0:00:01 > 0:00:02Hello, I'm Sean Fletcher.
0:00:02 > 0:00:04You're watching Inside Out London.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07Here's what's coming up on tonight's show.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11Why London's commuters are deserting the Tube in their droves.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13Tomorrow's my last day working in London.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17Goodbye to the commute from hell and to high childcare costs.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20With our elderly population set to soar, is
0:00:20 > 0:00:23it time to start building bungalows again?
0:00:23 > 0:00:26Older people enjoy them because it means that they know they
0:00:26 > 0:00:29can live in this property for quite awhile, don't have to move, they're
0:00:29 > 0:00:35not concerned about climbing the stairs or the extra costs.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37And the untold story of the secret Canary
0:00:37 > 0:00:39Girls of World War II.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42You couldn't have had the Army, the Air Force and
0:00:42 > 0:00:46the Navy working without the bombs that were being made here.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50Without the munitions the war could not have been won.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Now, here's a mystery for you.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Several million people seem to have gone missing from the capital.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07For the first time in 20 years, the number of passengers
0:01:07 > 0:01:09using the Tube has fallen.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13The latest figures show 20 million fewer journeys in the
0:01:13 > 0:01:19last year, even though the economy and the population have grown.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22City Hall is baffled and the fall in tube
0:01:22 > 0:01:25revenue has resulted in an order for 27 new Tube trains being axed.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27But where have all the commuters gone?
0:01:27 > 0:01:32We sent Mark Jordan to find out.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36Rush hour at Oxford Circus, and the regular Tube lock-out due to
0:01:36 > 0:01:38overcrowding.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40For anyone going through this hell the very last
0:01:40 > 0:01:43thing you would think the Underground would be worried about
0:01:43 > 0:01:44is falling numbers.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46But they are.
0:01:46 > 0:01:51For the first time in 20 years, Tube passenger numbers have fallen.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55384,000 fewer journeys each week.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58And all just months before Crossrail opens.
0:01:58 > 0:02:03Even bigger falls on commuter lines, Southwestern down 9%.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05It's very serious for Transport For London,
0:02:05 > 0:02:08because of course the Underground is the one part of Transport
0:02:08 > 0:02:11For London that does make a profit, and it subsidises all
0:02:11 > 0:02:14of the other operations.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16The economy is growing.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20But at City Hall they feel winter is coming.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23If there is a drop-off in the economy the first place it shows
0:02:23 > 0:02:27up in the whole UK is on the transport network in London.
0:02:27 > 0:02:34So it is a very fresh piece of information.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37And no sooner had the deputy mayor told me this, winter
0:02:37 > 0:02:40came in the biggest way.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42Was it a sign?
0:02:42 > 0:02:44So, tough times for TFL.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47We have commandeered the Old Tube Carriage restaurant here at
0:02:47 > 0:02:50Walthamstow's Pumphouse Museum.
0:02:50 > 0:02:56Three wise experts agreed to ride out the storm and help explain -
0:02:56 > 0:02:59whatever happened to the missing commuters?
0:02:59 > 0:03:01It's not entirely surprising when you look at how
0:03:01 > 0:03:04expensive it is to both live and work in London,
0:03:04 > 0:03:06that people will be actively seeking alternatives.
0:03:06 > 0:03:07New York is another example where they
0:03:07 > 0:03:12are seeing a drop in passenger numbers on their system.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14Technology is changing an awful lot about our
0:03:14 > 0:03:16relationship with the workplace, and it is disrupting the way that we
0:03:17 > 0:03:21used to work.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24So let's meet the missing prime suspects in this metro mystery.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Tomorrow is my last day working in London.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29Goodbye to the commute from hell and to high
0:03:29 > 0:03:31childcare costs.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34No crowds, no costs and I arrive at work much quicker.
0:03:34 > 0:03:35The bike.
