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Last edited 11 Mar 2025

Housing in the UK

• Cover (left): An interpretation of Sir Karl Popper's clouds and clocks (p.491) by Philip Castle and (right) A portrait by Adrian George

"This Government has inherited an acute and entrenched housing crisis."
(Matthew Pennycook, 12 December 2024, 'Building the homes we need')

Minister of State for Housing and Planning

1 FOREWORD
2 INTRODUCTION
3 DATASET
4 'EXPEDIENCY' v 'ARBITRARY'
5 • TUDOR WALTERS REPORT
6 • DUDLEY REPORT
7 • TEMPORARY ACCOMMODATION
8 • PARKER MORRIS
9 References
10 Further reading

[edit] FOREWORD

In September 1969, Roy Landau guest edited a 'Special Issue' of Architectural Design in which he wrote:—

"Cedric Price (p.493) in an outline taken from his current housing study illustrates some of the factors and orientations used to produce and test his solutions."
(AD 9/69, p.480)

• Page 493 from AD 9/69: 'Expediency' by Cedric Price

[edit] INTRODUCTION

This article begins with a brief analysis of four key events:—

the Housing, Town Planning, etc. Act 1909
Tudor Walters Committee Report (1918)
Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1919 (aka 'Addison Act')
Manual on the preparation of state-aided housing schemes (1919)

For example:—

"The (1909) act has generally been seen both as a pioneering first step and as a disappointment to its drafters and to contemporary campaigners. On one hand, it is noted as an important basis for later legislation. At the same time, the act is criticised as being "virtually inoperative" until the Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1919 was passed." [1]
"(Tudor Walters') recommendations set the standards for council house design and location for the next 90 years." [2] (Wikipedia)
"The (1919) Act was passed to allow the building of new houses after the First World War, and marked the start of a long 20th-century tradition of state-owned housing in planned council estates. A separate Act was passed for Scotland." [3]
"The manual was intended as a guide to local authorities on the preparation, design and construction of housing schemes with the recommendations from the Tudor Walters Report." [4] (Lucia Alonso, 2023)

The dataset compiled by Lucia Alonson includes other events. For example:—

'Dudley Report' (1944) [5]
Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act 1944 [6]
'Parker Morris' 1961 [7]

Thus this article sees the Housing, Town Planning, etc. Act 1909 as "a pioneering first step" and assumes:—

... that the 1909 Act is the original conception.

In December 1971, Cedric Price completed his housing study, namely:—

"Son of Thinkbelt"
(AD 10/71, p.619)

• Facsimile of panel created by Norman Fellows in 1976

In January 1978, the introduction to the first iteration of 'Domestikit' began as follows:—

"The continuing design of council houses by local authorities and their architects does not represent to me a particularly meaningful way of investing limited National resources."
(Norman Fellows)

In November 1980, however, a moratorium on council housing in the UK was imposed by the UK Government. [8]

Thus the chances of using the UK as a test-bed for Domestikit vanished.

However, the author's assumption remains.

see first para in CP

BACK SOON!!!!

... that the equation between contemporary social aspirations and architecture is

The purpose of this article is therefore:—

to establish a valid equation between contemporary social aspirations and architecture.

The Board are about to issue a Manual embodying detailed proposals in regard to the preparation and submission of schemes, suggestions as to lay-out and designs with plans, including premiated designs of the Royal Institute of British Architects and plans recommended by Sir J. Tudor Walters’ Committee, and the latest information in regard to improved methods of construction and building materials and house fittings. (Circular, 6th February, 1919, Manual, p.46)

[edit] DATASET

In July 2024, the King's Speech 2024 stated:—

"My Ministers will get Britain building, including through planning reform, as they seek to accelerate the delivery of high quality infrastructure and housing [Planning and Infrastructure Bill]." [9] [10]

to question the thinking behind housing in the UK.

the 1909 Act was the original schema of action.

