The Council Corners
Keep off the grass!
Staying true to their vision of a town in the country, the LCC planners left natural open spaces through the estate and also provided many greens and verges as well as areas of shrubbery at the junctions of roads. These last were known to the children as "Council corners" and were a great place for hide-and-seek. The problem was that the Council had planned that the greens and corners were just for appearance and not for play. The corners have disappeared now having been absorbed by front gardens.
Desmond Reynolds remembers the LCC's strict rules and the disappearance of the green railings.
The green outside the house there was surrounded by iron railings - only small iron railings. These were taken away as soon as the war started to be used for scrap. But the Council were very strict. They used to have uniformed men coming round on bicycles and if you was caught on the green, you was in trouble. And if you didn't keep your gardens tidy, the Council would come and tell you, you gotta get them tidy - cut the grass and that.