The Cockaigne Housing Group was originally the idea of Michael Baily, a journalist at The Times. Inspired by the communal housing projects created in Scandinavia, which he had learnt about from his Danish wife, Baily decided to create a similar set-up of his own. In 1962 he placed an advert in The Times seeking support for his project and the response was positive enough for him to put his plan into action.

Later that year, Baily visited the Ideal Home Exhibition in London where he met the architects Peter Randall and David Parkes, both of whom had worked on an ‘adaptable house’ that had gained a lot of attention at the show. Baily soon decided that these were the men that he wanted working on his project. At around about the same time, he also managed to persuade the Hatfield Development Corporation to give over a parcel of land on a long-term lease.