ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the local offices which were opened on the twenty estates in an attempt to stem overwhelming decline. A minority of households is often blamed for the problems of estate management, and new building is the most commonly proposed solution. However, neither changing the population of council estates nor embarking on a major new demolition programme is a realistic or humane way forward in the immediate future. Social problems quickly emerged in the uprooted new communities, and while the women housing managers were increasingly influential on the welfare aspects of slum demolition and rehousing, they were largely ignored on matters of overall housing management by the rapidly expanding local authorities. A coherent housing management structure had not evolved within local authorities, though some attempts were made by a small minority of housing departments to graft a social and welfare role on to the more 'professional' aspects of housing.
