Episodes
| Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Grenfell Tower | 20171013 | The Grenfell Tower disaster is a defining event in the history of social housing in Britain. Grenfell has brought to light some of the failures and attitudes that underpin our relationship to class, poverty, race and inequality. In this first episode of a ten part series, Lynsey Hanley will examine what Grenfell means for both social housing and for us as a society. Lynsey argues Grenfell represents the culmination of the long story of how we have sought to meet the needs of the most disadvantaged in society through housing. She talks to the Labour MP David Lammy about his upbringing. He tells her how social housing was once desirable, something people aspired to. But was the original dream of good quality housing for the poorer members of our society flawed from the beginning? Lynsey asks why we don't have decent housing for all, avoiding the stigma of paternalism and segregation by income and status. Did an original flawed plan create a marginalised class of people set away in isolated estates? Presenter: Lynsey Hanley Producer: Sara Parker and Joe Sykes Executive Producer: Samir Shah A Juniper production for BBC Radio 4. In the wake of Grenfell Tower, Lynsey Hanley tells the story of social housing in Britain. |
| 02 | Streets In The Sky | 20171020 | Lynsey Hanley explores the history of social housing from 1945 to the present day. In 1957, a gigantic, futuristic new council block started to appear on the hillside above Sheffield train station. Four years later it was finished and residents from the old slums that used to dot the area started to move in. The building's name was Park Hill and it would become a vessel for everything people hate - and love - about late 20th century council housing in Britain. In this episode, Lynsey explores the ideas and issues around the trend of building upwards to meet housing needs. She then goes on to discuss the effects of Margaret Thatcher's 'Right To Buy' policy. Because the Conservative Party was so keen on this idea of the 'property owning democracy', they prevented councils from building to replace the houses sold off through the scheme. The ideal was that everyone would, eventually, own their own home. But this had unintended consequences and led to a massive reduction in social housing stock. Did that lay the foundations for the crisis in housing we see today? Lynsey ends her journey by revisiting Grenfell Tower. She suggests that a new future for social housing is possible. Why do we put so much emphasis on health and education, while believing that housing is beyond the reach of the state? She argues that what we need isn't poor housing for poor people, but a national housing service that serves everyone just like our NHS and schools. Presenter: Lynsey Hanley Producer: Sara Parker and Joe Sykes Executive Producer: Samir Shah A Juniper production for BBC Radio 4. Lynsey Hanley tells the story of social housing in Britain. |