0:03:35 > 0:03:41And I do my bit for the London economy right here, at home.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45With falling tube revenues and a fares freeze, its mind the Gap.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48TFL just cancelled an order for 27 new
0:03:48 > 0:03:52Tube trains.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55So let's meet our first missing suspects - the exiles.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Redhill in Surrey.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59I am visiting Amber Recruitment.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03They specialise in luring people out of the capital.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06There is certainly life after London.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10I'm currently travelling an hour and a half each way per day.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14Jenna's three hour daily round-trip is 15 hours a week.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17It means she spends an entire month of every year
0:04:17 > 0:04:20on a train.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24Then add the strikes, the cost and the overcrowding.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26I handed in my notice in my current workplace.
0:04:26 > 0:04:27She's not alone.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30We've had lots of delays, lots of cancellations.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34So that will be by 10:30, and I left at 7am.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37This is the reason I am giving up the commute.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39London is where you get the well-paid jobs.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41London is where you get the status.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43Where you get the better career options.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45But not so any more.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49Companies down here are beginning to cotton on to the fact
0:04:49 > 0:04:49that we can nab these people.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51I've had enough.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54I think the time and the cost is adding more burden, I think
0:04:54 > 0:04:56children, family situations change.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00I think they need to be educated that there are good jobs locally.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Which we are doing.
0:05:03 > 0:05:04We have seen, in London and the South East, a
0:05:04 > 0:05:06doubling of house prices over the last decade,
0:05:06 > 0:05:07but that inflation is
0:05:07 > 0:05:10now ebbing, indeed, in London they fell back by 5% over the last
0:05:10 > 0:05:11calendar year.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14I suspect we're going to see more of that as people
0:05:14 > 0:05:16understand and appreciate that they no longer
0:05:16 > 0:05:18have to pay to be right in
0:05:18 > 0:05:22the heart of London unless that is where they absolutely want to live.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26But not all missing commuters have left the capital.
0:05:26 > 0:05:31Within a generation cycling in London has tripled.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33The future is massively bright for cycling.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35We are seeing a shift in infrastructure, in
0:05:35 > 0:05:37politics.
0:05:37 > 0:05:42Apps have now made it possible to unlock a bike anywhere
0:05:42 > 0:05:44around you, take it with you to exactly
0:05:44 > 0:05:46where you need to go and
0:05:46 > 0:05:48station it there again, and then unlock another one and take
0:05:48 > 0:05:50it where you want to go again.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52So by creating great bike lanes, TFL is
0:05:52 > 0:05:53losing money on the tubes.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56They used to probably use the bike lanes bus
0:05:56 > 0:06:00or the tube and pay into the funds for TFL but they are not so any
0:06:00 > 0:06:01more.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04So transport for London now has a big challenge ahead of how we
0:06:04 > 0:06:06are going to keep paying for that cycling infrastructure.
0:06:06 > 0:06:13And it is not just bikes.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16Uber's low-cost cars are stealing Tube passengers.
0:06:16 > 0:06:17I want to move across London.
0:06:17 > 0:06:24What do I do?
0:06:24 > 0:06:28I get my phone out and then I either call up and Uber and know
0:06:28 > 0:06:32exactly when they are going to come, they are going to come exactly to my
0:06:32 > 0:06:35location, it is really convenient, or I can look for a bike.
0:06:35 > 0:06:36It has re-change the relationship we have
0:06:36 > 0:06:37with these modes of transport.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39And of course that is having a profound
0:06:39 > 0:06:41impact on people's relationship with public transport.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43There is something of a contradiction for TFL.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45They are both the regulator and the competitor.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47For TFL this is the big problem.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50We as consumers are saying we want to use these new modes of
0:06:50 > 0:06:51transport.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54We don't want to have to rely on these old modes of
0:06:54 > 0:06:55transport.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57Only time will tell if TFL will relicense Uber.
