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44-551: Newport Pagnell was a rural district in the administrative county of Buckinghamshire , England, from 1894 to 1974, covering an area in the north-east of the county. The district had its origins in the Newport Pagnell Poor Law Union , which had been created in 1835, covering Newport Pagnell itself and several surrounding parishes. In 1872 sanitary districts were established, giving public health and local government responsibilities for rural areas to

88-525: A parlour . 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 . They were generally built to the recommendations of the Tudor Walters Report . Examples are found in Downham , Watling Estate , and Becontree . The Addison Act 1919, and the severe housing shortage in the early 1920s created

132-615: 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. Mainly during the immediate post-war years, and well into the 1950s, council house provision was shaped by the New Towns Act 1946 ( 9 & 10 Geo. 6 . c. 68) and the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 of the 1945–51 Labour government. At the same time this government introduced housing legislation that removed explicit references to housing for

176-545: A coal-fire, with a back boiler to create both central heating 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 , with gloss-green on all additional wood, including the door trimmings and skirting boards. The Parker Morris Committee drew up an influential 1961 report on housing space standards in public housing in

220-551: 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

264-512: A row of rat infested cottages. 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 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. A programme of council house building started after

308-405: A rural district was a doughnut-shaped ring around a town (which would be either an urban district or a municipal borough ). A good example of this is Melton and Belvoir Rural District , which surrounded the town of Melton Mowbray . Some rural districts were fragmented, consisting of a number of detached parts , such as Wigan Rural District . Some rural districts had a more rounded shape and had

352-542: A small town or village as the administrative centre. A few rural districts consisted of only one parish (for example, Tintwistle Rural District , Alston with Garrigill Rural District , South Mimms Rural District , King's Lynn Rural District , Disley Rural District and Crowland Rural District ). In such districts there was no separate parish council, and the rural district council exercised its functions. All rural districts in England and Wales were abolished in 1974 (by

396-570: Is a form of British public housing built by local authorities . 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 to 1980s, as a result of the Housing Act 1919 . Though more council houses have been built since then, fewer have been built in recent years. Local design variations exist, however all followed local authority building standards. The Housing Acts of 1985 and 1988 facilitated

440-813: The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 . They were subdivided into district electoral divisions . In 1921, Ireland was partitioned with Northern Ireland remaining within the United Kingdom, and the rest of the country leaving as the Irish Free State in 1922. In the Irish Free State, rural districts outside of County Dublin were abolished in 1925 under the Local Government Act 1925 amid widespread accusations of corruption . Their functions were transferred to

484-574: The Local Government Act 1972 ) and were typically merged with nearby urban districts or boroughs to form " districts ", which included both urban and rural areas. See Rural districts formed in England and Wales 1894–1974 for the districts created in 1894; List of rural and urban districts in England , and List of rural and urban districts in Wales for a list of rural districts at abolition in 1974. Rural districts were created in Ireland in 1899 under

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528-803: The Parker Morris standards were the requirements saying that: Particularly in larger cities, councils built high-rise blocks from the 1960s to the 1980s to accommodate a high density of dwellings at relatively low cost. Notable schemes include Park Hill in Sheffield, Hulme Crescents in Manchester, Cottingley in Leeds, Churchill Gardens in London, and many examples in Glasgow . The Radburn housing layout that aimed to separate cars from housing

572-617: The working class 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". From the late 1970s, the wider takeover of free market economics propagated by Margaret Thatcher's conservative government sought to reduce

616-544: The Addison Act, a house would be 1,000 square feet (93 m ) but after 1924 it would be 620 square feet (58 m ). This was a major period of council house construction. 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

660-537: The First World War following on from the David Lloyd George '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

704-468: The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, which applies to tenancies entered into after 1961. In summary, section 11 provides that a landlord shall: 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. The Addison Act 1919 houses were usually three-bedroom houses with a living room and scullery , sometimes also with

748-460: The Ministry of Works had to have a minimum floor space size of 635 square feet (59.0 m ), 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

792-585: The United Kingdom 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

836-673: The United Kingdom is defined by a series of Housing Acts, and public housing house design is defined by government-directed guidelines and central governments' relationship with local authorities. From the first interventions in the Public Health Act 1875 ( 38 & 39 Vict. c. 55) to the Housing of the Working Classes Act 1900 , council houses could be general housing for the working class , general housing, part of slum clearance programmes or just homes provided for

880-550: The county councils The remaining rural districts in County Dublin were similarly abolished in 1930 by the Local Government (Dublin) Act 1930 . The former boundaries of the rural districts in the Republic of Ireland continue to be used for statistical purposes and defining constituencies. In Northern Ireland, rural districts continued to exist until 1973 when they were abolished (along with all other local government of

924-416: 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 led to a continuation of this policy, but the war stopped all construction, and enemy action reduced

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968-409: The earlier system of sanitary districts (themselves based on poor law unions , but not replacing them). Each rural district had an elected rural district council (RDC), which inherited the functions of the earlier sanitary districts, but also had wider authority over matters such as local planning, council housing , and playgrounds and cemeteries. Matters such as education and major roads were

1012-485: The existing boards of guardians of poor law unions. The Newport Pagnell Rural Sanitary District was administered from Newport Pagnell Union Workhouse, which had been built in 1836 at 1 London Road in Newport Pagnell. Under the Local Government Act 1894 , rural sanitary districts became rural districts from 28 December 1894. The Newport Pagnell Rural District Council held its first meeting on 2 January 1895 at

