London overspill

London overspill is the term given to the communities created as a result of the government policy of moving residents out of Greater London into other areas in the South East of England between the 1930s and the 1970s. These largely consisted of council houses and new towns.

The policy was instigated in the 1930s but started in earnest after the Second World War, as a reaction to the housing shortages caused by enemy bombing and large amounts of substandard housing in the capital. This policy existed until the late 1970s reinforced by a widespread dislike of ribbon development. Started by the London County Council the task was completed by its successor, the Greater London Council. In the 1960s the Location of Offices Bureau dispersed office workers away from the capital. In 1960, the Greater London Plan proposed that over one million Londoners should be relocated from Inner London. The great majority of overspill families were relocated either to existing or new towns within south east England. As a short term expedient, viewed as regrettable, to meet an urgent need, "quasi-satellites" were created around the edge of Greater London, or close by, at South Oxhey, Debden and Harold Hill.

In 1973, the following towns were listed, in Hansard, as London overspill:

In some places, where the incomers did not easily blend in with the local residents, the term London overspill scum could be, and was, used in a derogatory way. The situation of new overspill communities was portrayed in the 1960s soap opera, The Newcomers, partly filmed in Haverhill. The series showed problems of estrangement from a familiar environment and integration with an established community through the experiences of one family. An additional issue was that the easy link to London, the train service, was withdrawn as part of the concurrent "Beeching Axe", which added to the sense of isolation.

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