0:06:57 > 0:06:58most.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00City Hall says off-peak Tube travel is down
0:07:00 > 0:07:01most.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04If you look at the rise in delivery vehicles in London, which
0:07:04 > 0:07:07has been huge, so many people use the Internet now rather than
0:07:07 > 0:07:08actually go out and walk round the shops.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11Maybe a 5% drop off in shopping and we have seen something
0:07:11 > 0:07:14like a 2% drop-off on the tube.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17But home has also become the workplace.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20A decade ago, broadband speeds were typically at two megabytes per
0:07:20 > 0:07:21second.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24I've just had the latest upgrade from BT, it has taken the
0:07:24 > 0:07:25over 50 megabytes per second.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28I can do everything I used to have to do
0:07:28 > 0:07:35in town now from the comfort of my own home.
0:07:35 > 0:07:42Brick Lane, and I have been invited to the monthly meeting
0:07:42 > 0:07:43of the Hocksby collective.
0:07:43 > 0:07:44These lawyers, advertisers and business
0:07:44 > 0:07:45advisers usually work alone, from home.
0:07:45 > 0:07:46Because they can.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48I was commuting 450 miles per week.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52I think it allows me to fit my life around my work rather than the other
0:07:52 > 0:07:53way around.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56The reality of making it happen is so small, it's so easy to do.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58The technology and the systems are there.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02But the impact on people's lives is monument.
0:08:02 > 0:08:12I am both more productive and happy.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14The Hocksby way is to love what you do,
0:08:14 > 0:08:16so that is to work under your own terms,
0:08:16 > 0:08:18with your own work style, in
0:08:18 > 0:08:19the way that suits you best.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21Most of us love the idea of working from
0:08:21 > 0:08:22home.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24And increasingly bosses, like at this architectural firm, are
0:08:24 > 0:08:26realising it is good for business.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29If you want numbers, and if you think about every square
0:08:29 > 0:08:31foot of office space in central London it is
0:08:31 > 0:08:32probably worth £1000.
0:08:32 > 0:08:33Somebody working at a desk, traditionally,
0:08:33 > 0:08:35would take up 100 square feet.
0:08:35 > 0:08:36So that desk space is worth £100,000.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40So you can see that a few of those you need the less the cost to your
0:08:40 > 0:08:42business and in a dramatic way.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Add to that Ben was losing talented young staff due to the cost of
0:08:46 > 0:08:48London living.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Hi, Charlotte.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53So he introduced part-time working from home.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57It allows us to keep staff that we might otherwise lose.
0:08:57 > 0:08:58We have one employee who lives in Darlington
0:08:58 > 0:09:00who works from home a
0:09:00 > 0:09:05couple of days a week.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08So for the likes of TFL this makes a significant difference.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10They have to change their plans, in many cases
0:09:10 > 0:09:12they will have to rip up their revenue
0:09:12 > 0:09:13projections and change the
0:09:13 > 0:09:14way that they operate.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16All London's plans, like the proposed Crossrail 2,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19are still built on ever-growing demand.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22Beyond the M25 they have spotted London's fall in passenger
0:09:22 > 0:09:25journeys.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27London does have a system that is fit for purpose.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30So what we are saying is the North of England
0:09:30 > 0:09:33must now come to the front of the queue when it comes to future
0:09:33 > 0:09:36transport investment.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38The drop-off in demand has been about 2% over
0:09:38 > 0:09:40last year.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42The long-term trends are still for economic and population
0:09:42 > 0:09:44growth.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46Are you worried?
0:09:46 > 0:09:47This is something new so anything new
0:09:47 > 0:09:49worries us.
0:09:49 > 0:09:54It is just that life is changing.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Mark Jordan reporting, there.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Still to come on tonight's show...
0:10:01 > 0:10:05Almost 1 million women were called up to
0:10:05 > 0:10:08make munitions, but unlike the veterans of the Land Army, the
0:10:08 > 0:10:10Timber Corps and the Bevin Boys, munitions workers have never
0:10:10 > 0:10:12received individual honours.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14So more than 70 years after they played a
0:10:14 > 0:10:17significant role in the country's victory, is it time that the
0:10:17 > 0:10:18Government officially recognised the contribution made
0:10:18 > 0:10:24by the munitionettes?
