Plans for Greater London

Plans for Greater London

The planning of Greater London was examined in detail through the County of London Plan (Abercrombie and Forshaw, 1943) and the London Plan 1944(Abercrombie, 1945). In the latter Abercrombie, elaborating the earlier strategy of the Greater London Regional Plan Committee proposed a ring of new towns, about 14 miles (22.5 km) from the suburban edge of Greater London, set in a statutory green belt. One of the sites, Ongar, was designed in considerable detail, and contained all the features which were to be found in the subsequent 'first generation' London Ring New Towns. The Labour Government, elected in 1945, was keen to commence building the new towns as soon as possible. Lewis Silkin was appointed Minister for Town and Country Planning. In October 1945, Lord Reith was appointed to head a committee to report on the appropriate agency to build new towns, and recommended the public corporation. Later reports dealt with the acquisition and development of land, and general planning principles. The New Towns Bill was tabled in the Commons in April 1946, and received Royal Assent on 11 November 1946. On the same day, against considerable local opposition, the first new town was designated at Stevenage in Hertfordshire. [PHOTO] It was given the nickname 'Silkingrad'. Exception was taken to the non-democratic nature of the Development Corporation and its powers of compulsory acquisition of land, albeit that opposers could make their case through public local inquiries.

  1. 'ABERCROMBIE, Patrick' Greater London Plan 1944; A Report prepared on behalf of the Standing Conference on London Regional Planning at the request of the Minister of Town and Country Planning.London, 1945 A fundamental document for the formulation of post-war New Town strategy, especially in the South-East. The Plan proposed a series of New Towns beyond the London Green Belt, basically as achieved in the next few years.(included on this site)
  2. 'MARK I/II/III TOWNS' Also referred to as 'First, Second and Third Generation Towns'. Grouping of new towns according to the date and period of their designation.
  3. 'REITH COMMITTEE' New Towns Committee: Interim Report, Second Interim Report and Final Report. 1946 The major `Reith Committee' Report was sponsored by the Attlee Government. Within ten months the New Towns Act had been passed.(Final Report included on this site)
  4. 'DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION' The body established under the New Towns Acts which was given specific powers and responsibilities for the development of a new town.
  5. 'HMSO' New Towns Act 1946.London, 1946 Text of this key Act.(included on this site)
  6. 'DESIGNATION' The term used to describe the general procedures through which approval was given to proceed with the development of a new town.
  7. 'COMPULSORY PURCHASE' Where land required for development cannot be voluntarily purchased from a land owner and the statutory authority, in this context the development corporations, needs to resort to compulsory purchase powers which result in the landowner being forced to sell his land at market value subject to confirmation following an inquiry by the appropriate Secretary of State.