New Towns Act 1946
Encyclopedia
The New Towns Act 1946 was an Act
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
which allowed the government to designate areas as new towns
, and passing development control
functions to a Development Corporation
. Several new towns were created in the years following its passing. The Act was replaced by the New Towns Act 1964.
was appointed as chair of the government sponsored New Towns Committee. It was set up to consider how best to repair and rebuild urban communities after the ravages of World War II
. The committee concluded that there was a need to construct new towns using development corporations supported by central government. The New Towns Act cemented this vision in 1946 and New Towns were born.
The 1946 Act was extensively revised in 1965 and 1981.
England
Scotland
Wales
The Following towns were expanded on a large scale according to plans brought about from the act.
, which is an act similar to the New Towns Act of 1946. The developments are generally smaller than those created under the New Towns Act. They are also referred to as villages rather than towns, however this is more a marketing strategy than any representation of their size, as the areas are generally part of a large urban backdrop.
Some of these projects are merely further development of the new towns created as part of the 1946 New Towns Act.
Holbeck Urban Village
in Leeds is a similar redevelopment scheme to the Greenwich Millennium Village, although is not officially part of the Millennium Communities Programme.
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
which allowed the government to designate areas as new towns
New towns in the United Kingdom
Below is a list of some of the new towns in the United Kingdom created under the various New Town Acts of the 20th century. Some earlier towns were developed as Garden Cities or overspill estates early in the twentieth century. The New Towns proper were planned to disperse population following the...
, and passing development control
Development Control
Development control, planning control, or development management is the element of the United Kingdom's system of town and country planning through which local government regulates land use and new building. It relies on a "plan-led system" whereby development plans are formed and the public is...
functions to a Development Corporation
Development Corporation
In England and Wales, Development Corporations are bodies set up by the UK government and charged with the urban development of an area, outside the usual system of Town and Country Planning in the United Kingdom...
. Several new towns were created in the years following its passing. The Act was replaced by the New Towns Act 1964.
Background information
In 1945 Lord Reith of StonehavenJohn Reith, 1st Baron Reith
John Charles Walsham Reith, 1st Baron Reith, KT, GCVO, GBE, CB, TD, PC was a Scottish broadcasting executive who established the tradition of independent public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom...
was appointed as chair of the government sponsored New Towns Committee. It was set up to consider how best to repair and rebuild urban communities after the ravages of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The committee concluded that there was a need to construct new towns using development corporations supported by central government. The New Towns Act cemented this vision in 1946 and New Towns were born.
The 1946 Act was extensively revised in 1965 and 1981.
Towns
The following towns were created under the New Towns ActEngland
- BasildonBasildonBasildon is a town located in the Basildon District of the county of Essex, England.It lies east of Central London and south of the county town of Chelmsford...
, Essex - BracknellBracknellBracknell is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England. It lies to the south-east of Reading, southwest of Windsor and west of central London...
, Berkshire - Central LancashireCentral LancashireCentral Lancashire is a designated new town in England. The designated area covers the towns of Preston, Leyland and Chorley...
(Preston and Leyland), Lancashire - CorbyCorbyCorby Town is a town and borough located in the county of Northamptonshire. Corby Town is 23 miles north-east of the county town, Northampton. The borough had a population of 53,174 at the 2001 Census; the town on its own accounted for 49,222 of this figure...
, Northamptonshire - HarlowHarlowHarlow is a new town and local government district in Essex, England. It is located in the west of the county and on the border with Hertfordshire, on the Stort Valley, The town is near the M11 motorway and forms part of the London commuter belt.The district has a current population of 78,889...
, Essex - HatfieldHatfield, HertfordshireHatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...
, Hertfordshire - Hemel HempsteadHemel HempsteadHemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire in the East of England, to the north west of London and part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2001 Census was 81,143 ....
, Hertfordshire - Milton KeynesMilton KeynesMilton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
, Buckinghamshire - Newton AycliffeNewton AycliffeNewton Aycliffe is a town in County Durham, England. Founded in 1947 under the New Towns Act of 1946, it is the oldest new town in the north of England.-Geography:...
, County Durham - PeterleePeterleePeterlee is a new town in County Durham, England. Founded in 1948, Peterlee town originally mostly housed coal miners and their families.Peterlee has strong economic and community ties with Sunderland and Hartlepool.-Peterlee:...
, County Durham - RedditchRedditchRedditch is a town and local government district in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district had a population of 79,216 in 2005. In the 19th century it became the international centre for the needle and fishing tackle industry...
, Worcestershire - RuncornRuncornRuncorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 61,500. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...
