Slum clearance in the United Kingdom

Slum clearance in the United Kingdom has been used as an urban renewal strategy to transform low-income settlements with poor reputation into another type of development or housing.

Starting from 1930, councils were expected to prepare plans to clear slum dwellings, although progress stalled upon the onset of World War II.

Clearance of slum areas resumed and increased after the war, while the 1960s saw the largest number of house renewal schemes pursued by local authorities, particularly in Manchester where it was reported around 27% 'may' have been unfit for human habitation, although the majority were well built solid structures that could have been renovated or repurposed.

From the late 19th century up to the 1970s, clearance of slum housing was seen as an expensive undertaking with numerous problems, although generally considered a necessity to achieve a higher standard of living.

[3] In the period following the 1970s, opinions started to change towards the view that clearance was less than effective and too costly, both fiscally and in terms of the break-up of communities.

[1] Demolition programmes throughout the 20th century were successful in removing the worst of the country's housing stock and helped improve the quality of homes available for the poor and working class.

[5] In Leeds, where many slum clearances were of back-to-back houses, the land they occupied was very small and usually incapable of supporting any new profitable developments; this impacted upon site-value compensation.

[16] By March 1963, Liverpool had only cleared around 10% of the houses deemed unfit in 1955 and was one of 38 local authorities classed as having clearance problems requiring special attention.

[19] In a speech in the House of Commons in 1965, Alf Morris noted that 20% of the country's poorest dwellings were in the North West region.

[23] In September 1971, the National House Condition Survey estimated that there were around 1.2 million unfit properties in England and Wales, of which 700,000 (58%) fell within existing or proposed areas for clearance.