Staff at Darlington Borough Council will this week mark the 100th anniversary of the introduction of the Addison Act, recognised as the beginning of council housing.
First proposed by the then Prime Minister Lloyd George, the Addison Act opened the door for councils to build homes for ‘working people’ to rent in a bid to raise standards and provide ‘Homes fit for Heroes’ returning from the First World War.
The council’s housing team has put together a small exhibition highlighting the history of council housing in Darlington, dating back to the 1920s which will be on show in the Customer Services Centre at the Town Hall tomorrow (Wednesday) and in the Dolphin Centre reception on Thursday (1 August), 10am-3pm.
Staff will be serving up cupcakes and strawberries as well as sweets in the 1920s-style, and there will be a colouring competition and word search competition for children and young people, with the chance to win a £10 Love2Shop voucher for each.
There will also be information and pictures showing the council’s latest new homes, which earlier this year won the Best Social Housing Initiative in The MJ Local Government Achievement Awards 2019.
The council’s new-build programme has already seen more than 200 homes, including both houses and apartments, designed and built in-house and there are plans for 100 more properties each year for the next ten years.
Councillor Lorraine Tostevin, Cabinet member for housing at Darlington Borough Council, said:
“Our new properties have proved very popular, with demand for all the developments far outstripping supply.
“We were thrilled that in this anniversary year, our latest homes won a prestigious national award. We want to share that success with local people through this small celebration and we look forward to showing them just how far council housing has come in the last 100 years.”
Work is currently underway on three more sites at McMullen Road, Fenby Avenue and Wordsworth Road where a range of properties, including apartments and three and four-bedroom houses, should be ready for tenants to move in later this year.
Visit www.darlington.gov.uk/housing to find out more about council properties available to rent.