# London overspill

London overspill communities are the communities created as a result of the government policy of moving residents out of Greater London into other areas in the South East of England between the 1930s and the 1970s. The policy was extended to relocate residents to several towns in the East Midlands, mostly Northamptonshire, situated near the M1 motorway and A1 trunk road. The policy even extended to the North West of England, with the town of Burnley in Lancashire, more than 200 miles from London, even being designated as a London overspill town.
These largely consisted of council houses and new towns.

## Policy development

The policy was initiated in the 1930s, and started in earnest after the Second World War, as a reaction to the housing shortages caused by enemy bombing and large amounts of substandard housing in the capital. This policy existed until the late 1970s, reinforced by a widespread dislike of ribbon development. Started by the London County Council, the task was completed by its successor, the Greater London Council. In the 1960s, the Location of Offices Bureau dispersed office workers away from the capital.
In 1960, the Greater London Plan proposed that over one million Londoners should be relocated from Inner London. The great majority of overspill families were relocated either to existing or new towns within south east England. As a short term expedient, viewed as regrettable, to meet an urgent need, "quasi-satellites" were created around the edge of Greater London, or close by, at South Oxhey, Debden and Harold Hill.

## List of new and expanded towns

In 1973, the following towns were listed, in Hansard, as London overspill:
| Town | Economic planning region | Status | Anticipated numbers (1973-1979) |
| Andover | South East | Expanded town | |
| Ashford | South East | Expanded town | |
| Aylesbury | South East | Expanded town | |
| Banbury | South East | Expanded town | |
| Basildon | South East | New Town | 16,000 |
| Basingstoke | South East | Expanded town | |
| Bletchley | South East | Expanded town | |
| Bracknell | South East | New Town | 12,000 |
| Braintree | South East | Expanded town | |
| Crawley | South East | New Town | 8,000 |
| Farnborough | South East | Expanded town | |
| Harlow | South East | New Town | 5,000 |
| Hastings | South East | Expanded town | |
| Hatfield | South East | New Town | 1,000 |
| Hemel Hempstead | South East | New Town | 4,000 |
| Houghton Regis | South East | Expanded town | |
| Letchworth | South East | Expanded town | |
| Milton Keynes | South East | New Town | 69,000 |
| Sandy | South East | Expanded town | |
| Stevenage | South East | New Town | 4,000 |
| Welwyn Garden City | South East | New Town | 2,000 |
| Witham | South East | Expanded town | |
| Bury St Edmunds | East Anglia | Expanded town | |
| Haverhill | East Anglia | Expanded town | |
| Huntingdon | East Anglia | Expanded town | |
| King's Lynn | East Anglia | Expanded town | |
| Long Melford | East Anglia | Expanded town | |
| Mildenhall | East Anglia | Expanded town | |
| Peterborough | East Anglia | New Town | 47,000 |
| St Neots | East Anglia | Expanded town | |
| Sudbury | East Anglia | Expanded town | |
| Thetford | East Anglia | Expanded town | |
| Bodmin | South West | Expanded town | |
| Plymouth | South West | Expanded town | |
| Swindon | South West | Expanded town | |
| Corby | East Midlands | New Town | 8,000 |
| Grantham | East Midlands | Expanded town | |
| Northampton | East Midlands | New Town | 55,000 |
| Wellingborough | East Midlands | Expanded town | 10,000 |
| Gainsborough | East Midlands | Expanded town | |
| Burnley | North West | Expanded town | |