In 1960 the Tavistock Clinic was visited by Enoch Powell, the then Health Minister, who was impressed by what he saw. The Tavistock Clinic provided a model of non-hospital based care and high quality services integrated multi-disciplinary teams.
Not long after, the plans for the Tavistock Clinic’s new building were approved. The Board’s architect, FAC Maunder, began work.
In 1961 Enoch Powell delivered his ‘Water Tower’ speech which underlined the government’s policy of closing asylums and moving care into the community. It followed closely from the 1959 Mental Health Act, which identified the community as the most appropriate place of care for people with mental health problems and importantly, stated that people who were sane, but labelled ‘morally defective’ could no longer be admitted to an asylum.