, Cheshire - SkelmersdaleSkelmersdaleSkelmersdale is a town in West Lancashire, England. It lies on high-ground on the River Tawd, to the west of Wigan, to the northeast of Liverpool, south-southwest of Preston. As of 2006, Skelmersdale had a population of 38,813, down from 41,000 in 2004. The town is known locally as Skem.The...
, Lancashire - StevenageStevenageStevenage is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England. It is situated to the east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1, and is between Letchworth Garden City to the north, and Welwyn Garden City to the south....
, Hertfordshire - TelfordTelfordTelford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
, Shropshire - Washington, County Durham
- Welwyn Garden CityWelwyn Garden City-Economy:Ever since its inception as garden city, Welwyn Garden City has attracted a strong commercial base with several designated employment areas. Among the companies trading in the town are:*Air Link Systems*Baxter*British Lead Mills*Carl Zeiss...
, Hertfordshire
Scotland
- CumbernauldCumbernauldCumbernauld is a Scottish new town in North Lanarkshire. It was created in 1956 as a population overspill for Glasgow City. It is the eighth most populous settlement in Scotland and the largest in North Lanarkshire...
, Lanarkshire - East KilbrideEast KilbrideEast Kilbride is a large suburban town in the South Lanarkshire council area, in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. Designated as Scotland's first new town in 1947, it forms part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...
, Lanarkshire - GlenrothesGlenrothesGlenrothes is a large town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It is located approximately from both Edinburgh, which lies to the south and Dundee to the north. The town had an estimated population of 38,750 in 2008, making Glenrothes the third largest settlement in Fife...
, Fife - IrvineIrvine, North AyrshireIrvine is a new town on the coast of the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland. According to 2007 population estimates, the town is home to 39,527 inhabitants, making it the biggest settlement in North Ayrshire....
, Ayrshire - LivingstonLivingston, ScotlandLivingston is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It is the fourth post-WWII new town to be built in Scotland, designated in 1962. It is about 15 miles west of Edinburgh and 30 miles east of Glasgow, and is bordered by the towns of Broxburn to the northeast and Bathgate to the northwest.Livingston...
, Lothian
Wales
- CwmbranCwmbranCwmbrân is a new town in Wales. Today forming part of the county borough of Torfaen and lying within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, Cwmbrân was established in 1949 to provide new employment opportunities in the south eastern portion of the South Wales Coalfield. Cwmbrân means Crow...
, Monmouthshire
The Following towns were expanded on a large scale according to plans brought about from the act.
- CrawleyCrawleyCrawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
, Sussex, England - NorthamptonNorthamptonNorthampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
, Northamptonshire, England - PeterboroughPeterboroughPeterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
, Cambridgeshire, England - WarringtonWarringtonWarrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
, Lancashire, England
21st-century New Towns
The following places are "21st Century New Towns" being created under the Millennium Communities ProgrammeMillennium Communities Programme
The Millennium Communities Programme , is an English Partnerships initiative to construct 7 new 'villages' that are intended to 'set the standard for 21st Century living, and to serve as a model for the creation of new communities' in England.This is to be achieved by promoting innovative building...
, which is an act similar to the New Towns Act of 1946. The developments are generally smaller than those created under the New Towns Act. They are also referred to as villages rather than towns, however this is more a marketing strategy than any representation of their size, as the areas are generally part of a large urban backdrop.
Some of these projects are merely further development of the new towns created as part of the 1946 New Towns Act.
- Allerton BywaterAllerton BywaterAllerton Bywater is a semi-rural village and civil parish in the south-east of City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The village itself is north of Castleford and lies in the WF10 Castleford postcode area...
, West Yorkshire, England (expansion of former mining village near Leeds) - Greenwich Millennium VillageGreenwich Millennium VillageThe Greenwich Millennium Village is an innovative mixed-tenure modern housing estate on an urban village model located on the Greenwich Peninsula in Greenwich in south-east London, and part of the Millennium Communities Programme under English Partnerships...
, Greater London, England (new high density housing estate) - Oakgrove Millennium Community, Buckinghamshire, England (expansion of Milton Keynes)
- Telford Millennium Community, Shropshire, England (expansion of Telford)
Holbeck Urban Village
Holbeck Urban Village
Holbeck Urban Village is the name given by local government and planning agencies to a mixed use urban renewal area south of Leeds railway station in Holbeck, West Yorkshire, England....
in Leeds is a similar redevelopment scheme to the Greenwich Millennium Village, although is not officially part of the Millennium Communities Programme.