Nottingham City Homes Celebrating 100 Years of Council Housing
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A History of Nottingham’s Council Houses HOMES & PLACES Chris Matthews Centenary Edition Nottingham City Homes Celebrating 100 years of Council Housing Red Lion Street, 1919 (Courtesy Nottingham City Council and www.picturenottingham.co.uk) Homes & Places A History of Nottingham’s Council Houses Chris Matthews Research and editorial support by Dan Lucas Second Edition Homes and Places: A History of Nottingham’s Council Houses by Chris Matthews Research and editorial support by Dan Lucas Second Edition Published in PDF format, 2019 by Nottingham City Homes Copyright (c) Chris Matthews and Nottingham City Homes ISBN: 978-0-9934093-4-9 Design by Chris Matthews Contents Reviews 7 Foreword 9 Author’s preface 11 Introduction 15 1. The Old Problem 1787–1914 25 2. Inter-war Success 1919–1939 35 3. Post-war Rebuilding 1945–1959 49 4. Clearance and High-rise 1960–1969 59 5. Clearance and Low-rise 1970–1979 75 6. Right to Buy, but No Right to Build 1980–2004 89 7. To Build Again 2005-2019 101 Conclusion: 100 Years Since the Addison Act 117 Appendix: Council Housing Estates in Nottingham 123 Acknowledgements 135 Index 139 Reviews “Of local histories, this is undoubtedly the pick “I heartily recommend this attractive, well of the crop.” researched book.” The Guardian, April 2018 Ken Brand, Nottingham Civic Society, Newsletter, January 2016 “It’s a pleasure to see this fine account of Nottingham’s council housing history. It’s a “Nottingham is a city that has been shaped, story well worth telling and one – in Notting- developed and grown on these homes.” ham and elsewhere – that this blog has sought Left Lion, February 2016 to share. Above all, it is a people’s history, “A book celebrating a city’s social housing a history of homes and communities but it was a surprise Christmas hit.” encompasses high (and low) politics too, archi- BBC Nottingham, December 2016 tecture and planning and much, much else: a history of concern to anyone interested in the “Wonderfully put together.” fabric – in the broadest sense – of our society.” The Nottinghamshire Historian, 2016 John Boughton, Author Municipal Dreams “I know a good local history when I read (online) one and, I promise you, this is good... Truly “The rise of social housing in this country wonderful stuff which swells the heart and provided what has been called the ‘biggest puffs out the chest.” collective leap in living standards in British Robert Howard, former reviews editor history.’” for Local History Magazine, 2015 Rt Hon Teresa May MP, Prime Minister, “This is such an imaginative endeavour – we September 2018 probably all think we know about council “It tells a compelling story of mistakes and housing but I don't suppose the knowledge triumphs, missed opportunities and pioneering on this subject has been drawn together policies.” before in this way. It's an important social Nottingham Post, December 2015 document and is engaging and entertaining as well.” “Chris Matthews’ concise and accessible Chris Leslie, MP for Nottingham East history of Nottingham’s council houses is a timely reminder of the importance of social “I got it for Christmas and just finished housing on a personal, social and political it. Really fascinating and a pretty honest level. Whilst his book will be of particular account I thought.” interest to readers with a connection to Tom Copley, London Assembly Member & Nottingham, it will hold a broader appeal Deputy Chair of the Assembly’s Housing for anyone with an interest in the politics of Committee, 2016 housing, social mobility and urban planning ... It would make a useful addition to reading lists for undergraduate housing-related and social policy courses and benefit readers who are seeking a general introduction to the history and role of social housing in the UK.” Richard Machin, Staffordshire University, May 2016 7 8 Foreword Council housing is a valuable asset for Today, there’s a much bigger crisis thanks the country. In Nottingham we know that to the lack of affordable housing, and the a decent, secure, affordable home forms national scandal of homelessness has the bedrock for a decent quality of life - shown the urgent need for more decent, somewhere healthy to raise your family, or good quality homes that people can afford. grow old comfortably in your own home. Through Nottingham City Homes, Nottingham But much more than that; council housing City Council is once again building council is good for our economy, building good housing, with genuinely affordable homes quality homes that contribute towards the built to high design and sustainability stability and vitality of local communities. standards, learning from the mistakes of the past and creating homes and places 2019 marks one hundred years since the where future generations will want to live. passing of the Housing and Town