Housing and the GLC

This image shows a photograph from a book published in 1967 about a Greater London Council estate at Farnborough. In 1961, a government report proposed new building standards for public and private housing. New guidelines promoted open planning, picture windows and spacious living rooms. These London council houses show the large windows that were put into new builds as a result. The new guidelines for housing meant that there was little difference between Local Authority homes and privately developed ones in the 1960s. However, Greater London Council estates such as Farnborough were often bare and open. In private sector estates, developers had a policy of building on sites with mature trees and shrubs.