0:10:27 > 0:10:31With most London property developers adopting a pile them high policy,
0:10:31 > 0:10:33the bungalow has rather fallen out of fashion.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37With the UK's elderly population set to double in the next
0:10:37 > 0:10:39three decades, a recent House of Commons report says that
0:10:39 > 0:10:43bungalows could be just what is needed.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47So could single-storey living be set for a comeback?
0:10:47 > 0:10:51I went to find out.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59This peaceful street tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Acton
0:10:59 > 0:11:04comes as a great surprise to anyone who stumbles across it, because it
0:11:04 > 0:11:07consists only of bungalows.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09It's very unusual to find a whole street
0:11:09 > 0:11:12of them this close to the city centre.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15But since the early 1950s they have been the dream home for
0:11:15 > 0:11:17many people in retirement.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19No stairs to climb and easy access for
0:11:19 > 0:11:23wheelchair users and those who are unsteady on their feet.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28The bungalow actually gave people, because it was
0:11:28 > 0:11:32quite cheap and they could often build it themselves,
0:11:32 > 0:11:34it gave people this sort of sense of independence.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36Older people enjoy them because it means
0:11:36 > 0:11:39they know they can live in this property for quite awhile, they
0:11:39 > 0:11:42don't have to move, they are not concerned about climbing the stairs
0:11:42 > 0:11:44of the extra costs, they are cheaper to heat.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47Because of my condition, sort of thing, I've got no steps.
0:11:47 > 0:11:48You don't feel cramped, you have plenty
0:11:48 > 0:11:52of room to move around.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57The first bungalows were built in Britain back
0:11:57 > 0:12:00in the late 19th century, but the idea sprang from a very exotic
0:12:00 > 0:12:02location.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05They are an Indian concept that has been Anglicised.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08The word bungalow actually means of Bengal.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11It is an Indian building type.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16And when English, British colonial traders went over to India they
0:12:16 > 0:12:20started using that as their model for their homes.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23As more and more people went over to India they were
0:12:23 > 0:12:28bringing ideas back, things like curries, like bungalows.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30So from the 1850s, that's when you start seeing
0:12:30 > 0:12:32the first bungalows in this country.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35These were holiday homes, they were second homes,
0:12:35 > 0:12:39so you had to be quite wealthy to be able to afford that.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42In the 1920s people are still having them as weekend retreats up to
0:12:42 > 0:12:44a point.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46Then those people, after the Second World War, getting on a bit,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49they have got this vision of the bungalow has
0:12:49 > 0:12:50a really happy place in
0:12:50 > 0:12:54the countryside.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57That is the kind of place they might like to retire to.
0:12:57 > 0:13:02And this is when you start to get big suburban estates of bungalows.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04Building bungalows en masse in suburbia became very popular for
0:13:04 > 0:13:06many years.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10In 1987 alone there were over 28,000 built.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13Last year, though, there would just over 2000.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17So there has been a steep decline.
0:13:28 > 0:13:29Developers aren't really building new ones
0:13:29 > 0:13:31because they are quite land hungry.
