Editing Becontree (section)

===Building of the estate===
Because of the lack of available land in the County of London, the [[Housing Act 1919]] permitted the [[London County Council]] (LCC) to build housing and act as landlord outside of its territory. On 18 June 1919 the London County Council's Standing Committee on the Housing of the Working Classes resolved to build 29,000 dwellings to accommodate 145,000 people within 5 years, of which 24,000 were to be at Becontree.  Becontree was developed between 1921 and 1935 as a large [[London County Council cottage estate|cottage estate]] of around 26,000 homes, intended to be "[[homes fit for heroes]]" for [[World War I]] veterans.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.locallocalhistory.co.uk/municipal-housing/heroes/ |title=Homes For Heros |publisher=Locallocalhistory.co.uk |date=2008-01-13 |access-date=2016-11-24 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303213910/http://www.locallocalhistory.co.uk/municipal-housing/heroes/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Open bus">{{cite web|title=Becontree Estate Bus Tour, Dagenham {{!}} Open House London 2017|url=https://openhouselondon.open-city.org.uk/listings/2586|website=openhouselondon.open-city.org.uk|access-date=11 January 2018|archive-date=12 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112160126/https://openhouselondon.open-city.org.uk/listings/2586|url-status=live}} The chief architect of the LCC, who was ultimately responsible for the scheme was [[G. Topham Forrest]]</ref>

Most of the land at that time was [[market garden]]s, with occasional groups of cottages and some country lanes. It was [[compulsorily purchase]]d. 4,000 houses had been completed by 1921. The early residents were able to pick rhubarb, peas and cabbages from the abandoned market gardens.<ref name="Open bus"/>

{{LCC cottage estates|show}}
[[File:22-28 Chittys Lane Becontree Dagenham RM8 1UP.jpg|thumb|22-28 Chittys Lane Becontree]]
The very first houses completed, in Chittys Lane, are recognisable by a blue council plaque embedded in the wall. The construction was an enormous civil engineering project. A [[Becontree housing estate railway|special railway]] was built especially for the building work. It connected the railway sidings at [[Goodmayes]] on the [[Great Eastern Railway|Great Eastern line]] and a wharf with a new 500&nbsp;ft jetty, on the River Thames. Four steam cranes on the jetty could unload building material from seven barges at a time.<ref name="Open bus"/> The building of the estate took longer than anticipated. The LCC hoped to build 24,000 homes by 1924. They were only able to achieve 3,000 and the works were extended into three phases lasting until 1935.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42731 |title=Dagenham: Introduction and manors &#124; British History Online |publisher=British-history.ac.uk |access-date=2016-11-24 |archive-date=12 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112103855/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42731 |url-status=live }}</ref>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Phase
!Dates
!Location
!Houses built
!Cumulative total
|-
|I
|1921–1924
|[[Municipal Borough of Ilford|Ilford]] (some in Dagenham)
|3,000
|3,000
|-
|II
|1924–1930
|[[Municipal Borough of Dagenham|Dagenham]] (some in Ilford)
|15,000
|18,000
|-
|III
|1930–1935
|[[Municipal Borough of Barking|Barking]] 
|7,736
|25,736
|-
|Additional
|1937
|
|800
|26,536
|-
|Heath Park
|1949–1951
|Dagenham
|600
|27,136
|}

On 13 July 1935 the official completion of the estate was celebrated with the ceremonial opening of [[Parsloes Park]] by MP [[Christopher Addison, 1st Viscount Addison|Christopher Addison]]. However, the demand for housing meant that a further 800 homes were built in 1937. With a population of 115,652, it was the largest [[Public housing#United Kingdom|public housing]] development in the world. After the Second World War, between 1949 and 1951, 600 additional houses were built by the LCC in Dagenham in an area called Heath Park, adjacent to the estate.<ref name="Open bus"/>

[[Wythenshawe]], in [[Greater Manchester|Manchester]] with an area of approximately {{convert|11|sqmi|km2}}, is larger but the population density is lower. At times Wythenshawe has also claimed to be the largest [[Public housing#United Kingdom|council housing estate]] in Europe.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/all-about/wythenshawe |title=All About Wythenshawe |access-date=30 March 2016 |work=Manchester Evening News |archive-date=25 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325070347/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/all-about/wythenshawe |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="History of the Estate">{{cite web | first=Derick | last=Deakin | title=History of the Estate | work=Wythit | url=http://www.wythit.com/wythit/Local_Activities/Local_History/Default.aspx?CmsContentID=1098 | access-date=30 September 2006 | archive-date=29 September 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929103327/http://www.wythit.com/wythit/Local_Activities/Local_History/Default.aspx?CmsContentID=1098 | url-status=live }}</ref> Private home ownership in the area has grown, and Wythenshawe has continued to expand.
<ref>{{cite news|title=Wythenshawe - Latest news updates, pictures, video, reaction - Manchester Evening News|url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/all-about/wythenshawe|access-date=8 January 2018|work=www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk|archive-date=28 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228234528/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/all-about/wythenshawe|url-status=live}}</ref>