Context 162 - November 2019

C O N T E X T 1 6 2 : N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 9 25 New towns There are parallels to be drawn between post- war new towns, and earlier 19th-century garden city ideals, in that they were characterised by ‘planned order’, to produce healthier, functional places away from the misery and confusion of the cities, often through conflating town planning with what was thought to be good social policy at the time. Working to such a prescribed vision has meant that new towns in Britain have not been without their controversies. Often seen as problematic, criticism has been directed towards post-1940s new towns for their car dependence, lack of sense of place, the design and layout of their town centres, and what is considered to be their out-of-date, modern architecture, which is not consistently in favour. Designed as a carefully composed whole, the integrity of new towns is vulnerable, and they have struggled to adapt without unravelling that integrity. Where new towns have worked well, it has often been due to the quality of mas- ter planning, based on a sound understanding of the area and design quality, as in Harlow, or where design has contributed to a high degree of functionality, as in Milton Keynes. Careful design in terms of density; integration into the wider landscape; striking architecture; distinct civic character; collective identity; and sensitiv- ity of settlement pattern have contributed to the success of these places. However, social and economic policy priorities change. This is necessarily reflected in planning decisions and town management strategies which can undermine the best elements of new towns. Historic England’s Elain Harwood is writing a book specifically on new towns, which will help further understanding of their value. Re-emergence of garden towns The National Planning Policy Framework (2019) encourages the delivery of new homes through planning for large-scale development. This includes the creation of new settlements using defined principles that set clear expec- tations for the quality of the development. These principles are set out in the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) Garden Communities Prospectus, published in June 2019. The MCHLG does not intend to impose the prospectus’ principles on local authorities, instead encouraging them to develop their own locally specific principles that reflect the key qualities of the prospectus. The government’s new approach makes a distinction between garden towns of more than 10,000 homes, and smaller garden villages of between 1,500 and 10,000 homes. These new garden communities can be delivered using the recycled concept of development corporations, but with one key feature which is that councils seek secretary-of-state-level permission for the creation of a new town development corpora- tion, which would be locally accountable rather than answering directly to the MHCLG. In addition to the ability for local authorities to put forward their own garden communities, central government itself has identified and endorsed a number of other garden communities. Starting with the designation of the first new town of Stevenage in 1946, and ending with Central Lancashire in 1970, there are 21 existing new towns in England, five in Scotland, and two in Wales. Four new towns were designated in Northern Ireland, but within a different system under the New Towns Act (Northern Ireland) 1965. Since January 2017 the British govern- ment has announced 41 new garden villages and towns in England alone. Although these are of a smaller scale than early post-war new towns, the transformational nature of some new garden communities means that there is still the poten- tial for the historic environment to be harmed. One way to tackle this is to incorporate the careful consideration of the historic environ- ment in the early planning stages to ensure that the character of historic landscapes, set- tlement patterns, archaeology, and the setting of heritage assets such as conservation areas, scheduled monuments, listed buildings or reg- istered parks and gardens can be conserved. Many of the proposed garden communities will be located on greenfield sites, so there can sometimes be a perception that heritage will not be a factor, but there is no such thing as a blank canvas when it comes to new develop- ment and heritage. The MHCLG prospectus recognises this, and makes clear that the natural and historic environment of the local area should be reflected and respected in the town planning of new garden communities. Garden communities are required to come forward via the local plan process. In line with national planning policy, Historic England is