0:13:31 > 0:13:36The price of land is so high that what you can get a single bungalow
0:13:36 > 0:13:39with garden on one plot, you could probably build a couple
0:13:39 > 0:13:42of houses, you could build upwards.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44Bungalows are not very good in the kind of
0:13:44 > 0:13:46economic climate today.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Even if they would be very desirable because they
0:13:49 > 0:13:50are nice places to live.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52Local authorities aren't particularly
0:13:52 > 0:13:54interested in bungalows.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56Whether you are an individual wanting to build a
0:13:56 > 0:13:58bungalow, whether you are a community land trust wanting to
0:13:58 > 0:14:00build a few homes to create a community
0:14:00 > 0:14:01setting, whether you are a
0:14:01 > 0:14:03cooperative building bungalows, or even just a developer building
0:14:03 > 0:14:06for your local market, it is a lot harder
0:14:06 > 0:14:10for you to get planning permission to build a bungalow then
0:14:10 > 0:14:13it is to build a terraced house.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16London itself hasn't tried to get more people to build bungalows and
0:14:16 > 0:14:19it hasn't tried to stimulate the market.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21But with the recent House of Commons communities select committee
0:14:21 > 0:14:27report acknowledging that with more and more over 65 is living longer
0:14:27 > 0:14:30their housing needs will need to be met, the answer - yes, you guessed
0:14:30 > 0:14:37it - start building bungalows again.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52This award-winning estate is one of several being built
0:14:52 > 0:14:54or planned in Barking.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58These bungalows provide social housing for elderly and
0:14:58 > 0:15:02disabled residents and were built on land that was just lying dormant.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06Barking has historically been developed in the 50s and 60s where
0:15:06 > 0:15:10it is car borne, and there are a lot of underused garage sites.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12And that is what we have actually been using
0:15:12 > 0:15:14here and a lot of these smaller developments.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16It was based on an alms house, and I think what is
0:15:16 > 0:15:19interesting, there is a sort of contradiction between almshouses and
0:15:19 > 0:15:20bungalows.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22Bungalows were always built on individual plots, and
0:15:22 > 0:15:25actually what we have done here is group them together -
0:15:25 > 0:15:28bungalows or a courtyard house, in a grouping,
0:15:28 > 0:15:33because it has a sort of social centre and focal point.
0:15:33 > 0:15:34People, both the individual and collective, was
0:15:34 > 0:15:34People, both the individual and collective, was
0:15:34 > 0:15:38very much at the heart of this proposal here.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40One of the residents here lost his leg in an industrial
0:15:40 > 0:15:44accident, so climbing stairs became impossible.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46Moving here was ideal.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48Sometimes you can't get your leg on, your leg swells up.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50And you can't wear your leg.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53So you have to sort of go around on your bum, sort of
0:15:53 > 0:15:57thing, or on your hands and knees.
0:15:57 > 0:15:58Or in a wheelchair or on crutches.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01And going upstairs, if you haven't got a stairlift, you have to...
0:16:01 > 0:16:04It's horrible.
0:16:04 > 0:16:05So a bungalow is ideal.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07Ideal, yeah.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09If I do need to use the wheelchair, it's easy, everything is
0:16:09 > 0:16:11just wide and the wheelchair can spin round.
0:16:11 > 0:16:12They've thought about it.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15It is full of disabled and elderly people.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17And the design is all right, it's fine.
0:16:17 > 0:16:18It's misleading.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21It looks more from outside but when you come in its
0:16:21 > 0:16:25quite spacious.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27Tom, like most of the residents here, moved from a much
0:16:27 > 0:16:30bigger house, freeing up other properties that could house larger
0:16:30 > 0:16:31families.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34So building these new bungalows actually made economic sense.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38This actual site, one of eight now, we have managed to get 76
0:16:38 > 0:16:44of these type properties which has freed up 66 homes for families.
0:16:44 > 0:16:45And that is really important.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47So actually they all interlink when it
0:16:47 > 0:16:52comes to what we're trying to do as a community.
0:16:52 > 0:16:53Why build bungalows?
0:16:53 > 0:16:56The reason we are building bungalows is because people need bungalows.
0:16:56 > 0:16:57People want bungalows.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59Remember, we are asking people to give up three
0:16:59 > 0:17:01or four, five bedroom houses that have been their life.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03They will still have family heirlooms that
0:17:03 > 0:17:06they want to keep and they want a space that is still their own.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08And that is what this allows.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10It is a very small, compact, but very agile
0:17:10 > 0:17:15way of allowing people to carry on what they see as their life path.
0:17:15 > 0:17:16There is a waiting list.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19And we have people of a older nature or a more
0:17:19 > 0:17:22vulnerable nature saying we can't manage the bigger home, can we have
0:17:22 > 0:17:23one of these?
