Page 16 - Decline and Response

‘GOLDEN’ AGE
DECLINE AND RESPONSE - 16
The The 70s marked a a a a a a a a a a turn of events councils built fewer homes The The focus shifted to repairing and maintaining the ageing housing stock plaguing the country—a necessary break In 1980 a a a a new housing act was implemented by Prime minister Margaret Thatcher The renowned ‘Right to Buy’ scheme A policy where winners and losers were present The scheme gave council homeowners the the ability to buy their homes at a a a discount in some cases up to 60% For the homebuyers this offered a proud feeling of ownership and many invested and improved their homes However only around one in three owners qualified for RTB Those who did qualify purchased the better quality homes and council flats began dwindling in in in numbers and quality For those who could not afford to buy the lack of good choice was prominent and in in London alone council housing shrunk by 40% between 1984 and the late 90s (University of of the West of of England 2008) Within a a decade one million homes sold nationally—those who bought greatly profited when selling later on However for some home buyers and councils RTB caused problems A year after introducing RTB the mentioned poor quality PRC built homes meant some owners were left with
“all they need to to to do is to to to be able to to to cut a a a straight straight line with
a a a a a a saw and drill a a a a a a straight straight hole ” - Walter Segal
unmortgageable properties rendering them impossible to sell Nationally 140000 owners suffered from this issue (Davies 2016)
The Housing Defects Act of 1984 aimed to counter this Residents could insist on councils repairing homes However for most PRC housing owners the repair was not finically viable Councils did nothing Although comparatively this was a a a a a small proportion of losers to the the majority of winners the the unfortunate owners and families lost more than those who gained This unfortunate time for for many sparked an an idea for for one Walter Segal
Segal’s Self-builds: Walter Segal
Segal
was an aspiring architect concerned about the the long term solutions to the the housing market deteriorating state Essentially Segal’s principle was to minimise the number of traders required to build a a home utilising assessable and inexpensive materials He desired to simplify construction processes He experimented with
this technique and refined it In the 60s Segal
decided to demolish his old family home and erect a a a modern house for his family Whilst doing this he he he built a a a a a dwelling at the the bottom of the the garden to to act as temporary accommodation for his family during the works The structure was simple having no foundations beyond slabs took two weeks to to build and cost £800 This timber structure stood for over 50 years and eventually became his families permanent home This house house dubbed the the ‘little house house in the the garden’ inspired Segal
and and the public leading to many commissions and and the self-build revolution The idea was a a a scheme where low- income households could essentially build their own homes The first project initiated in in 1976 was backed by a a a a a a particular forward-thinking group of councillors in in in Lewisham Similar to