Year

Type

Title

Published by

Notes

1909	Act	Housing & Town Planning Act	UK Parliament	Considered UK's first town planning Act. It prohibited the ‘back-to-back’ housing. It was less on town planning, and more about the sanitary and aesthetic improvement of housing and focused on the prevention of future slums in new peripheral suburban developments.
1918	Report	Report of the Committee Appointed to Consider Questions of Building Construction in Connection with the Provision of Dwellings for the Working Classes (Tudor Walters Report)	Tudor Walters Committee	The report published five model plans. These designs were specifically to set minimum expected building standards and facilities (such as bath in every house) and provide house designs that would have good living quality and efficient building materials. Authorities could design their own houses, but the size, amenities and whether parlour or not were standard measures used by all authorities. It considered the number of rooms to determine standards.
1919	Act	Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1919 (Addison Act)	UK Parliament	The Act was passed to allow the building of new houses after World War I. Provided subsidies to local authorities to help finance the construction of 500,000 houses within three years (only 213,800 homes were built). This legislation subsidised the cost of council housing from three sources: rents, local authority rates, and a grant from the state (previously there had not been no subsidies).
1919	Manual	Manual on the Preparation of State-Aided Housing Schemes	Local Government Board	The manual was intended as a guide to local authorities on the preparation, design and construction of housing schemes with the recommendations from the Tudor

• Edited extract from 'DATASET: Housing Standards, Manuals and Acts in England' compiled by Lucia Alonso. Source: Housing Standardisation

TO BE DELETED

• Cover: Tudor Walters Report - click here to read

The gap in the ... of council housing in the UK indicated left [...] ... from 1978 to 2024.

However, this article assumes:—

... that the "prolonged misrepresentation and mis-applied design theory" referred by Cedric Price in 'Expediency' originated in the Tudor Walters Committee recommendations published in October 1918."

Thus the argument :

... that the design of council housing ... predicated on arbitrary criteria - eg space standards.

Thus the purpose of this article is:—

to ...

In January 2017, Levitt Bernstein published a book by Julia Park entitled 'One Hundred Years of Housing Space Standards: What Now?' [1]. The book contains a detailed 'Chronology' running from 1667 to 2015 (pp.15-55). According to Julia Park, the chronology reveals:—

"that housing space standards can be traced back almost exactly a century to the Tudor Walters report of 1918."
( p.3)

The book also posed a number of questions about the rationale behind 'space standards' in the period since about 2007. According to Julia Park:—

"The [period since 2007] will earn a lasting place in any subsequent account of the history of space standards in England."
(ib., p.16, author's amendment)

In 2023, Housing Standardisation published a dataset by Lucia Alonso entitled 'DATASET: Housing Standards, Manuals and Acts in England' [2].

This article focuses on the Manuals and Acts relating to the space standards required of state-subsidised housing, namely:

Tudor Walters Report
Dudle Report
Temporary Accommodation
Parker Morris.

[edit] 'EXPEDIENCY' v 'ARBITRARY'

Cedric Price proposed:—

"If housing is so emotionally so absurdly non-redundant then, in order to enable use-producing work methods, it appears rational to embrace EXPEDIENCY as the nearest miss to correct that can be expected for a design tool."
(ib.)

The term 'arbitrary' may be defined as:—

Determined by chance, whim, or impulse, and not by necessity, reason, or principle.
Based on or subject to individual judgment or preference.
Relating to a decision made by a legislature that lacks a grounding fact.

... that the design of council housing ... predicated on arbitrary criteria - eg space standards

in order to establish a meaningful (valid) investment of limited National resources ...the design of council housing should not be arbitrary.

