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In many cities during the 18th and 19th centuries, back-to-back housing provided relatively cheap homes in response to the needs of the rapidly expanding industrial workforce. High density could be achieved meaning good profits for speculative builders.
Back-to-back housing was banned by national legislation in 1909 – the culmination of decades of debate among public health professionals, social reformers and policy-makers. Today, a court of 11 back-to-backs remains in Birmingham, refurbished and managed as an important social history project by the National Trust.
In Leeds, however, a loophole in the Housing, Town Planning, Etc. Act 1909 was exploited, and back-to-backs continued to be built up to 1937. It is estimated that some 18,000 still remain, constituting an important – and problematic – element of the city’s housing stock.
The paper will explore the legacy of back-to-back housing in Leeds from the perspective of a regeneration practitioner. The inner city area of Beeston Hill & Holbeck will provide an illustrative case study. N What position do back-to-backs occupy in the contemporary housing market? What are the issues for regeneration, and how are these being addressed? Are there lessons to be learned for the future?
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