0:17:23 > 0:17:25And that is why we are still building.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28So we will have over 100 units by the end of the summer,
0:17:28 > 0:17:29which is fantastic.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31And we want to continue that to happen.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34So one council is seeing how popular bungalows still are with the
0:17:34 > 0:17:37elderly.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45All over the capital and the suburbs, though, and lack of
0:17:45 > 0:17:48All over the capital and the suburbs, though, a lack of
0:17:48 > 0:17:51empty land to build on is surely the biggest problem
0:17:51 > 0:17:52that those wanting bungalows in the future face.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54It is definitely a concern in London, the
0:17:54 > 0:17:55amount of space.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57However, a Government policy was office to
0:17:57 > 0:17:59residential, so you could easily convert, without a long planning
0:17:59 > 0:18:02process, an office block into residential homes.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04Now, since that policy was introduced, it has really
0:18:04 > 0:18:08taken off.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11That is because there is a policy in place and local
0:18:11 > 0:18:13authorities then have to deliver it.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16There are very many small sites and we are sitting on a fantastic
0:18:16 > 0:18:20development here which really shows off what you can do with a good
0:18:20 > 0:18:21piece of land.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25And we can have a mix of bungalows, you can have a mix of
0:18:25 > 0:18:28housing, maybe you need a mix of them all, and maybe when we talk
0:18:28 > 0:18:31about affordable housing is what we really need to start talking
0:18:31 > 0:18:33about is what the area needs.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35And perhaps we don't need 30 affordable houses -
0:18:35 > 0:18:37maybe we need 25 bungalows.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39And perhaps the local authority can work
0:18:39 > 0:18:44with the developer to deliver that sort of flexibility.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47Bungalows have faced economic cutbacks and lack of
0:18:47 > 0:18:49space, but they are still places that many elderly see as a dream
0:18:49 > 0:18:52home.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54So with support from the Commons, bungalows could be a thing
0:18:54 > 0:18:59of the future as well as the past.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07Most of those who worked on the home front to help Britain win the Second
0:19:07 > 0:19:09World War have been given a medal or an official badge.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12That includes miners and farm workers who helped
0:19:12 > 0:19:14keep the country going.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16But one group of women who did some of the
0:19:16 > 0:19:19most dangerous work have always been overlooked.
0:19:19 > 0:19:24Former BBC correspondent Kate Adie asks if it is now time the
0:19:24 > 0:19:28Canary Girls were given their due.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing
0:19:30 > 0:19:33grounds...
0:19:33 > 0:19:36It was Britain's darkest hour.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38Its cities pounded by German bombers, the threat of invasion
0:19:38 > 0:19:40real.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43Churchill, though, was defiant.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46We shall fight in the hills.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48We shall never surrender.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50The country needed bombs and bullets on
0:19:50 > 0:19:52an industrial scale, but there weren't enough civilian
0:19:52 > 0:19:54men to go into the factories.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58So Britain turned to its women.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01Over the next four years, almost 1 million women
0:20:01 > 0:20:03were called up to make munitions.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06But unlike the veterans of the Land Army, the Timber Corps and the Bevin
0:20:06 > 0:20:09Boys, who worked down the mines, munitions workers have never
0:20:09 > 0:20:15received individual honours.
0:20:15 > 0:20:20The Royal Ordinance factory near Hereford was one of Britain's
0:20:20 > 0:20:21largest munitions plants.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26Is employed around 2000 workers, most of them women.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29Today the site is overgrown and neglected but local
0:20:29 > 0:20:31historian Bill believes what happened here should
0:20:31 > 0:20:34not be forgotten.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37You couldn't have had the army, the air force and navy
0:20:37 > 0:20:40working without the bombs that were being made here.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44Without the munitions that were produced across
0:20:44 > 0:20:49the country, the war could not have been won.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52The National Munitions Association estimates there are
0:20:52 > 0:20:57around 300 surviving veterans.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00I have arranged to have tea with a few who worked here.
0:21:00 > 0:21:01Hello!
