March 1916,
Queen Mary made an unannounced visit.
Interwar housing
A programme of council house building started after the First World War following on from the
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
’s government’s
Housing Act of 1919. The 'Addison Act' brought in subsidies for council house building and aimed to provide 500,000 "homes fit for heroes" within a three-year period although less than half of this target was met.
The housing built comprised three-bedroom dwellings with parlour and scullery: larger properties also include a living room. The standards are based on the
Tudor Walters Report of 1919, and the Design Manual written according to the 1913 building standards.
In 1923 the
Chamberlain Act withdrew subsidies for council houses except for private builders and houses for sale. Councils could undertake to build houses and offer these for sale but also to sell off some of their existing properties. This was essentially reversed by the incoming
Labour government of 1924. The
Wheatley Act (1924) passed by the new Labour Government introduced higher subsidies for council housing and also allowed for a contribution to be made from the rates. The housing revenue account was always separated from the general account. This was a major period of council house construction.
The
Housing Act 1930
The Housing Act 1930, 20 & 21 George 5 c.39, otherwise known as the Greenwood Act, is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It encouraged mass slum clearance and councils to set to work to demolish poor quality housing and replace it wi ...
stimulated slum clearance, i.e., the destruction of inadequate houses in the inner cities that had been built before the 1875 Act. This released land for housing and the need for smaller two bedroomed houses to replace the two-up two-down houses that had been demolished. Smaller three bedroom properties were also built. The
Housing Act 1935
The Housing Act 1935 is an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It required every local authority to submit a programme of building and demolition aimed at Slum clearance in the United Kingdom, eliminat ...
led to a continuation of this policy, but the
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
stopped all construction, and enemy action reduced the usable housing stock.
Post-World War II housing
Prefabs
The
Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act 1944
The Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act 1944 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (7 & 8 Geo. VI c. 36) which was passed in order to provide solutions to the housing crisis which occurred at the end of World War II.
The Act was th ...
led to the building of
prefab
Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term is u ...
bungalows with a design life of ten years. Innovative steel-framed properties were also tried in an attempt to speed up construction. A number survive well into the 21st century, a testament to the durability of a series of housing designs and construction methods only envisaged to last 10 years.
The
Burt Committee
The Burt Committee was a working party set up by the government of the United Kingdom during World War II to provide guidance on the housing shortage.
The committee had the correct title of the ''Interdepartmental Committee on House Construction'' ...
, formed in 1942 by the wartime government of Winston Churchill, proposed to address the need for an anticipated 200,000 shortfall in post-war housing stock, by building 500,000
prefabricated house
Prefabricated homes, often referred to as prefab homes or simply prefabs, are specialist dwelling types of prefabricated building, which are manufactured off-site in advance, usually in standard sections that can be easily shipped and assembled. ...
s, with a planned life of up to 10 years within five years of the end of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The eventual bill, under the
post-war Labour government of Prime Minister
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...
, agreed to deliver 300,000 units within 10 years, within a budget of £150m. Of 1.2 million new houses built from 1945 to 1951 when the programme officially ended, 156,623 prefab houses were constructed.
New Towns Act housing
Mainly during the immediate post-war years, and well into the 1950s, council house provision was shaped by the
New Towns Act 1946
The New Towns Acts were a series of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to found new settlements or to expand substantially existing ones, to establish Development Corporations to deliver them, and to create a Commission to wind up the ...
and the
Town and Country Planning Act 1947
The Town and Country Planning Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. VI c. 51) was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom passed by the Labour government led by Clement Attlee. It came into effect on 1 July 1948, and along with the Town and Country Plannin ...
of the 1945–51 Labour government. At the same time this government introduced housing legislation that removed
explicit
Explicit refers to something that is specific, clear, or detailed. It can also mean:
* Explicit knowledge, knowledge that can be readily articulated, codified and transmitted to others
* Explicit (text) The explicit (from Latin ''explicitus est'', ...
references to housing for the
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
and introduced the concept of "general needs" construction (i.e., that council housing should aim to fill the needs for a wide range of society). In particular,
Aneurin Bevan, the
Minister for Health and Housing, promoted a vision of new estates where "the working man, the doctor and the clergyman will live in close proximity to each other".
Landlord's obligations
A landlord's obligations are set out in several pieces of legislation, including the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, which applies to tenancies entered into after 1961. In summary, section 11 provides that a landlord shall:
* keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling, including drains, gutters and external pipes;
* keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling for the supply of water, gas, and electricity, and for sanitation (including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences, but not other fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity), and keep in repair and proper working order the installation in the dwelling for space heating and heating water.
If a landlord refuses to repair a rented property, the tenant can take action to require them to carry out necessary works and claim compensation.
Design
Addison Act housing (1918–1923)
The
Addison Act 1919 houses were usually three-bedroom houses with a
living room
In Western architecture, a living room, also called a lounge room (Australian English), lounge (British English), sitting room (British English), or drawing room, is a room for relaxing and socializing in a residential house or apartment. Su ...
and
scullery
A scullery is a room in a house, traditionally used for washing up dishes and laundering clothes, or as an overflow kitchen. Tasks performed in the scullery include cleaning dishes and cooking utensils (or storing them), occasional kitchen work, ...
