| Administrative History | A Housing of the Working Classes Committee was established by Chester City Council on 25 January 1899, under the Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890. Under the same Act and a further Act of 1909, and on the recommendation of the Public Health Committee, the Council reconstituted this committee as the Housing Committee on 18 December 1912.
The minutes begin on 9 February 1899 when an enquiry was approved to obtain statistics of houses built since 1894. The results of the enquiry were presented on 4 July 1899. After formal adoption of Part III of the 1890 Act on 12 March 1901, empowering the Council `to provide dwellings for the poorest of the working classes at rents within their means (say) 2/- to 2/6 per week', the first houses were authorised to be built by the Council on 16 October 1901. The first Council estate was at Towerfields and was completed in 1914. Land for an estate at Buddicum Park was acquired in 1913, but this was not built until the 1920s. Other estates were built in the 1920s in Boughton, Handbridge and Hoole Lane.
From 1901 to 1928, administrative responsibility was shared, on an ad hoc basis, between the Town Clerk, the City Treasurer, the City Surveyor and the Medical Officer of Health until, in 1928, the first Housing Manager was appointed.
The large Lache Estate was begun in 1931 and completed shortly after the Second World War. Blacon Estate was begun in 1946 and became the largest Council estate by the 1970s. Smaller estates were built at Newton Hall (1957-1960), Plas Newton (1960-1966), Newtown (1963-1964) and Francis Street (1968-1970). |