Anniversary missed - but the legacy lives on!

It wasn’t much celebrated, which was a shame because in 1918 The Tudor Walters’ Report was published!

Never heard of it? This Report’s recommendations set the standards for council house design and location for the next 90 years. It famously advocated cottage homes with front and back gardens at maximum densities. Whilst this 101 year old report may seem of only historical interest, most local government planners use the guidance virtually every day requiring minimum separation distances between new dwellings.

“…Housing was to be in short terraces, spaced at 70 feet (21m)…” - does that sound familiar?

And so on…

“…at a density of 12 per acre (30/ha) in town or 8 per acre (20/ha) in the country. This was to allow the penetration of sunlight even in winter. There was to be secondary access to the sides of semi-detached houses and by ground floor passages through larger terraces. These terraces should be a maximum of eight houses long. The advantages of cul de sacs were noted as cheap method of providing services and preventing through traffic….”

The Report also suggested the use of district heating using waste heat from power-stations and integration with public transport.

So, it seems that whilst the Tudor Walters’ Report may be lost in the annals of history, its legacy lives on.