Leigh Park

In the latter stages of WWII, it became apparent that new overspill housing would be necessary for residents of Potsmouth due both to the growing population and those who has lost their homes in the Blitz. In October 1943 negotiations were started to buy Leigh Park House and adjoining land of 497 acres, situated in the nearby Borough of Havant. Subsequently another 1,174 acres were purchased and by 1947 a further 792 acres were also acquired. The first houses were built in 1947 with the families starting to move in during 1949. Most houses were completed by the 1960s although work continued until the 1970s.

There remains to this day the anomaly of residents paying rent to Portsmouth City Council while living within Havant Borough. Some of the wonderful parkland of the original estate is retained as Staunton County Park.

Originally planned as a modern day Utopia, the realities of large scale estate building, housing pressure and financial pressures meant that the original plans were altered beyond recognition. The earliest residents had to cope with deep mud instead of roads, no public transport (with few having cars), no schools, no local employment and the first shops not opening until 1952. However the quality of the housing remained higher than many residents had previous been used to, being spacious, having inside bathrooms with running hot water and set on large plots. Many residents used these to grow their own food, a luxury unheard of in inner city Portsmouth.