New Homes for None We hear a great deal these
days about the de- termination of town-planners to create living communities that have a genuine continuity of - family life. To some of the London County Council 'out-county' estates such sensible ideas arc sad pipe-dreams. Because these vast estates are outside the county of London itself, it is im- possible for the children of tenants to go on to the LCC housing list : as a result they cannot expect to find houses within any reasonable distance of their parents. This is a poor state of affairs: some tenants on the St. Helier estate near Carshalton (9,500 houses, over 30,000 resi- dents) describe their estate as a 'one-generation transit camp.' With a housing list of 47,000 that is still growing, the LCC's frustration is under- standable: less excusable vis-à-vis St. Helier is the casual indifference with which the various local authorities brush off the problem. When asked why 'out-county' estates could not be given the same chance to flourish as new towns, the Merton housing chairman replied: 'If it was pos- sible, children would wish to stay, and housing would be a vicious circle.' But St. Helier is, in fact, fortunate: unlike others, it will come under the. Greater London Council.
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