With building work largely on hold throughout the war, housing was in short supply by 1919. Luton estimated that it needed 1,000 new houses, but plans had been lost in the Peace Day riots fire at the Town Hall.

Luton Rural District Council, however, had plans to build concrete cottages at Sundon at a cost of £350 each, the first of their kind to be erected in the country. The plan for one of the cottages was reproduced in the Luton News of July 31st, 1919, courtesy of Surveyor Mr Harold Pickering.

An accompanying report read: “The Ministry of Health recently sanctioned the Rural District Council's acceptance of a tender for 24 concrete cottages at this figure, as the first part of their housing scheme for the rural area.

“The preparation for the site for these cottages at Sundon has already been taken in hand, and the contractors, The Standard Building Construction Co Ltd, of Finsbury Square, London, have promised to begin on the actual cottages before the week is out.

“The cottages are to be built in pairs and, although it is not marked in our reproduction, there will be a cavity between the inner and outer walls. The internal arrangements of both ground and first floor are designed to give the maximum space and utility, and when completed these cottages will mark a decided advance in the character of the housing accommodation considered necessary for the health and comfort of workers in the rural areas.”