1056-517: 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

1100-463: The following decades led to some rural districts being redefined as urban districts or merging with existing urban districts or boroughs. Other rural districts proved to be too small or poor to be viable, and under the Local Government Act 1929 , 236 rural districts were abolished and merged or amalgamated into larger units. Further mergers took place over following decades and by 1965 the number of districts had been reduced to 473. The typical shape of

1144-403: 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 stimulated slum clearance, i.e.,

1188-470: 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 associations into the private sector. An early use of the new powers was in Bath , where 36 new houses named Lampard's Buildings were built in 1900 on the compulsory purchased site of

1232-663: The new town, and Newport Pagnell Rural District Council lost its town planning responsibilities in that area to the development corporation. Until the 1920s the council met at the Newport Pagnell Union Workhouse, with administrative functions carried out at the offices of the solicitor who acted as clerk to the council. In 1926 the council bought a large house at 7 Station Road in Newport Pagnell for £1,000, converting it to become its offices and meeting place. The council remained based at 7 Station Road until its abolition in 1974. Newport Pagnell Rural District

1276-632: The old pattern) and replaced with a system of unitary districts . Rural districts also existed in the Canadian province of Newfoundland to govern certain rural communities. Under Newfoundland's Local Government Act , rural districts and towns together formed the province's municipalities. Under the Municipalities Act , effective April 1, 1980, rural districts where abolished and automatically turned into towns. Council house A council house , corporation house or council flat

1320-410: The responsibility of county councils . Until 1930 the rural district councillors were also poor law guardians for the unions of which they formed part. Each parish was represented by one or more councillors. Originally there were 787 rural districts in England and Wales, as they were based directly upon the sanitary districts and poor law unions which had preceded them. Gradual urbanisation over

1364-404: The role of the state and the housing sector was further opened for private investors and actors. Deregulation of the mortgage finance sector in the 1980s was particularly significant, with the 1988 Housing Act introducing private competition into the sector. The Housing Act 1988 marked the onset of various policies resulting in the residualisation of the public housing. Residualisation refers to

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1408-526: The shrinking of the social housing stock, consisting mostly of deteriorated quality dwellings, and the growing concentration of disadvantaged minorities in such housing. As the residual housing sector is mostly concentrated in lower-income neighbourhoods, a ' neighbourhood effect ' manifests, reinforcing the idea of poverty as a problem of the place which has allowed market ideologies to advocate against decommodified housing provision. A landlord's obligations are set out in several pieces of legislation, including

1452-429: The state in the sector existed as providers of public housing aimed at a broad range of households. This changed starting from the 1970s, with social housing entering the mainstream. Social housing emphasizes the 'safety net' characteristic in that it is only for those whose needs are not met in the market. The transformation of the sector from a public housing as serving a wide range of households with different incomes to

1496-450: The transfer of council housing to not-for-profit housing associations with access to private finance, and these new housing associations became the providers of most new public-sector housing. The characterisation of council houses as 'problem places' was key for leading this movement of transferring public housing stock to the private arena. By 2003, 36.5% of the social rented housing stock was held by housing associations. House design in

1540-450: The usable housing stock. The Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act 1944 led to the building of prefab 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 , formed in 1942 by

1584-491: 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 houses , with a planned life of up to 10 years within five years of the end of the Second World War . The eventual bill, under the post-war Labour government of Prime Minister Clement Attlee , agreed to deliver 300,000 units within 10 years, within

1628-533: The workhouse, when John Robert Wilmer was appointed the first chairman of the council. Shortly after the district's creation, efforts began to create separate urban district councils for the main two towns in the district: Fenny Stratford and Newport Pagnell itself. The Fenny Stratford Urban District was created on 1 July 1895, removing the parishes of Fenny Stratford and Simpson from the district. The parish of Newport Pagnell similarly became Newport Pagnell Urban District on 1 October 1897. The parish of Bletchley

1672-406: 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. All prefab units approved by

1716-762: Was a revival in council housebuilding in the 2010s, with a focus on energy efficiency. Schemes such as Accordia in Cambridge and Goldsmith Street in Norwich have won awards. In London, space standards have been reintroduced via the London Plan , and councils including Southwark and Hounslow are building thousands of new council houses. Beginning in the 1970s with Thatcherism , the housing sector witnessed public expenditure cutbacks, along with cutbacks in other public sectors like health and education, yet more extreme than those. This retrenchment from public housing

1760-485: Was a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England , Wales , and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties . In England and Wales rural districts were created in 1894 by the Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) along with urban districts . They replaced

1804-463: Was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 , with the area becoming part of the non-metropolitan district of Milton Keynes under Buckinghamshire County Council on 1 April 1974. (The district subsequently gained Borough status , became an independent unitary authority and – in 2022 – became the City of Milton Keynes .) Rural district A rural district

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1848-402: Was justified by a preference for a private housing market, or for commodification over public goods, and by the popularity of the critical description of council houses as a 'sink estate'. "Sink estates" were criticized as "cut off from society's mainstream" with "self-inflicted poverty stemming from...the dead weight of low expectations." In the immediate years of the post-war era, the role of

1892-513: Was subsequently transferred in 1898 from Newport Pagnell Rural District to the Fenny Stratford Urban District (which was renamed Bletchley Urban District in 1911). In 1967 the new town of Milton Keynes was designated, with a significant portion of the south-west of Newport Pagnell Rural District falling within its designated area . The Milton Keynes Development Corporation was established to oversee construction of

1936-478: 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. There

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