Friday, 30 May 2014

Nottingham’s Early Council Housing

“There is still much work to be accomplished before the complete solution of the housing problem will be in sight. The shortage in numbers is far from being made good; and only when that has been done can an effective beginning be made of the great task of replacing with good dwellings the hundreds of thousands of old ones which have ceased through age, decay, or other reason to be fit for habitation by human families if they are to live a decent life.”

The slightly archaic language aside, that statement could apply to many UK cities in the recent past.  But it’s actually from the introduction to an account from nearly one hundred years ago of the Progress of the Housing Schemes in Nottingham by the City’s municipal architect. Read more of Councillor Alex Ball’s fascinating account of Nottingham’s impressive early council housing efforts on the Municipal Dreams blog.

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