ABSTRACT
In London the council houses erected in quantity in the twenties proved beyond the means of all but the most highly paid workers, despite the fact that post-1919 local authority rents were failing in general to recoup full costs. Most council rightly guessed that it would cost them more to provide services to the London County Council (LCC) estates than they would recover from the additional rate income. Ilford Council quickly decided that it would prefer the site to be used as an aerodrome, and sought loan sanction from the Ministry of Health to achieve this. After this rebuff, the LCC turned to a site at Chigwell, a little farther north, of which only a small part had to be acquired by compulsory purchase. Using a good deal of direct labour, Woolwich built more flats and cottages between 1919 and 1938 than any other metropolitan borough.
