ABSTRACT
The Tory election campaign had centred on cutting back public sector waste, stopping Britain spending beyond its means and putting an end to unwieldy bureaucracies. Unfortunately, it soon became clear that the Conservatives did not recognize the scale of inner city problems. No extra money was made available, and help for urban areas had to be sought in the private sector. The Scarman Report was one of the first official documents to admit the failure of modern architecture. Brixton's problems were acute. The local authority, the London Borough of Lambeth, had it's already limited resources stretched to breaking point. The small band of community architects had welcomed the proposals of Lord Scarman and Michael Heseltine, but the main body of architects, represented by officials at the RIBA, remained in a quandary. Some decided to ignore the situation completely, but a growing number began to acknowledge the faults of Modernism and its profound contribution to urban disarray.
