Europe’s biggest council estate sits on the outskirts of London and owes its existence, at least in part, to the First World War . Becontree council estate is nestled between Barking and Dagenham . Sprawling across four square miles and consisting of 27,000 homes, the estate is almost like a town within a town, complete with shops restaurant and a train station.
The genesis of the estate came out of Prime Minister Lloyd George’s pledge in 1919 to build homes “fit for heroes” following the horrors of the Great War. The first homes were built in 1921, with a purpose-built railway station also being established to allow transportation of goods from the dockyards of the river Thames. Darren Rodwell, leader of Barking and Dagenham Council and lifelong Becontree resident, reflects: “We talk about the 15-minute community – that’s what this was, but 100 years ago.
“None of this is new. All we’re doing [today] is going back to what people realised was important back then.” The homes were luxurious by the standards of the time, with many of the first residents moving out of East London slums away from “disease and plague”.
Speaking in 2019, Becontree resident Peter Fisher, who moved to the estate in 1926 recalled his memories of relocating to the BBC . He said: “Those who watched the construction of Becontree were immediately filled with hope of a new world. “These people watched with wonder and excitement as a new era - of luscious homes that had running wa.
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