, sometimes also with a
parlour
A parlour (or parlor) is a reception room or public space. In medieval Christian Europe, the "outer parlour" was the room where the monks or nuns conducted business with those outside the monastery and the "inner parlour" was used for necessar ...
. Some had two, four, or even five bedrooms, as well as generously sized back gardens intended for vegetable growing. At most, they were built at 3,000/km
2. They were generally built to the recommendations of the
Tudor Walters Report The Tudor Walters Report on housing was produced by the Tudor Walters Committee of the United Kingdom Parliament in November 1918. Its recommendation set the standards for council house design and location for the next 90 years.
The committee
Tudo ...
. Examples are found in
Downham
Downham is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It borders the London Borough of Bromley, and is located north of Bromley and south of Catford.
Downham was named in honour of Lord Downham, who was ...
,
Watling Estate
The Watling Estate is in Burnt Oak, in the Edgware district of the London Borough of Barnet. It was one of twelve London County Council cottage estates built between the wars to provide "homes fit for heroes". There are 4032 homes set in .
Loca ...
, and
Becontree
Becontree or Both pronunciations are given as Received Pronunciation in the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, but the form is prioritised (). The dialectologist Peter Wright wrote in 1981 that is the traditional pronunciation in the cockney ...
.
Tudor Walters Committee recommendations
{, class="wikitable"
, +Tudor Walters Committee recommendations
!House without a parlour
!Area sq ft (m
2 )
!Volume cu ft (m
3 )
!
!House with a parlour
!Area sq ft (m
2 )
!Volume cu ft (m
3 )
, -
,
,
,
!
, Parlour
,
,
, -
, Living room
,
,
!
, Living room
,
,
, -
, Scullery
,
,
!
, Scullery
,
,
, -
, Larder
,
, –
!
, Larder
,
, –
, -
, Bedroom No. 1
,
,
!
, Bedroom No. 1
,
,
, -
, Bedroom No. 2
,
,
!
, Bedroom No. 2
,
,
, -
, Bedroom No. 3
,
,
!
, Bedroom No. 3
,
,
, -
, Total
,
,
!
,
,
,
, -
, colspan="7" , Desirable minimum sizes, Tudor Walters Committee
Labour government homes (1924–1930)
The Addison Act 1919, and the severe housing shortage in the early 1920s created the first generation of houses to feature electricity, running water, bathrooms, indoor toilets and front/rear gardens. However, until well into the 1930s, some were built with outdoor toilets. Some did not feature an actual bathroom; the bath could often be found in the kitchen with a design which allowed it to double as a work surface.
The
Chamberlain Act 1923 reduced the expected standards. The
Wheatley Act 1924 attempted to restore some of them. Under the Addison Act, a house would be but after 1924 it would be . This was a major period of council house construction.
Smaller houses (1931–1939)
With the
Housing Act of 1930, otherwise known as the
Greenwood Act, the government signalled a change of priority, slum clearance.
Pre-regulation terraced housing was to be cleared and the residents rehoused in new council houses.
There was a cut in funding and the housing density on the
peripheral estates was increased leading to a poorer build quality. The former tenants of the inner city properties were displaced far from their workplaces unable to afford the higher rents (though reduced from the 1919 levels) or the cost of transport. Stable communities were broken up, and with it support networks.
Temporary prefabs (1941–1950)
![Phoenix prefab](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Phoenix_prefab.jpg)
All prefab units approved by the Ministry of Works had to have a minimum floor space size of , and the sections should be less than 7' 6" (2.3 m) wide.
These "service units" had to include a combined back-to-back prefabricated kitchen that backed onto a prebuilt bathroom, so water pipes, waste pipes and electrical distribution were all in the same place, and hence easy to install.
The house retained a coal-fire, with a
back boiler to create both
central heating
A central heating system provides warmth to a number of spaces within a building from one main source of heat. It is a component of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (short: HVAC) systems, which can both cool and warm interior spaces.
...
and a constant supply of hot water. Thus it had a bathroom included a flushing toilet and man-sized bath with hot running water. In the kitchen were a built-in oven, refrigerator and baxi water heater. All prefabs under the housing act came pre-decorated in
magnolia
''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...
, with gloss-green on all additional wood, including the door trimmings and skirting boards.
Pre-cast reinforced concrete
Parker Morris homes
The
Parker Morris Committee drew up an influential 1961 report on housing space standards in
public housing in the United Kingdom
Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...
titled ''Homes for Today and Tomorrow''. The report concluded that the quality of social housing needed to be improved to match the rise in living standards. Out of the report came the Parker Morris Standards. In 1963 these were set out in the Ministry of Housing's "Design Bulletin 6 – Space in the Home". They became mandatory for all council houses from 1967 until 1980.
Among the
Parker Morris standards were the requirements saying that:
*In one-, two- and three-bedroom dwellings, one
flushing toilet
A flush toilet (also known as a flushing toilet, water closet (WC) – see also toilet names) is a toilet that disposes of human waste (principally urine and feces) by using the force of water to ''flush'' it through a drainpipe to another lo ...
is required, and it may be in the bathroom.