Planning Act 1919, better known as the Addison Act, This book celebrates the housing after Christopher Addison, the Minister who achievements of the City of Nottingham. implemented it. The Act delivered Prime We hope it faithfully records the Minister David Lloyd George’s pledge that the endeavours of all those who have nation would have ‘Homes fit for heroes’. contributed to providing a decent home for Nottingham’s residents over the years. This book is part of Nottingham’s contribution to celebrating that anniversary. We’d like to dedicate this book to our residents, past present and future – The story of council housing is one of great since any story of housing is really the municipal endeavour. Council housing story of the people who live in it. has provided homes for millions over the last hundred years, and for many has Cllr Linda Woodings been the only opportunity of a home that Portfolio Holder for Housing, Planning is both decent and affordable. The story and Heritage, Nottingham City Council of council housing in Nottingham holds a Nick Murphy mirror to the national picture, and shows the Chief Executive, Nottingham City Homes impact of wider policies at a local level. Malcolm Sharp MBE Early development of council housing in Chair of the Board, Nottingham City Homes Nottingham delivered people from living in slums, and provided secure homes for many for the first time. Its success led to more and more homes being built. But over the decades, national housing policy, underfunding and poor building decisions led to a crisis in council housing, and the building of new homes ground to a halt. 9 ! The Cliff Road Estate, c.1970, with the cliff of the Lace Market in the distance. Roughly the same location as Knotted Alley pictured on page 14. The Cliff Road estate was built following the slum clearance of Narrow Marsh during the early 1930s (Courtesy Nottingham City Council and www.picturenottingham.co.uk) 10 Author’s preface “But the town’s alright,” he said; “it’s only temporary. This is the crude, clumsy make- shift we’ve practised on, till we find out what the idea is. The town will come all right.” D. H. Lawrence, Sons & Lovers, 1913 In April 2015 Nottingham City Homes asked if I would consider writing a book about the history of council housing in Nottingham. Their aims were ambitious: approximately 15,000 words, 120 images and 1000 printed copies by the September of that year. I was understand- ably apprehensive but I was also impressed by the motives and organisational commit- ment. Our agreed brief was for a ‘warts and all story’ that would combine academic integrity with enjoyable prose and good design. More importantly this was recognised as a big story that hadn’t really been tied together, despite numerous focused studies by academics and local historians. If executed well this book could be popular and create a more informed understanding of social housing. By Christmas of that year the book became a local best seller and had generated a considerable degree of positive publicity. But this feeling of accomplishment was under a cloud of uncertainty, as the latest government housing policies were having a negative impact upon the long-term viability of council hous- ing. In short, the levels of right-to-buy discount coupled with tighter controls on spending were # Brick built council housing near rather perilous. It felt as though there was a risk Glapton Lane, Clifton. Designed of writing an obituary. to contrast with the neighbouring The tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire Wimpey concrete houses and in 2017 may have created a turning point; it preserve the rural character of the ancient village of Glapton (Courtesy seems central government is again seeing the Nottingham City Council and value of social housing for creating a stable www.picturenottingham.co.uk) civil society. The main examples of a new approach are the scrapping of the ‘borrowing cap’ for local authority housing, permitting a more flexible approach to finance for council housing, and improved rights for tenants. 11 Author's preface # A prefab house, Staverton Road, Bilborough, c.1970 (Courtesy Nottingham City Council and www.picturenottingham.co.uk) 12 Author's preface The Prime Minister even quoted from the first edition of this book during a speech to the National Housing Federation. Oddly enough, we have been here before. This story has attracted national attention on numerous occa- sions; from the slums of the 1840s, to the scale of interwar developments and the pioneering right-to-buys of the 1970s. The first edition of this book has since sold out and recouped the original cost of the project. Demand has outstripped supply, and so it is timely therefore that Nottingham City Homes should commission a second edition on the centenary of the 1919 Addison Act, an Act seen by many as marking a turn in govern- ment policy towards building council homes on a large scale.