Residents take part in Becontree Forever project which promises to ‘celebrate estate’s radical past and reimagine future’
When it was built after the first world war, Becontree in Dagenham was billed as the world’s largest ever housing estate – a modern utopia where more than 100,000 war veterans and workers from Dagenham in east London would have an inside toilet, a proper bathroom and gardens front and back.
A hundred years after the first “home for heroes” was completed in 1921, Becontree’s centenary is being marked by a series of events and public realm investments, including two fantastical playgrounds and a range of street furniture produced from upcycled rubble.
