A Building Development Could Pioneer A Return To Back To Back Housing Which Objectors Claim Could Be The Slums Of The Future

Will historic low-cost housing model be successful under 20th century housing standards?

Views of an open area on London Road, Stanway near Colchester, Essex which is surrounded by industrial and residential premises. Colchester Borough Council are considering a planning application to build back-to-back housing of 22 two-storey homes on the one acre site. View of the plans for the site. Reservations have been raised about the back-to-back model and its historic association with cheaply-built slum housing. Borough Planning Officer Michael Shepherd explains their uneasiness about the proposal but says there are no grounds in law to refuse the planning application. The Council’s Environmental Health Department are also concerned as back-to-back housing was prohibited under the Housing Acts, but it is permissible under the most recent Housing Act of 1980. The reporter was Surrey Beddows for this video made to be shown in a news story on Anglia Television early evening news / magazine programme About Anglia.

Keywords

Housing; Back-to-back houses; Terraced houses; Working class housing; House building

Place

Stanway, Essex

Additional Description

Back-to-backs share party walls on two or three of their four sides, with only the front wall having the door and windows. This housing model is associated with cheap housing for working class people in industrial areas of the UK from the late 18th century and through the 19th century, with remedial work and demolition carried out in the 20th century. As costs were kept low, the construction was often sub-standard and the configuration did not allow for sufficient ventilation or sanitation, affecting the health and hygiene of residents.