Housing at Saffron Lane

A solution to Leicester’s housing shortage

After the end of the First World War there was a serious housing shortage in Leicester. By the early 1920s, over 5,000 people were on the waiting list. In April 1924, Leicester Corporation bought 169 acres of land from Mrs Sybil Eyres-Monsell. They planned to create a ‘garden suburb’ with 1,500 houses, called the Park Estate. It is now the Saffron Lane Estate. Work started on 20 September 1924, with the first 30 houses being
completed 11 months later.

Aerial view of Elston Fields, 1927

The Park Estate: a garden suburb

The plans included a shopping centre, churches, a library and schools. The streets were laid out in curves and circles and the houses were built to make the most of the sunlight. At its heart was Elston Fields, now known as Tick-Tock Park. Houses were built from concrete, or concrete and brick. They cost £465 or £515 with the larger ones having an entertaining room, called a parlour. Two years after the land was bought, 500 houses had been built.

Famous residents and new houses

Development continued; in 1939 the estate’s ‘Pork Pie’ library opened and in 1967, a sports centre with England’s first synthetic running track. Two important writers, Joe Orton and Sue Townsend grew up on the Saffron Lane Estate. By the 1980s the concrete used to build the houses was cracking and in the next 20 years the houses were demolished. Residents fought against private development and the houses were replaced by new Council and housing association properties.