Should exceptionally large council house gardens be used to build more local authority homes?

[Slightyamusedandsilly]

While out walking yesterday, I took a back lane behind some council housing in my area.

Just to describe the area/situation. Council housing is interspersed between older (Victorian / Edwardian) housing in this area. Mainly rows of terraces, but also semis.

I hadn't realised until this walk just how big the back gardens of the council houses around here are. They are enormous. Really really long. When sat alongside the terraces, many of which have small backyards only, the footprint of these local authority homes is huge.

Given the huge shortage of LA housing, and given that the land already belongs to the LA, I think these gardens could be dissected to create space for new LA housing. The cost would be lower because the LA already owns the land.

It just seems to make sense to me. So many people are in desperate need of housing, but will never be able to buy privately. This is a huge unused resource.

Same on my estate. I think most were bought by the original tenants in the 1980s and those coming on the market for new council tenants now are those where there have been long term tenants who chose not to buy when originally given the chance, and have now reached an age where they are either dying or moving into care.

Totally get what you are saying and thinking but as posters have said, the post war council estates with the big gardens are mostly no longer council owned, and many will have changed hands a few times since the original tenants became owners.

We are the same, my back garden is 15x30m, it's one of the reasons we bought the house. Less than 25% of the estate is still council owned. I don't think that sort of percentage is unusual for 1950s post war council housing.

There is still a huge amount of council housing in prime central London, eg Westminster.

Kings Cross right now is ultra-high-value because of AI, right next to very large low-density council/social housing estates. There’s a huge potential win-win solution that councils aren’t taking. Rebuild as modern high density housing, make high value offices and the council could use the rent in perpetuity to support council services.

I think you should fuck off nosying in other people’s gardens and trying to decide who does and doesn’t deserve them.

I've never seen an exceptionally large council house anything.

I guess if you live in a rural village then the council houses might have big gardens. But in that case there would be no shortage of empty land for them to build them on instead.

No, definitely not rural, , which maybe is why I was surprised. I've lived near them for years but not walked that way before and was very very surprised.

The shortage of council housing is not because some council houses have big gardens.

Wandsworth Labour have just lost their majority. Interestingly they built blocks of flats on council estates to then retain as rented to council tenants. The conservatives started the planning but intended to sell on the private market.

In theory it is great. But the existing residents suffer. The Ashburton and Lennox schemes in Putney are good examples.

Wandsworth council are extending 1950s houses to house large families.

For gardens, 1950s council houses do generally have good sized gardens, but many are privately owned. I'm in one and the nearest 10 are 80% privately owned.

The government moved away from garden development "garden grabbing" because it negatively impacted those surrounding due to increased noise and overlooking.

I think we have enough housing, the distribution is wrong though on trend of ownership, occupation, and to some extent, location.

That's nice for the people who live there. I don't think building in people's back gardens would go down very well with the residents. Just from a noise perspective alone. And they'd be extremely overlooked.

Other council land would be more appropriate than encroaching on boundaries that have been there for decades or even centuries.

Yep that’s why we bought ours too. It’s a really good example of interwar planning (was build in the 1920s) - garden suburb with arts and crafts houses, big gardens and very leafy streets. Developers could easily build similar houses now, but they won’t because there is more money in packing them together like sardines.

You could buy a similar-sized Victorian terrace on the next street over for about 10% more, but they have all been massively extended so the back garden is just a tiny paved courtyard.

Another reason I’m buying my council house. Absolutely zero incentive not too now.

years ago my parents lived in a post war house which had a massive garden on 3 sides. it was a pain to my parents trying to grow veg to use the ground etc but it was poor soil. Anyway not long after my parents bought their house the scheme where the tenancy years reduced the house to an affordable amount. I am not sure but I think they paid around £20,000. some time after the row of I think 12 houses were offered some money from the council. my parents and the left hand neighbour had biggest amounts but I am not sure how much. on the land from them 4 bungalows were built for the council to let now housing association I guess. The other people who had smaller gardens and had sold some land a car park area was built which before there had been no official parking. lots of people just parked in their garden or on the road.

Agree. A better idea would be to use some of those old stately homes on huge country estates. Some of those are being maintained at huge expense - look at Clandon Park in Surrey. Burned down ten years ago, would have been a perfect opportunity to build a brand new estate for ordinary people. Or one of the many golf courses taking up huge amounts of space and which are reserved for people who pay thousands annually to hit a ball.

Exactly !
we wouldn't want people on council estates enjoying themselves too much in their big gardens now would we ?
At least there is plenty of room for their millions of kids and xl bullys to run riot and who's going to worry about fag ends with all that space to spread them about.🙄

But isn’t that basically the principle of redistribution: deciding how much of people’s stuff they deserve to keep?

I thought they tried to get rid of slum housing by clearing areas where people were packed in like sardines. Why would bringing that back be a good idea?

I believe there are still quite a few central london council / housing association flats. Often for emergency services, council and NHs staff.

The very opposite of slum housing, if you call still having a front and back garden slum. I guess if you live in extensive detached, you might see it that way.

Yes, why not? Bungalows and accommodation for single elderly people is massively in short supply, if you could build a small 1 bed bungalow and still have space for both to have gardens then I can’t see an argument against it. Obviously it would rely on things like access and practicalities.

Then you’d be shocked at the size of flats of people who privately rent and pay out of their own pocket.

Put all the residents into a workhouse, I tell you.

Some projects like this do take place.

I previously lived in inner London and in some cases the council owned properties that were built in a row above garages. The council took the garages back and built one-bed ground floor flats in their place. Yes, this sucks for the people who previously had a garage but is brilliant news for the disabled people who now had accommodation.

The council where I am now has done similar with garages in a block in some areas.

Even a fairly narrow strip of land that was previously a couple of garages could be made into a family home if the house is built with three stories or perhaps a car port underneath.

There is a huge demand for council housing so I don’t have a problem with this.

I'm sure you could fit a quite a lot of houses in Buckingham Palace's garden. It's not as though it's used much, or that the public have access to land they own, if Brian and Fagash Lil think the plebs would be a bit close they could always stay in one of their other houses.

You’re joking aren’t you? Loads of the people in those flats don’t even work!