NOSTALGIA: Were you one of the first to live at Leigh Park?

Next year is the 70th anniversary of the digging of the first footings of Leigh Park housing estate.Â I see from council minutesÂ the estate was planned back inÂ 1943. Â

By The Newsroom

Published 3rd Aug 2018, 11:26 BST

Updated 31st Aug 2018, 17:12 BST

An early 'Test' match on the fledgling Leigh Park estate

On October 26 that year,Â a meeting was held at which Councillor Storey said heÂ might be ableÂ to buy, on behalf of the corporation, all land required at Leigh Park for a satellite town together with a green belt.Â

A proposal was put forward to buyÂ 2,400 acres of land bounded to the south by Stockheath Lane and Denvilles, on the east by the Southern Railway line and to the north-east by the Emsworth-Horndean Road. It would cost Â£150,000.

Building startedÂ in 1947 and the first residents movedÂ inÂ in 1949. Shops weren't built until 1952 so people had to traipseÂ to Havant or Bedhampton for shopping.

Â I am sure there are manyÂ who remember moving thereÂ from Portsmouth in the early years.Â I want to write a featureÂ about the estate and I would like to see photographs and hear your memories. Please contact me on (023) 9243 5936.