ABSTRACT
In some districts the local building byelaws were both stringent and strictly enforced; a few councils went as far as requiring a certificate of habitation to show that the house was fit for occupation. On the typical estate of the twenties and thirties, each road would be lined with its full quota of houses, every one set squarely to the building line, staring straight into the windows of another on the opposite side. The pace of building in Bookham and Fetcham, and in Banstead significantly increased after drainage schemes were completed by the Epsom Rural District Council in 1927–1932. The developers' costs embraced all expenses involved in soil drainage, the construction of roads and connections to the main sewers, and the provision of water, gas, and electricity services. By the middle thirties, the more enlightened members of the architectural profession were expressing concern at the appearance of the speculators' estates, even making some impression with their protests.