(Housing in the UK: Datasets)

[edit] • TUDOR WALTERS REPORT

The point which most concerns the particular focus of this article is the note about the Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1919 (Addison Act), namely:—

"This legislation subsidised the cost of council housing from three sources: rents, local authority rates, and a grant from the state (previously there had not been no subsidies)."
(Lucia Alonso, citation needed)

Year

Type

Title

Published by

Notes

1909	Act	Housing & Town Planning Act	UK Parliament	Considered UK's first town planning Act. It prohibited the ‘back-to-back’ housing. It was less on town planning, and more about the sanitary and aesthetic improvement of housing and focused on the prevention of future slums in new peripheral suburban developments.
1918	Report	Report of the Committee Appointed to Consider Questions of Building Construction in Connection with the Provision of Dwellings for the Working Classes (Tudor Walters Report)	Tudor Walters Committee	The report published five model plans. These designs were specifically to set minimum expected building standards and facilities (such as bath in every house) and provide house designs that would have good living quality and efficient building materials. Authorities could design their own houses, but the size, amenities and whether parlour or not were standard measures used by all authorities. It considered the number of rooms to determine standards.
1919	Act	Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1919 (Addison Act)	UK Parliament	The Act was passed to allow the building of new houses after World War I. Provided subsidies to local authorities to help finance the construction of 500,000 houses within three years (only 213,800 homes were built). This legislation subsidised the cost of council housing from three sources: rents, local authority rates, and a grant from the state (previously there had not been no subsidies).
1919	Manual	Manual on the Preparation of State-Aided Housing Schemes	Local Government Board	The manual was intended as a guide to local authorities on the preparation, design and construction of housing schemes with the recommendations from the Tudor

TO BE DELETED

1918

Report

Learn More

Report of the Committee Appointed to Consider Questions of Building Construction in Connection with the Provision of Dwellings for the Working Classes (Tudor Walters Report)

Tudor Walters Committee

Learn More

The report published five model plans. These designs were specifically to set minimum expected building standards and facilities (such as bath in every house) and provide house designs that would have good living quality and efficient building materials. Authorities could design their own houses, but the size, amenities and whether parlour or not were standard measures used by all authorities. It considered the number of rooms to determine standards.

1919

Act

Learn More

Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1919 (Addison Act)

UK Parliament

The Act was passed to allow the building of new houses after World War I. Provided subsidies to local authorities to help finance the construction of 500,000 houses within three years (only 213,800 homes were built). This legislation subsidised the cost of council housing from three sources: rents, local authority rates, and a grant from the state (previously there had not been no subsidies).

1919

Manual

Learn More

Download PDF

Manual on the Preparation of State-Aided Housing Schemes

Local Government Board

The manual was intended as a guide to local authorities on the preparation, design and construction of housing schemes with the recommendations from the Tudor Walters Report.

• Table {*}: ... (Housing in the UK: Datasets)

[edit] • DUDLEY REPORT

1944	Manual	Housing Manual	Ministry of Health/ Ministry of Works	The Dudley Report's recommendations were used to write the Housing Manual. Housing based on new employment centres. Redefined density from the number of dwellings per acre to the 'number of persons for whom accommodation is to be provided' (assumed 2b house for 4 people). It made recommendations about house design in terms of minimum room sizes and adequate circulation space. Minimum acceptable standards. Dwellings were on average 92.9 sq m, compared to 74,3 sq.m in 1939.
1944	Report	Design of Dwellings (Dudley Report)	Central Housing Advisory Committee	The Dudley Report was produced by a committee set up by the Ministry of Health’s Central Housing Committee to report upon the design of pre-war council house dwellings. The Report reviewed guidance on housing standards postTudor Walter and concluded that the design of council houses was lacking in variety and offered insufficient living space. It called for radical solutions including prefabrication and nontraditional building.

[edit] • TEMPORARY ACCOMMODATION

1944

Act

Learn More

Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act

UK Parliament/ Ministry of Reconstruction

The Government aimed to provide enough homes for each family who required an individual dwelling, which it perceived had been the situation in 1939 prior to the outbreak of war. It also intended for the completion of the pre-war slum clearance project. It provided an increase in the labour force of the building industry and the construction of at least 300,000 homes during the two-year period after the act (Emergency Factory Made programme). It aimed to prevent price inflation caused by high demand on building services, subsidise privately built houses, and to provide for the construction of temporary, prefabricated housing.

