London overspill

London overspill communities are the communities created as a result of the government policy of moving residents out of Greater London into other areas in the South East of England between the 1930s and the 1970s. The policy was extended to relocate residents to several towns in the East Midlands (mostly Northamptonshire) situated near the M1 motorway and A1 trunk road. The policy even extended to the North West of England, with the town of Burnley in Lancashire (more than 200 miles from London) even being designated as a London overspill town.

These largely consisted of council houses and new towns.