0:21:01 > 0:21:03How nice to see you.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07The women had to register for work when they turned 18.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09Fresh out of school, Elizabeth Cross was made an
0:21:09 > 0:21:13inspector, overseeing the assembly of artillery shells.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15Had you had any experience?
0:21:15 > 0:21:16I had no idea.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19I don't think we had any experience.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21I think we were just showed what do.
0:21:21 > 0:21:22And that was that.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25Nancy worked on the 25-pounders which were fired by
0:21:25 > 0:21:28the army's main field gun.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30When you were working with shells, did you
0:21:30 > 0:21:36ponder what they were going to do?
0:21:36 > 0:21:38Yes, we did really.
0:21:38 > 0:21:43Conscious of it.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47But we knew that ...it had to be done.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50The women may have been working on the home front, but the
0:21:50 > 0:21:52work was at times dangerous.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55For one, they were handling huge amounts
0:21:55 > 0:21:57of explosives.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59Maureen from Orpington in Kent was sent to work
0:21:59 > 0:22:05at a munitions factory near Stoke.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07But during her training she was involved
0:22:07 > 0:22:09in an accident when her instructor made a mistake.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13She said, you take this bottle and you put
0:22:13 > 0:22:15this in...
0:22:15 > 0:22:17Telling me all about it, you see.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20And then the next thing I knew I was lying on the ground
0:22:20 > 0:22:26outside having been blown out through the door, I suppose!
0:22:26 > 0:22:28Maureen's hearing was permanently damaged and her face is required
0:22:28 > 0:22:31plastic surgery.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33Her instructor, who was just 18, was exposed to the full
0:22:33 > 0:22:36force of the blast.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39She must have been blown up in the place.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42And she died.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45But working with explosives posed other risks too.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49With just basic protective equipment, some
0:22:49 > 0:22:52workers fell ill from poisonous fumes.
0:22:52 > 0:22:57Nancy Evans handled chemicals including cordite, arsenic and TNT,
0:22:57 > 0:23:02which can cause toxic jaundice and turn the skin yellow.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05It is why some munitions workers became known as
0:23:05 > 0:23:06Canary Girls.
0:23:06 > 0:23:12Your hair would turn blonde, your hands were all yellow.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15Your face was yellow.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19Nancy soon developed severe stomach problems.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23They took me to the hospital, and they operated that
0:23:23 > 0:23:27night, and it took me five days before I came to,
0:23:27 > 0:23:32because of the TNT poisoning.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34Pregnant workers were particularly at risk.
0:23:34 > 0:23:39Lillian Summers remembers when a friend lost her baby.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41It was born with yellow skin.
0:23:41 > 0:23:42I can remember.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44It was six days old.
0:23:44 > 0:23:45And she lost it.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48The tiny, pale, little yellow baby.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50Because she worked in the fill, you see?
0:23:50 > 0:23:51We called it the fill.
0:23:51 > 0:23:52Filling the shells?
0:23:52 > 0:23:57Yes, the fill.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59Air raid shelters like this were built in the
0:23:59 > 0:24:02grounds of the factories because not only were
0:24:02 > 0:24:03explosives and chemical is
0:24:03 > 0:24:08a danger, the workers were a target of the Luftwaffe.
0:24:08 > 0:24:13At 6am on the 27th of July 1942, a German bomber was
0:24:13 > 0:24:16spotted over Hereford.
0:24:16 > 0:24:17The siren went.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19We saw the plane up there.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22Thinking, oh, we are all right, it is one of ours, we are OK.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24And then there was a big whoosh...
0:24:24 > 0:24:31And we realised it wasn't.
0:24:31 > 0:24:37A man ran through when he said get out, it's for real. My friend called
0:24:37 > 0:24:42me and we raced down the corridors. In a plane came down and it came
0:24:42 > 0:24:48down so low you could see the swastika on it. There were two bombs
0:24:48 > 0:24:51dropped and then you can just imagine what it was like.I was
0:24:51 > 0:25:02helping the people to get in the ambulances. And then was going
0:25:02 > 0:25:09around picking the dead ones up. It was terrible. I never saw anything
0:25:09 > 0:25:10like it.
