Some positive developments during the Depression

The Special Areas Act (1934)

This was a key approach introduced by the government to provide help for the areas worst hit by the Depression.

The Act appointed two commissioners to oversee grants of £2 million (worth approximately £130 million today) to encourage companies to move into special areas. By 1938, over £8 million had been spent, but only an estimated 14,900 new jobs had been created. The act also encouraged retraining and supported workers moving to other towns.

The idea was that factories would be located together to form a trading estate. The largest of these, built in June 1936, was the Trefforest Industrial Estate located between Pontypridd and Cardiff. By 1939, only 2,500 workers were employed there. The new light industries on these estates could not absorb all the unemployed from the coal mining and ship building areas. However, the government continued to invest in the industrial estate, and by 1945 there were 16,000 people working in the Trefforest Industrial Estate.

A large group of male workers gather to sing. They are accompanied by an accordion. — Image caption,
Workmen at the Trefforest Industrial Estate hold an impromptu concert whilst waiting for the Duke and Duchess of Kent, 20 October 1937

There were some positive changes made for some British people during this tough era. Local councils built 500,000 council houses which pumped money into the economy.

However, only people who were middle or upper class benefitted, or areas that were not significantly affected by the Depression. Some people, especially in the south of England, become more affluent during the Depression.