Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
James Hogg reports from the Leytonstone area of East London, where the local authority is using its powers of compulsory purchase on houses in Norman Road. One of the houses is owned by three octogenarian sisters - Olive, Lily and Gladys - who have lived in the house their entire lives, since the turn of the century, when Leytonstone was surrounded by farmland. The sisters want to stay where they are, but the area has been chosen for council redevelopment, and they will have to leave. They are not alone, 31 houses are to be demolished on Norman Road.
James speaks to some of the residents who have received a compulsory purchase order, and to a council official. He also speaks to a couple who know what it is like to be forced from their home in Leytonstone: the Hearns were forcibly evicted from their property in 1968.
Clip taken from Nationwide, originally broadcast on BBC One, 16 April, 1974.
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James Hogg reports from the Leytonstone area of East London, where the local authority is using its powers of compulsory purchase on houses in Norman Road. One of the houses is owned by three octogenarian sisters - Olive, Lily and Gladys - who have lived in the house their entire lives, since the turn of the century, when Leytonstone was surrounded by farmland. The sisters want to stay where they are, but the area has been chosen for council redevelopment, and they will have to leave. They are not alone, 31 houses are to be demolished on Norman Road.
James speaks to some of the residents who have received a compulsory purchase order, and to a council official. He also speaks to a couple who know what it is like to be forced from their home in Leytonstone: the Hearns were forcibly evicted from their property in 1968.
Clip taken from Nationwide, originally broadcast on BBC One, 16 April, 1974.
You have now entered the BBC Archive, a time machine that will transport you back to the golden age of TV to educate, entertain and enlighten you with classic clips from the BBC vaults.
Make sure you subscribe so that you never miss a single stop on our amazing journey through the BBC Archive - youtube.com/c/BBCArchive?sub_confirmation=1
You can also dive into plenty more BBC Archive on our website - bbc.co.uk/archive
