Suburb Development

Suburbs

The large housing estates in the outer suburbs of Liverpool were seen as models for municipal housing development at the time. The Speke Estate was one of the most ambitious projects in suburban planning. The Housing Committee aimed to provide housing for all working people. This represented a move away from the housing trends of the inter-war years where suburban housing developments catered for the lower paid.

The Speke Estate was to provide a mix of municipal housing based around a central area with shops, cinemas, schools, churches, a civic centre, library, police and fire stations. The estate was planned as a self-contained community unit. A new industrial estate was built alongside the housing estate to provide work opportunities for the new residents. Sir Lancelot Keay, Liverpool?s Director of Housing, was behind this ambitious venture. He wanted to create comfortable housing in spacious
surroundings, providing recreation grounds and playgrounds for children. Building work started in 1937 and was completed by about 1953.

Kirkby was another of the large municipal housing developments created by Liverpool?s Housing Department.

LRO

These were world examples at the time. A delegation even went over to India and built Delhi.