*A semi-detached or end-of-
terrace house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...
for four people should have a net floor area of 72 m
2.
*A dwelling for three or more people should have enclosed storage space for the kitchen of 2.3 cubic metres.
*Dwellings should be fitted with heating systems that maintain the kitchen and circulation space at 13 °C, and the living and dining spaces at 18 °C, when the external temperature is -1 °C.
Tower blocks
![Sheffield - renovated Park Hill flats](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Sheffield_-_renovated_Park_Hill_flats.jpg)
Particularly in larger cities, councils built high-rise blocks from the 1960s to the 1980s to accommodate a high
density
Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematical ...
of dwellings at relatively low cost. Notable schemes include
Park Hill in Sheffield,
Hulme Crescents in Manchester,
Cottingley in Leeds,
Churchill Gardens
Churchill Gardens is a large housing estate in the Pimlico area of Westminster, London. The estate was developed between 1946 and 1962 to a design by the architects Powell and Moya, replacing Victorian terraced houses extensively damaged durin ...
in London, and
many examples in Glasgow.
Radburn Style Estates 1970s
![St Ann's Hungerhill Road Abbotsford Drive 6437](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/St_Ann%27s_Hungerhill_Road_Abbotsford_Drive_6437.JPG)
The Radburn housing layout that aimed to separate cars from housing was used extensively in new towns. As a result, the houses are accessible to the front only by footpaths. This has created areas with poor surveillance, particularly over car parking at the rear, which have become the focus of crime. In Skelmersdale, tenants are calling for their Radburn style housing to be remodelled so that defensible space is created with parking close to their homes and a reduction in general use areas which give rise to anti-social behaviour.
21st century revival
There was a revival in council housebuilding in the 2010s, with a focus on energy efficiency. Schemes such as
Accordia
Accordia is a housing development in Cambridge, England. The site includes 378 dwellings by Feilden Clegg Bradley Architects, Maccreanor Lavington and Alison Brooks Architects and has been constructed in three phases. The first phase of the ...
in Cambridge and Goldsmith Street in Norwich have won awards. In London, space standards have been reintroduced via the
London Plan
The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Greater London area in the United Kingdom that is written by the Mayor of London and published by the Greater London Authority.
The regional planning document was first pu ...
, and councils including
Southwark
Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
and
Hounslow
Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in Gr ...
are building thousands of new council houses.
Historical statistics on housing construction
Dwellings completed by local authorities, New Towns, and the
Scottish Housing Association, 1945–80 (thousands)
{, class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
, +Dwellings completed 1945–80
, -
! Year !! England and Wales !! Scotland
, -
, 1945–50 (annual average) , , 96.3 , , 14.3
, -
, 1951–55 (annual average) , , 188.1 , , 30.9
, -
, 1956–60 (annual average) , , 124.4 , , 25.9
, -
, 1961 , , 98.5 , , 20.1
, -
, 1962 , , 111.7 , , 19.0
, -
, 1963 , , 102.4 , , 21.6
, -
, 1964 , , 126.1 , , 29.5
, -
, 1965 , , 140.9 , , 27.6
, -
, 1966 , , 142.4 , , 28.2
, -
, 1967 , , 159.3 , , 34.0
, -
, 1968 , , 148.0 , , 33.3
, -
, 1969 , , 139.9 , , 34.3
, -
, 1970 , , 134.9 , , 34.4
, -
, 1971 , , 117.2 , , 28.6
, -
, 1972 , , 93.6 , , 19.6
, -
, 1973 , , 79.3 , , 17.3
, -
, 1974 , , 99.4 , , 16.2
, -
, 1975 , , 122.9 , , 22.8
, -
, 1976 , , 124.2 , , 21.2
, -
, 1977 , , 121.2 , , 14.3
, -
, 1978 , , 96.8 , , 9.9
, -
, 1979 , , 75.0 , , 7.9
, -
, 1980 , , 77.1 , , 7.0
See also
*
List of large council estates in the UK
This is a list of notable council estates. Public housing in the United Kingdom has typically consisted of council houses, often built in the form of large estates by local government councils.
Becontree in The London Borough of Barking & Dag ...
*
Public housing in the United Kingdom
Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...
*
Affordable housing
Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affo ...
*
Subsidized housing
Subsidized housing is government sponsored economic assistance aimed towards alleviating housing costs and expenses for impoverished people with low to moderate incomes. In the United States, subsidized housing is often called "affordable housin ...
*
Housing estate
A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country.
Popular throughout the United States a ...
*
New Towns in the United Kingdom
The new towns in the United Kingdom were planned under the powers of the New Towns Act 1946 and later acts to relocate populations in poor or bombed-out housing following the Second World War. They were developed in three waves. Later developments ...
References
;Bibliography
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External links
BBC NEWS: "Council home for sale at £895,000".Website of the campaign to "Defend Council Housing" against privatisation.Social Housing Law Association.Describing how mutual exchange schemes operate.
Recollections of former and current residents of the Harold Hill council estate.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Council House
House types
Public housing in the United Kingdom
Housing in the United Kingdom