[edit] • PARKER MORRIS

1961

Report

Learn More

Download PDF

Parker Morris Report, Homes for Today and Tomorrow

Parker Morris Committee/ Central Housing Advisory Committee

The report made recommendations for the total area of the dwelling as minimum standards. It was not just about square meters but about usability. It proposed better housing for both public and private sector and for-sale and for-let. Dwellings would include storage and heating (household goods were a commonplace). More space was also proposed on the basis that: extra space is not more money as it doesn't have plumbing and equipment and a large flat is easier to be brought up to date. Government made financial assistance dependent on meeting recommended standards. In 1967 these space standards became mandatory for all housing built in new towns; this was extended to all council housing in 1969, although they had already been adopted by many local councils by then. This report was used until 1981.

The introduction to the research project by Housing Standardisation states:—

"According to the Royal Institute of British Architects, only 6% of new UK housing is directly designed by architects. In subsidised housing – whether public, social, or affordable – which is typically designed to just meet minimum standards, not the architect but housing design governance, shaped by mandatory and voluntary policies, regulations, codes, and guidelines, is increasingly important to ensure that housing is decent."
(Housing Standardisation, Project, 2024)

In September 1969, Roy Landau guest edited a 'Special Issue' of Architectural Design in which he wrote:—

"Cedric Price (p.493) in an outline taken from his current housing study illustrates some of the factors and orientations used to produce and test his solutions."
(AD 9/69, p.480)

In December 1971, Cedric Price completed his housing study, namely:—

"Son of Thinkbelt"
(AD 10/71, p.619)

Thus Cedric Price's outline overlapped with the PTb in which he wrote:—

"A firm re-assessment of housing requirements together with an avoidance in the first stage of development of any civic design indicates the real order of priorities."
(AD 10/66, p.484)

[edit] References

George Bentley and Samuel Pointin (1911) 'Housing, town planning, etc., act, 1909; a practical guide in the preparation of town planning schemes. With appendices containing the text of the act, the procedure regulations, extracts from the Hampstead Garden suburb act, 1906, extract from the Liverpool corporation (streets and buildings) act, 1908, etc., etc., also specimen forms of notices and advertisements and a model set of coloured plans prepared in accordance with the requirements of the regulations', London : G. Philip & Son, Ltd.; [etc., etc.]
Tudor Walters Committee (1918) 'Report of the committee appointed by the President of the Local Government Board and the Secretary of Scotland to consider questions of building construction in connection with the provision of dwellings for the working classes in England and Wales, and Scotland, and report upon methods of securing economy and despatch in the provision of such dwellings', HMSO, at HathiTrust
Wikipedians (2024) 'Tudor Walters Report', Wikipedia
Wikipedians (2024) 'Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1919', aka the Addison Act, Wikipedia
Ministry of Health (1944) 'Design of dwellings : Report of the Design of dwellings subcommittee of the Central housing advisory committee appointed by the minister of health and Report of a study group of the Ministry of town and country planning on site planning and layout in relation to housing', aka Dudley Report, HMSO
Ministry of Health and Ministry of Works (1944) 'Housing Manual 1944', HMSO
Ministry of Reconstruction (1944) 'Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act', HMSO
Ministry of Housing and Local Government (1961) 'Homes for today & tomorrow', HMSO aka Parker Morris
Cedric Price (1969) 'Expediency', Architectural Design, September
Julia Park (2017) 'One Hundred Years of Housing Space Standards: What Now?', Levitt Bernstein
Lucia Alonso (2023) 'DATASET: Housing Standards, Manuals and Acts in England', Housing Standardisation

[edit] Further reading

Jacoby, S. & Özer, S. (Eds.). (2024). Housing Norms and Standards: The Design of Everyday Life [special issue], Urban Planning, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.17645/up.i316

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