0:25:19 > 0:25:25At least 24 people were killed in the bombing. And every year
0:25:25 > 0:25:2799-year-old Nancy Evans joins Hereford's old soldiers to remember
0:25:27 > 0:25:34the friends she lost that day.I thought how nice it would have been
0:25:34 > 0:25:45if they were here, the ones that got killed. I lost many of them. I sent
0:25:45 > 0:25:53my prayers out to them.So having done important and dangerous work,
0:25:53 > 0:25:57why haven't these women received official recognition? In the
0:25:57 > 0:26:01Commons, Theresa May cited what she called practical reasons.I'm sure
0:26:01 > 0:26:06everyone in the house would want to join me in plain tribute to the
0:26:06 > 0:26:11thousands who worked in munitions factories. For practical reasons it
0:26:11 > 0:26:15isn't possible to pursue individual awards.Missing records could make
0:26:15 > 0:26:19it difficult to verify whether veterans are genuine but still some
0:26:19 > 0:26:23have documents proving they were canary girls. And even those who
0:26:23 > 0:26:27don't should be recognised, according to the former MP who
0:26:27 > 0:26:33successfully fought the recognition of the Bevin Boys.Records
0:26:33 > 0:26:33successfully fought the recognition of the Bevin Boys.Records
0:26:33 > 0:26:34successfully fought the recognition of the Bevin Boys.Records will be
0:26:34 > 0:26:38difficult, often statements can be collaborated by people and that
0:26:38 > 0:26:38should be
0:26:38 > 0:26:39collaborated by people and that should be strong enough. If it is
0:26:39 > 0:26:39good enough
0:26:39 > 0:26:41should be strong enough. If it is good enough for the Bevin Boys and
0:26:41 > 0:26:45Gordon Brown and did something for the land girls, there is no reason
0:26:45 > 0:26:49at all whether the treatment of the day shouldn't quickly recognise the
0:26:49 > 0:26:56role that the armaments factory were workers played in our victory in
0:26:56 > 0:27:021945.Following a campaign backed by BBC radio Hereford and Worcester
0:27:02 > 0:27:06radio, to May invited a group of musicians workers to number ten, but
0:27:06 > 0:27:10official recognition was not discussed.It was an interesting
0:27:10 > 0:27:13time the ladies, they met Theresa May and how gravity and piece of
0:27:13 > 0:27:18cake. But that is not formal recognition. I think they deserve
0:27:18 > 0:27:24some sort of medal or a formally recognised badge they can wear with
0:27:24 > 0:27:28pride and that their family members can cling on to as well. They were
0:27:28 > 0:27:33quite happy to honour the man who fired the bullets and drop the bombs
0:27:33 > 0:27:36but here we are with these women who made them and without whom we could
0:27:36 > 0:27:41not have won the wars.In a statement, the Government or this
0:27:41 > 0:27:46programme...
0:27:57 > 0:28:01Do you think you should be in some way officially recognise?Yes,
0:28:01 > 0:28:12please. Eddie. I would very much.I think it is important because I
0:28:12 > 0:28:15think we should be treated the same as everybody else.I would like
0:28:15 > 0:28:22that. I think all these ladies would like it.It is a difficult fact that
0:28:22 > 0:28:25each year fewer and fewer of these remarkable women survived to tell
0:28:25 > 0:28:32their stories. So if the Government is to act it must do so quickly.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40Kate Adie reporting. I really hope the canary girls get the proper Rick
0:28:40 > 0:28:44recognition they deserve. That is it for the current series of inside
0:28:44 > 0:28:48out. Tonight's programme will be available on the eye
0:28:48 > 0:28:48out. Tonight's programme will be available on the eye player. Head to
0:28:48 > 0:28:56our website, and click on London. We will be back again in the autumn.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00See you later.