The Rebuilding of Britain: (Routledge Library Editions: Housing)

First published in 1935, the original blurb reads: “Believing the gravest of all our National problems is that of Unemployment the author has set himself the task of trying to find a solution which is capable of giving continuity of employment without interfering with or increasing the competition with existing industries. The Building Industry gives the opportunity conditional upon a policy of demolition equal to that of a new building being carried out simultaneously. Every class of property is affected in this scheme of Rebuilding Britain. All slums will definitely be cleared away, never to recur in future generations. The number of houses in a condition to demand immediate demolition total 4,607,679. In addition there are many thousands of Slum Offices, Warehouses, and Factories. In eighty years Great Britain will be demolished and rebuilt, except historical and other special public buildings. All houses now owned by Local Authorities will be purchased at market value by Public Utility Societies and all future house building will be undertaken by Private Enterprise. If a rent subsidy is necessary it will be given to the individual and not the house. A National Mortgage Bank will be established through which building will be financed on long-term credits. The Building Societies throughout the country will be formed into twelve units and will act as agents for the National Mortgage Bank. Private interest in land built-up areas to be purchased over a period of eighty years as areas are being redeveloped, the land being vested in National Land Commissioners. The total number of houses required, if the fullest advantage is taken of the opportunities which now present themselves, is 6,572,679.” Today it can be read in its historical context.

Table of Contents:
Introduction. The National Government’s Drive. Confusion in Valuation. No Standard of an Unhealthy Dwelling. Rent Restriction. Local Authorities and Repairs. Too Many New Houses. But Not Enough Pulling Down. 4,607,679 Houses Should Be Demolished. Proposed Rate of Real Slum Clearance. Our Real Building Needs. Commercial Buildings. Let All Buildings Be Licensed. The Special Areas. Local Authorities as Landlords. A Defence of Private Builders. How is Housing to be Paid For? My Financing Proposals. Amalgamations of Building Societies. The National Mortgage Bank. Regional Public Utility Societies. Town Planning. The Town Planning Committees. The National Land Commissioners. Main Traffic Roads. If a Subsidy, Let it Go to the Tenant. But Subsidies of Any Kind Can Be Made Unnecessary. Mortgages. Stability in the Building Trades. We Can Afford to do It. More Than 100 Per Cent Security. The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, Ltd. Land Settlement. A Last Word on Unemployment. Summary.

About the Author :
William Craven-Ellis (1880–1959) was, at the time of original publication, MP for Southampton and had wide public experience. At a very young age he served on the Hale (Manchester) Rural District Council, of which for three years he was Chairman. He had taken a very active part in 1909 and 1910 in opposing the taxation of land values. He had made a special study of the housing conditions of the people in England and had visited America and the Continent to examine conditions there. He had not written this book as a theorist, he had nearly 30 years practical experience of the housing of the people.