Austerity Homes for war workers
Big waiting list
Darlington’s housing problem, acute though it is, has been lessened substantially by the construction during the war of a housing estate of considerable magnitude if not of architectural perfection.
The estate was completed in an atmosphere of great secrecy necessitated by the exigencies of war, but now the full ramifications of the great enterprise can be revealed.
This is a colony of austerity houses built at Eastbourne, Darlington by the Ministry of Supply in 1942 to accommodate workers at the Royal Ordnance Factory, Aycliffe, who hitherto had to travel some considerable distances to and from work or lodge in the town.
There are about 350 houses on the estate, through which five roads, all named after birds were made. They are: Teale Road, Hawk Road, Merlin Road, Mallard Road and Widgeon Road, in addition to the existing Lingfield Lane. While all the buildings are bungalows there are three different types. Some are made of timber and have a small living room, a kitchenette, two bedrooms and a bathroom. There is a back-to-back grill in the living room, which heats the oven in the kitchenette, which is also fitted with an electric grill; there is also a hot water system which can be worked independent of lighting the fire. Electric light is fitted throughout.
Cramped Rooms
An occupant of one of these told a “Darlington and Stockton Times” reporter that the houses were admirable, the only snag being the smallness of the rooms, which is felt particularly by those with families, and the inclination to draughts. That part of the town is particularly bleak and one resident declared that the carpet in the passage rose each time the wind blew. These houses have good size gardens at the back and front, but a regrettable deficiency is lack of privacy, as due to wartime shortages, no fences were provided. The gardens are consequently quite open, but several householders, who are keen gardeners, have erected fences themselves.
For these houses and the brick ones of the same size, the rent per week varies from 9s 1d to 11s 8d, according to the number of bedrooms.
The third type of house was built for managers. These are of brick, but unlike the others, are detached. They are also much larger and have better facilities. The living room is about twice the size of that in the other type of houses, and in place of the kitchenette is a large kitchen fitted with an electric oven and electric boiler. There is also a separate heating arrangement for the water. Besides two large bedrooms there is a box room and an airing cupboard. The gardens are about the same size as those attached to the other houses and are also without fences. For these houses the rent is about 15s per week.
Tenants’ Improvement
While most of the residents expressed a desire to return to a “proper” house, they seem to have made themselves comfortable in these austerity homes.
The word “austerity” can aptly be applied to the exterior of the house but hardly to the interior. Throughout the years some of the men who are “handy about the house” have improved on the decorations and fittings, with the result that some of the pleasantest homes one could wish to see are to be found here. Further proof of the way in which the people have settled down here are the swings, which a few fond fathers have erected for their children outside the doors of their homes.
Despite the fact that these houses were only intended to be temporary dwelling places, there is already a mounting waiting list of people anxious to obtain one of them, but as the people already living on the estate will have considerable difficulty in obtaining other accommodation, it would appear that they will have to wait for quite a time yet.
Taken from an article in the Darlington & Stockton Times dated December 15th, 1945
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